Kehillat Limmud 2022-2023

A “Punim” in Yiddish is a face – a particularly sweet face!

We invite all of our punims (ages 0 to 4) and their families to join us on select Sundays to learn, sing, play, and be together at NVHC! Click here to learn more!

We love being able to welcome in our youngest learners each year! Our Bonim (Builders) program is designed for Pre-K students and Kindergarteners. They meet each Sunday to learn about the Jewish holidays, with heavy emphasis on Shabbat; Jewish values; and different aspects of the synagogue.

In 1st and 2nd grades, our students continue learning how to build connections with each other while learning about Torah stories, Israel, Jewish values, Jewish holidays, and beginning to learn to recognize Hebrew letters.

Students will meet weekly on Sunday mornings in a combination of indoor and outdoor learning. They will build on their core learning and relationship building through activities like art projects, stories, and engaging conversations. They will also have the opportunity to participate in Music, Sports, and learn Hebrew through a program called Hebrew Through Movement.

Hebrew Through Movement is a proven method of learning Hebrew by which students learn Hebrew through hearing and responding to Hebrew words through movement. Click here to learn more about the Hebrew Through Movement methodology. We will have two levels; one for students who are new to Hebrew Through Movement, and one for students who participated in the program last year.

In 3rd & 4th grade, our students engage in their core Judaic learning in a looped two-year curriculum. In Year Aleph, students learn about the narratives of Jacob and Moses, focusing on the stories from Genesis and Exodus. In Year Bet, students learn about Jewish holidays and modern Israel.

In 5th grade, students learn about Jewish life cycle events, the remainder of the Torah, the Prophets, and Jewish history.

Students will also participate in Sunday Hebrew classes and either midweek small group Hebrew or one-on-one Hebrew tutoring.

A key component of Sunday mornings is giving students time to connect with their peers. We do this every Sunday through a rotation of social action, youth group, sports, and art activities.

Hebrew in the Classroom

We will offer three levels of Hebrew – Hebrew I, Hebrew II, and Hebrew III. Students will begin with Hebrew I in 3rd grade. Students who are beginning Hebrew after 3rd grade will begin in Hebrew I with age-appropriate peers. There are two components of this program – a Sunday morning class, separate from their Judaics class, and a midweek session. All midweek Hebrew will take place online. Students will be able to choose from two options – either small group learning that meets with one of our Hebrew teachers or 1:1 Hebrew tutoring.

Students in Hebrew I can expect to learn letter and vowel recognition as well as basic decoding skills.

Students in Hebrew II can expect to learn short blessings (such as Barechu and blessings over food), Ma’ariv Aravim/Yotzer Or, the Four Questions, Kiddush, and Havdalah. 

Students in Hebrew III can expect to learn Sh’ma/V’ahavtah, Mi Chamocha, Avot v’Imahot, G’vurot, and K’dusha.

New this year, our Chalutzim (Pioneers) program combines 6th and 7th grades to create an experience that is designed to support students as they move through adolescence, prepare to become Bar or Bat Mitzvah, and continue their Jewish educational journey post-B’nai Mitzvah. Divided into 8 groups based on their Bar/Bat Mitzvah dates, students will move through 6th and 7th grade together as a cohort. Students will have ample opportunities to mix with the other groups and be with their peers as a full class.

This program focuses on important values and life lessons, and helps students develop and strengthen their own sense of Jewish identity. They will study Jewish values and challenges in their lives through the lens of the weekly Torah portion, how that relates through current events, and engage in doing mitzvot – the ways that we live out our Jewish values.

Our current Torah Corps program, led by Cantor Susan Caro and Sam Blum, will now be expanded and integrated into Sunday mornings as a core part of the Chalutzim curriculum for both 6th and 7th graders. They will continue to be at the helm, where students can expect to review all prayers previously learned and build on them with the addition of the Torah Service, which includes blessings surrounding the ritual of removing the Torah from the ark, the Torah Blessings, and Haftarah blessings.

The small cohorts by date match the student’s place along the preparation journey, encompassing learning Torah cantillation and synagogue skills, with learning specific to each student that is more directed for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. As they become Bar or Bat Mitzvah, their cohort will shift their learning focus to a broader understanding of Hebrew and prayer.

6th grade students will continue with one-on-one mid-week Hebrew tutoring (online only) with an experienced Hebrew tutor. There is no mid-week Hebrew for 7th grade students.

Please note: all B’nai Mitzvah instruction will now occur within the hours of Kehillat Limmud. There will be no additional classes outside of Sunday mornings. As before, students will also need to be practicing at home in preparation for B’nai Mitzvah and will do best with good family support for the journey.

Tamid is our weekly program for 8th-12th graders. Click here to learn more!

Sunday morning Kehillat Limmud will remain in person, while small group Hebrew (for 3rd-5th graders) and Hebrew tutoring (for 3rd-6th graders) will remain online.

We continue to monitor the COVID situation and will provide updates on our policies regarding masking, mixing grades, and adults in the building as we get closer to the start of the school year. Our other COVID safety precautions – HEPA filters in every room, updated HVAC settings, and vaccination requirements for all students, teachers, and madrichim – remain in place.