Torah Day School’s Judaic Studies curriculum is designed to help children grow in midos tovos (positive character traits); love of Hashem (God), fellow Jews, and all people; knowledge of the halachic requirements of a Torah observant Jew; and foundational skills by which to continue a life of Torah learning.
Our faculty comprises a cadre of experienced and learned Torah teachers dedicated to the mission of Jewish continuity and to fostering the next Jewish generation’s love for Israel, Torah, and their Jewish brethren.
We support children entering or joining Torah Day School with all levels of prior knowledge of Judaism, including those without previous Jewish education. Our students continue to prominent Jewish high schools around the country and are noted for their broad knowledge base and excellent skills.
The curriculum is based on a scaffolding development of broad-based knowledge and skills in the following areas:
Our kriya program focuses on four key areas: reading, comprehension, writing, and Hebrew vocabulary. Our Kindergarten students begin with the learning of Alef Bes (the Hebrew alphabet) and continue on to fluent reading and understanding of the Hebrew language.
Our students learn the Five Books of the Torah with a special focus on developing the skills and concepts necessary for independent study: shorashim (root words), prefixes, suffixes, dikduk (Hebrew grammar and syntax), and a progression to decoding interpretations of the Chumash by Rashi and other commentaries.
As part of our Chumash study, we focus on an understanding of the chronological events and legacy taught in Torah: Chumash and Parsha.
The over-arching concepts reinforced throughout our Torah curriculum combine to instill a love, honor, reverence, excitement, and awe of the Torah, and an understanding of the role of Torah learning in Jewish life and in developing and strengthening a connection with Hashem.
Gemara is a different form of study – and places far greater reliance on the important skills of critical thinking and analysis – from others our students may previously have been accustomed to. We help students hone these important skills by teaching new terms, word patterns, and rules of logic and deduction to foster a deep understanding of the Jewish judicial system and processes for resolving legal disputes.
Students learn about the stories of the prophets with a focus on the progression of leadership and conquests after the Jews entered Israel. This curriculum is built around the religious and ethical lessons that can be gleaned from these writings.
Halacha is the study of daily laws and customs such as Shabbos, holidays, Kashrus (laws of food), Shmiras Halashon (laws of speech), Chessed (kindness), and many others. These topics span across many grade levels and are taught at levels appropriate for each age group.
Our instruction of Tefilla (prayer) is designed to instill in students:
- an understanding of the meanings of the prayers in their Hebrew writing,
- fluency in reciting the prayers in Hebrew,
- comfort in navigating the Siddur (prayer book), and
- respect for the decorum of prayer services, and
- a connection to Tefilla outside of school.
Yomim Tovim (holidays) education covers the history, themes, symbolism, laws, and customs of each holiday, in addition to a knowledge of the Jewish calendar. Yedios Klalios (general knowledge) is a sub-curriculum that includes important facts about Jewish history, texts, figures, etc.