Gesher Judaic Studies Program is based in Florida, but has moved to live online Zoom classes so students from all across the country can participate.
Learn all about the customs and laws of upcoming Jewish holidays, as well the meaning behind each one. When there is no upcoming holiday, we’ll delve into topics such as Shabbat, Birchat HaNehenin (Brachot on food), Tefilah, and the Hebrew months. Suitable for kids in grades K-3. A separate Dinim class, geared towards older students, is offered for kids in grades 4-6.
This year’s Jewish history course will focus on the last 200 years, from the Jewish communities of the 19th century all the way through the creation of the State of Israel through today. This course will be geared towards middle schoolers, but mature elementary schoolers can take it as well.
This class is a continuation of Hebrew 2 and will continue to review and solidify all the skills gained in Hebrew 2. More emphasis will be placed on writing short Hebrew writing samples in increasing complexity. We will also learn how to conjugate verbs in both the present and past tense, and students will grow their reading comprehension.
This class is for children who have learned Chumash before and can move at a quicker pace than Chumash 1. Students will gain comfort reading and translating multiple Pesukim at a time, and will review key skills learned in Chumash 1, such as breaking apart a word in Chumash into its component parts to translate it. The class will also introduce the children to Rashi. Students will learn how to identify Rashi’s question and answer. We will begin the year in the second half of Bereishit and will focus on one Perek each semester to work on these skills. Students will be mailed a workbook for class before the beginning of the year.
This class will be taught at a higher level and move more quickly than both Chumash 1 and 2. We will move through an entire Perek within a few weeks, learning multiple Pesukim and multiple Meforshim each class. Students will also learn themes of entire episodes in the Torah. This class requires comfort with both reading and translating the Chumash text and Rashi. This year, we will be learning Sefer Bamidbar.
This class will study the early prophets and will focus on the storyline, characters, and themes of these books. The class will be geared towards older elementary students. We will be starting this year in the book of Yehoshua immediately after the Jews enter the land of Israel.
