Course Descriptions Fall 2011

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FIRST PERIOD

Grade 8 Core: Confronting the Shoah

We will study the Holocaust, not simply to know a piece of history but to evaluate how this piece of history affects who we are. In order to understand what the loss of six million European Jews really means, we will first become acquainted with the Jews in Europe before the Holocaust. Who were these Jews? Where did they live? What was important to them? What were their identities? Next we will examine how Hitler came to power and orchestrated the murder of six million Jews and the destruction of the European Jewish community. By the end of the class we will ask: What lessons do we draw? If the Holocaust does indeed change us, how does it transform us as Jews? Americans? Human beings?

Ninth Grade Core: Do Mitzvot Matter? Examing the "Mitzvah Initiative"

Teacher: Josh Schwartz

Based on the successful Mitzvah Initiative program developed by JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen for use in synagogues and throughout North America, this is a course about mitzvah in all its complexities. We think of our lives as journeys, and like the idea of writing the scripts of our lives as we go. In many respects, Judaism asks individuals to bring intention and meaning to their lives as their journeys unfold. We each ask ourselves, "How do my actions reflect what is of ultimate value?" This class will stimulate discussion on visiting the sick, hevrah kaddisha, kashrut, Shabbat, tzedakah, tefillah, and other mitzvot. Students will have an opportunity to consider what their own "signature mitzvah" is.

*Day school graduates can take the course Mishnayot that Matter as an alternative core class.

Grade 9 Core: Mishnayot that Matter

Teacher: Mick Fine

When is going to war a commandment? What are your obligations if you find a lost object in public? How has the concept of tikkun 'olam changed over thousands of years? How did the Rabbis deal with stubborn and rebellious children? In this course, students will tackle some of these and other case studies that Judaism has grappled with for generations. Explore these ideas through reading and analysis of Torah and Mishnah, as well as ancient, medieval, and modern commentary using Hebrew text. Some contemporary newspaper articles and selections from modern literature in English will also deepen our discussions.

Electives: Grades 10–12

Beyond Blogging: Spiritual Autobiogrpahy Writing Workshop

Teacher: Shira Dicker

Learn the art and craft of spiritual autobiography through blogging. You are unique, the author of the story-or stories-of your life. You have a distinctive voice and point of view that belongs to you and you alone. In this exciting course, you will learn how to master first-person writing by creating your own blog. Spend Sunday mornings exploring great writing-from Jewish history through contemporary pop culture-and learning by example. Join us as we delve into unforgettable texts, including those you will produce for class. Experience the challenge of the writing workshop, where material is discussed and respectfully critiqued. Be prepared to amaze yourself. Self-knowledge awaits you.

Halakhah for Heretics

Teacher: Rabbi Jeremy Kalamonfsky

Conservative Jews affirm that Jewish law obligates us, even though we are honest enough to admit that Jewish practice has always changed over the centuries and that God didn't write the Torah. Why do we persist in following a changing law? How do Conservative rabbis practice Jewish law in un-Orthodox ways when it comes to issues such as Shabbat, homosexuality, feminism, and so on?

From Murder to Genocide: Violence in the Bible

Teacher: Dr. Regina Stein

The Bible begins its story of humanity's adventure on earth with a tale of murder. It paints a picture of a God who commands ancient Israel to worship by killing animals and who is pleased when one Israelite zealously kills another. It recounts episodes of child sacrifice. It mandates wars of conquest to settle the Promised Land and calls for genocide against Israel's enemies. What roles do these violent stories play in the Bible? How do they impact our understanding of the biblical claim that "Its ways are pleasant and all its paths are peaceful"? We will explore these questions as we analyze the stories of Cain and Abel, Pinchas, Jephtah's daughter, the conquest of Canaan, and the command to wipe out every Amalekite man, woman, and child (a command closely tied to our joyous celebration of Purim). Students will have a choice of reading the passages in Hebrew or in English translation.

Life: Not the Game

Teacher: Roni Taback

Why are we here? When does life begin? What is death? In this class, we will discuss some of the big questions about life and death through the use of traditional and modern texts. We will look at the roots and meaning and preservation of life and death. Do the improvements in our physical lives come at the expense of our spiritual lives? How often do we take a step back and ask: what are we here for? Is it about creating a better world or ensuring that there is a next generation to follow us? Is there some kind of lifelong mission, or are the efforts of life, in the end, meaningless, as Kohelet (the book of Ecclesiastes) might suggest?

SECOND PERIOD

Grade 10 Core: Jews, Judaism, and Modernity

Teacher: Jessica Kirzane

The 18th century radically changed the ways in which Jews believed, practiced their religion, related to non-Jews, got married, educated their children, earned a living, fought their battles, organized their communities, and understood what it meant to be a Jew. What were the key events and ideas that precipitated these changes? How successful were the innovative movements and "isms" that modern Jews created in response? Are we continuing those modern responses today, or are we creating new postmodern Jewish realities? This seminar will focus on primary sources and texts to explore and evaluate these issues as we chart our course through the 21st century.

Grade 11 Core: Jewish Philosophy: An Introduction

Teacher: Eric Woodward

Philosophy—which means "the love of wisdom"—has long been in conversation with religion, that peculiar and ancient system of social symbols that tries to embody wisdom and virtue and help us make meaning out of the world. In this class, we will look at three important Jewish philosophers: Moses Maimonides, Baruch Spinoza, and Abraham Joshua Heschel, and explore two major dichotomies: atheism and theism, and the body and the soul. We will not provide answers, but we will lay the groundwork for thinking about philosophy Jewishly and Judaism philosophically.

Grade 12 Core: The Bible, Archaeology, and History

Teacher: Dr. Regina Stein

We study the Hebrew Bible in every Jewish school and read parts of it in the daily liturgy and at every Shabbat and holiday service. It is filled with wonderful stories about our ancestors and teaches us the values by which we are commanded to live. But is it true? Did the events it recounts really happen? Did Abraham and Sarah really live? Was the exodus from Egypt that we celebrate every Pesah a historic event? Can we reconstruct what life was like for Israelites at the time of King David? There are different approaches to responding to these questions. We will compare the answers given by the traditional Rabbis, modern Biblical scholars, historians, and archaeologists. Ultimately, you will be the judge. Which arguments will you find persuasive? And why should you care if the Bible is historically true or not?

Electives: Grades 8–9

The Jewish Lens

Teacher: Mick Fine

Visual learning, intellectual and emotional stimulation, and the development of analytical skills will be the primary goals of this course. Through the universal medium of photography, the curriculum provides students with an entry point to Jewish learning and skills development, and the opportunity to share their voice—and their photographic lens—with others. Students will explore the rich photography of Zion Ozeri, whose work highlights Jewish life around the world. Additionally, students will be encouraged to craft their own narrative by taking their own photos and discover what links them to the colorful tapestry of Jewish peoplehood and thought.

Judaism and Superheroes

Teacher: Josh Schwartz

In this course we will explore the essential connection between our self-image as Jews and a society whose heroes seem to be very different from us. Students will tackle this subject from a variety of angles, including the notion of a hero, history of Jews in the creation of superhero literature, superheroes we may find in our own tradition, Jewish values and themes we can find in superhero literature and movies, and finally tales of Jewish superheroes. To cover this wide range of topics, we will study texts from such diverse sources as the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Talmud, the corpus of Jewish folktales, tales of Hassidic Rebbes, and, of course, comic books.

The Prozdor Press

Teacher: Shira Dicker

Think that only experienced reporters have a nose for news? There are a million stories waiting to be written about your school, your home, your synagogue, and your community. There are mysteries to solve, personalities to profile, tragedies and celebrations that need to be covered. There are scandals and achievements that deserve to be written about. There are noteworthy sports, cultural, and fashion stories, and even celebrity news—and much of it has a Jewish angle. In this fun and high-energy course, we will create a newsroom environment where every member of the class plays a role—from reporter to editor to publicist to designer. The goal is to get you to pay attention to the cool news in your Jewish community and the world at large, and to write about it. Do you know the history of your synagogue or your community? What about the private lives of some of the people who are local leaders? Have you admired anyone in your community? Is something in the world making you really angry? Through learning basic journalistic skills and workshopping written assignments, students of this unique course will sharpen their skill of observation, their insight, and their writing. They will also learn how to address the question: "What's Jewish about this story?"

THIRD PERIOD

Intensive: Beit Midrash (double-period class)

Teacher: Josh Schwartz

Beit Midrash means "house of seeking." Each week, we'll get together and confront selections from Jewish texts to seek out the meaning and relevance in these ancient words to our own lives. What am I doing in this world? How should I relate to the people around me? What is God? What is beautiful? What is evil? All of these questions and more will be on the table. Students will prepare texts in hevrutot-pairs and then come together for a shiur with the teacher. Come seek. All texts will be provided in Hebrew and English translation.

Intensive: Hebrew (double-period class)

Teachers: llona Ben Moshe, Daphna Afber, Hagit Halperin, Naama Potok, Ella Shaked

We will be offering up to seven different levels of Hebrew language classes, from beginner to very advanced. Students will work to improve their reading, grammar, writing, and speaking skills. Various materials will be used, including modern Hebrew passages, computer-based work, and creative projects, to get students to practice their Hebrew speaking skills. Students should be open to doing one hour of homework per week in order to ensure progress in learning Hebrew.

Between Rupture and Continuity: A Look at Jewish Secularism

Teacher: Abe Rubin

Can Jews be secular? This class explores the writings of Zionist visionaries, assimilated European cosmopolitans, and anti-halakhic philosophers in order to examine their relationship to conventional Jewish thought. We will be reading these Jewish secular texts under the assumption that they do not demonstrate a clean break with the past but are, in fact, responses to it. According to this approach, heretics such as philosopher Baruch Spinoza and poet Heinrich Heine become the intellectual descendants of Maimonides, the Amoraim (early Jewish scholars 200 to 500 CE), and other Jewish commentators throughout history. Ultimately, the goal of this class is to show that despite ruptures with halakhic tradition, we can find much continuity. We will also discuss how this relates to our relationship with halakhah today.

Devils and Demons, Love and Laughter: The Yiddish Theater

Teacher: Jessica Kirzane

Do you like going to Broadway plays? Well, step back in time to immerse yourself in the world of Yiddish theater that thrived, not on Broadway, but in Eastern European capitals and on the Lower East Side of New York. We will read God, Man and Devil by Jacob Gordin to see what happens when a Jewish man makes a pact with the devil; The Dybbuk by S. Ansky to learn how to exorcise the spirit of a dead fiancé from a haunted young woman; and The Two Kuni Lemls by Avram Goldfadn to see what made Jews laugh at the beginning of Yiddish theater. In this course, we will read from some of the most famous plays of the Yiddish theater in English translation. We will stage scenes, watch clips from films, and learn some fun Yiddish phrases that will help us explore these and other questions.

JNN: Jewish News Analysis

Teacher: Eric Woodward

Are you a news junkie? Would you like to know more about what's happening in Jewish communities around the world? In this class, students will learn about current social and political matters of Jewish relevance, whether they have to do with the White House's response to an Israeli government decision, a Jewish athlete who makes the news, or the tensions that exist within the Jewish community itself. The current news will be our "text," and we will learn not only about the events as they occur, but also about how they affect our lives. Students will learn how to read news articles with a critical eye toward uncovering bias.

FOURTH PERIOD

Intensive: Beit Midrash

(Prerequisite: Third-Period Beit Midrash Course)

Intensive: Hebrew

(Prerequisite: Third-Period Hebrew Course)

Money and Morality

Teacher: Rabbi Lori Forman-Jacobi

We will explore the ethics of business and the role of money as defined by Judaism. Today, the value of everything is often solely based on the price for which it can be sold. Our culture is often defined as one of commercialization and greed. Business and business ethics play a central role in Jewish discourse. Judaism doesn't differentiate between business practices and spiritual matters; both realms are seen as holy. We will read case studies and discuss topics such as whether it's ethical to embellish one's résumé, the ethical practices of global companies, the importance of full disclosure in business deals, and the role of unions today and their history in Jewish life in America. We will also look at anti-Semitism and the Jew as money-lender in Jewish history. Lastly, we will take a serious look at what Judaism teaches about giving Jewishly: what we call tzedakah and others call philanthropy.

The Ethics of Desire: Love, Friendship, and Intimacy in the Talmud

Teacher: Abe Rubin

Throughout this course, we will read a wide variety of aggadic passages (stories intended for moral instruction) from the Talmud that will expose us to the interpersonal world of the Rabbis as they vacillate between love and jealousy, generosity and pettiness. Relying on traditional talmudic commentary and contemporary literary theory, we will read the stories to better understand the rabbinic imagination and the portrayal Identity Crises in Contemporary American Jewish Literatureof its ideals of masculinity, femininity, charity, intimacy, and friendship. Rather than restrict the stories to a reflection of the Rabbis' socio-historical reality, we will try to open our minds to new interpretations and examine the relevance of these stories to our own lives and use them to question our own perception of gender relations, tzedakah, and chesed.

Jewish Mythology

Teacher: Roni Taback

Beneath the surface of the Bible lie ancient Jewish myths with ferocious sea monsters, mighty heroes, and deadly battles. In this class, we will look at some of the myths of the Bible and compare them to world mythology: the Norse god Thor and the Jewish sea monster Leviathan; the judge Samson and the Greek Hercules; the nature of Satan in the Hebrew Bible; the sons of God and the Titans; and the archetype of the Hero's Journey. At the end of our course, we will write our own myths and legends that reflect our world as we experience it.

Course Registration for Grades 8–9 and Grades 10–12.