According to an article in the
Jewish Quarterly ReviewThe Jewish Quarterly Review is the oldest English-language journal of Judaic scholarship, established in 1888 by Israel Abrahams and Claude G. Montefiore as an outgrowth of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement...
entitled "The Jewish Sunday School Movement in the United States" and printed in 1900, “the exact beginning of the American Jewish Sunday Schools is obscured by uncertainty and difficulty of opinion…”though it is largely credited with the works of Miss Rebecca Gratz, a Philadelphia Native, who sought to provide Jewish schooling to those most in need. As students received secular schooling, Miss Gratz understood the need to provide Jewish history and Jewish traditions to those most lacking a basic understand in Jewish Education.
Background and History
According to an article in the
Jewish Quarterly ReviewThe Jewish Quarterly Review is the oldest English-language journal of Judaic scholarship, established in 1888 by Israel Abrahams and Claude G. Montefiore as an outgrowth of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement...
entitled "The Jewish Sunday School Movement in the United States" and printed in 1900, “the exact beginning of the American Jewish Sunday Schools is obscured by uncertainty and difficulty of opinion…”though it is largely credited with the works of Miss Rebecca Gratz, a Philadelphia Native, who sought to provide Jewish schooling to those most in need. As students received secular schooling, Miss Gratz understood the need to provide Jewish history and Jewish traditions to those most lacking a basic understand in Jewish Education. In fact, Jewish Sunday School grew largely in response to Christian Sunday School as a means of providing proper Jewish Education to students who otherwise lacked any religious grounding in Jewish traditions and history or lacked the financial means necessary to attend such a school. As a devout Jew, Gratz dedicated her life to helping the poor and neglected. In 1818, “under the sponsorship of the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, the Hebrew Sunday School Society of Philadelphia was created on March 4, her birthday, with about 60 students.” To this day, Rebecca Gratz is referenced as “the foremost American Jewess of her day.”
Curriculum Overview
Hebrew School is typically taught on Sunday following the end of the Jewish Sabbath known as
ShabbatShabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from sundown Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night...
in Hebrew and on one day of the week either Tuesday or Wednesday in the evening following secular education in private or public schools. Hebrew School Education developed in the 1800’s and is largely credited with the works of
Rebecca GratzRebecca Gratz was a preeminent Jewish American educator and philanthropist.Gratz was the seventh of twelve children born to Miriam Simon and Michael Gratz...
.
Today, typical Hebrew School education starts in kindergarten and culminates in the tenth grade with confirmation. While the idea of confirmation largely grew out of
Reform JudaismReform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in North America and in the United Kingdom....
, it is largely practiced by both the Reform and Jewish Conservative Movements today. However, it should be noted that Hebrew School Education is based in the Reform and Conservative Movements and therefore, not practiced in the Jewish Orthodox Movement. Instead Orthodox students attend religious schools on a daily basis such as Yeshivas where they study Jewish texts like
TorahThe term "Torah" , refers either to the Five Books of Moses or to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts...
and the
TalmudThe Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
in greater depth. Orthodox schooling often prepares young boys to become rabbis and involves a deeper level of study than Hebrew School Education provides. Whereas, both boys and girls study in Hebrew Schools in a co-educational environment, education in the Orthodox community is based on single-sex education with greater emphasis placed on traditional roles for men and women.
Kindergarten and First Grade Education
During kindergarten and first grade students are introduced to major Jewish holidays. Furthermore they are introduced to the Aleph-Bet or
Hebrew alphabetThe Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, and because of its place of origin, the Assyrian script is the better-known of two script standards used to write the...
. Usually learning at this young age relies on a number of hands-on activities such as crafts, music, cooking and storytelling to engage young learners. Additionally, students might learn the Aleph-Bet through puzzles and other fun activities. First Grade is sometimes referred to as Grade Aleph, corresponding to the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet.
Second Grade through Fifth Grade Education
During these years students build on a variety of skills and knowledge they have learned as youngsters while learning new skills like reading hebrew, reciting common prayers such as the Shema and V'ahavta and learning the blessings over the candles, wine and bread. Furthermore, students learn the concept of
tzedakahTzedakah is a Hebrew word commonly translated as charity, though it is based on a root meaning justice . In Judaism, tzedakah refers to the religious obligation to perform charity, and philanthropic acts, which Judaism emphasises are important parts of living a spiritual life; Jewish tradition...
, or charity and become acquainted with Jewish rituals and customs as well as gain a better understanding of Jewish history and the land of
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
.
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Preparation
One of the most important events to take place during Jewish Education is the celebration of the Bar and Bat Mitzvah. Bar/Bat Mitzvah education begins in the 6th and 7th grade when students are provided with an instructor usually a rabbi or cantor and beginning studying their torah and haftorah portion by learning to use tropes, or “a system for chanting sacred texts.” "For those unfamiliar with the process, there is a set of signs that accompany each word of Torah, Haftorah and other writings. Each of these signs represents a certain musical phrase. In chanting the text, one reads the word according to that melody. Trope, in addition to beautifying traditional texts, helps to the tell the story contained in the writing. The end of each troupe phrase generally corresponds with the end of an content phrase. There is a trope to represent a comma, period, and end of sentence.”
According to Jewish Law, a boy enters adulthood at the age of 13, while a girl enters adulthood at the age of 12. The Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebrates this coming of age and signifies one's passage into adulthood.