Pardes (Ninth Grade) - Curriculum

Components of Pardes include the following:

Prayer Tefillah

Students will lead the congregation’s Sunday morning minyan on a weekly basis, and will reflect upon prayers from the Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv services. Students will compose a Pardes Class Siddur, which will be shared as part of a dedicated Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv Friday evening service during the school year.

Hebrew Bible TaNaCH

Students will analyze the weekly Torah portion, and compare and contrast those portions’ issues with issues arising in current world events. Graduates of Jewish day schools will have a separate text-based track for learning the Torah portion while still incorporating current events into the learning process.

Israel

Students will focus on current events in and concerning Israel, learning how to filter and properly navigate the media.

Jewish Lens

Students will explore aspects of their Jewish identity, values, and peoplehood through the use of photography and experiential Jewish curricula. This program, through a grant from the Community Foundation of Jewish Education helps students establish personal link to the Jewish community.

Classroom-to-Classroom

Under the auspices of Chicago-based organization Shorashim, studentrs will participate in a partnership with the Shalon School in Kiryat Gat, Israel. This password-protected Internet-based interaction will give Pardes students the opportunity to blog, share videos and pictures, and learn about peer students in that Israeli community.

Holidays

Students will reflect upon each holiday in their electronic journals, and will blog and share videos about those celebrations with students from the Shalon School under the Classroom-to-Classroom program.

Tikkun Olam

Students will reflect upon causes with the guidance of the JUF and JChoice websites, from which they will learn to advocate for the less fortunate and make a difference through tzedakah. Students will incorporate skills and concepts from their classroom learning as they perform Ma’ot Chitim deliveries and visit the Lieberman Geriatric Health Center.

Current Events

Students will reflect on current events in and concerning Israel, as well as news with implications for the Jewish community in Chicago and around the world.