Vav (Sixth Grade) - Curriculum

Components of Vav include the following:

Prayer Tefillah

Students will lead the congregation’s Sunday morning minyan on a weekly basis, and will lead the Shabbat morning P’sukei D’zimra, Shacharit, and Musaf services on a monthly basis. In the Afternoon Tefillah Lab, students will master the prayers that they will recite at their Bar / Bat Mitzvah, respond to the meaning of those prayers, and reflect upon them in their electronic journals.

Hebrew Bible TaNaCH, Jewish Literacy, and Ethics

Students will continue becoming famliar with the holy Jewish texts Sifrei Kodesh: the TaNaCH, Mishnah, Talmud, and Shulchan Aruch>. Students will learn concepts and skills related to friendship in Jewish tradition, understand the reasons for the laws of kashrut, and respond to the obligation of visiting the sick bikur cholim.

Along with their Wednesday Tefillah Lab, students will have a Torah Portion Lab each week, in which they will focus on the weekly Torah portion and begin studying the portion for their Bar / Bat Mitzvah.

In addition, students will discover new interpretations of Torah on Shabbat mornings with Rabbi Newman Kamin as part of the Shabbat Morning Family Programming Tefillat HaMishpacha.

Israel

Students will focus on current events in and concerning Israel, learning how to filter and properly navigate the media. Students will take leadership roles in commemorating Yitzhak Rabin and Yom HaZikaron, and in celebrating Yom Ha’atzma’ut.

Hebrew Ivrit

Students will apply the skills they have learned in the Tefillah and TaNaCH components into their overall lexicon of Hebrew abilities.

Holidays

Students will reflect upon each holiday in their electronic journals, and will lead some holiday celebrations and commemorations.

Life Cycle

Students will explore concepts, skills, and vocabulary related to the Jewih experiences involved with the following:

1. Birth: brit milah for boys; simchat bat for girls
2. Growing up and honoring one’s parents
3. Expectations and preparations for the Bar / Bat Mitzvah
4. Marriage and weddings: mikvah, aufruf, kababalat panim, ketubah, sheva b’rachot
5. Growing old, including expectations for treating the elderly
6. Death, including the work of the chevra kadisha and reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish

Tikkun Olam

Students will reflect upon causes with the guidance of the JUF and JChoice websites, and incorporate skills and concepts from their classroom learning as they attend field trips to the Ark and the Robineau Home.

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.