Sunday School

Curriculum

Overview:

The Sunday School's current curriculum is a product of many teachers' and parents' efforts to create an educational experience that helps children to find and cherish a Jewish identity that fits them and their lives. Whenever possible, teachers and parents should encourage Sunday School students to discuss their Jewish identity/ how they feel about being Jewish and to solicit from them what topics related to Jewish history, culture and practice they find most interesting.

Realizing that we can't teach everything about Jewish history, culture and practice in approximately eighteen sessions per year for eight years, we've prioritized certain topics and perspectives.

We concentrate on holidays during K and 1st grades, with review during 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. The Holocaust is taught in the 6th grade, with some review in the Bnei'Mitsvah year.

Tzedakah is collected during the music period before classes. All teachers are encouraged to discuss family and individual tzedakah habits/customs with interested parents and children.

Tikkun O'lam-- the repair of the world--often translated as social change/social justice, is central to Machar and the Sunday School's mission. Teachers try to weave it into what they're teaching-- to find a way to frame historical and contemporary issues in terms of how we and our ancestors make/made choices and lead/led our lives. Every effort will be make to share examples of Jewish people who have organized for change and students will be asked to share what they have done to make the world a better place, what their families have done, what they hope to do, fears and concerns that they have, etc.

Creating family trees is a specific fourth grade activity. Genealogy is, however, of great interest to many parents and students and may surface in other grades. The Sunday School recognizes that many of our students are adopted, from families where everyone is not Jewish/ does not have Jewish ancestors and/or have gay or lesbian parents, so setting up family trees will be approached with sensitivity.

As for Israel, the curriculum includes a brief introduction in K and 1st grades, followed by references in 2nd (the value of peace and Israel/Palestine) and in 3rd (modern Jewish life around the world). Significant discussion regarding Israel occurs in 5th grade, where there is an emphasis on Israeli history, culture and current events and in 6th grade, with a framing of Israel vis a vis the Holocaust and Jewish pluralism. Israel, like the Holocaust, is a challenging subject for many parents, teachers and students, which is why we've decided to place it-- for the most part-- in the later grades.

Major Themes and Topics for Each Grade

The following list of units and topics for each grade outlines what are priority subjects in our classes. *Indicates topics to be covered as time permits.

Kindergarten/Grade One

UNIT: Introduction to Jewish Holidays

1. Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
2. Sukkot *
3. Hanukkah
4. Purim
5. Tu B'Shevat
6. Passover
7. Shavuot*

UNIT: Introduction to Jewish Customs and Culture

8. Shabbat
9. Tzedakah
10. Israel

UNIT: Introduction to Creation Myths --1st grade

11. Myths of how the world began (Jews' and others')

UNIT: Introduction to Jewish Individual and Community Identity

12. Being Jewish/ Jewish identity as an individual
    (at school, among friends, etc)-- K
13. Being Jewish/ Jewish identity as part of a Jewish family
    and/or as part of a mixed family
    (at family gatherings, holidays, etc)-- 1st grade
14. L'Dor V'Dor: learning from grandparents and other ancestors*

UNIT: Introduction to Jewish languages (Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino)

15. Hebrew-- K/ Yiddish, Ladino-- 1st grade*

UNIT: Introduction to the Jewish life cycle traditions

16. Jewish traditions for life cycle events
    (rituals taught should only be those practiced by Secular/ Humanistic Jews)
    such as a mitsvah ceremony-- 1st grade

Grade Two

The second grade curriculum is unique in that it is really one all-encompassing unit-- Jewish secular/ humanistic values-- throughout the year. Stories and characters from the Old Testament, as well as secular Jewish literature and non-Jewish stories, illustrate various values and ways of being in the world. Lessons that touch on what a community is and what it means to be part of one or many communities (made up of individuals with similar and/or different values) will also be stressed.

1. Doing a Mitsvah
2. Tzedakah (different levels)/ Sharing
3. Chesed (loving kindness)
4. Shalom Bayyit/ Darchei Shalom/ conflict resolution:
   Israel and Palestine/sibling rivalry (Jacob and Esau)
5. Ahavat Ger (loving the stranger): Ruth and Naomi
6. Resistance: Passover
7. Self Respect/ Kavod (honor): Vashti/ Purim
8. Tolerance/ Acceptance/ Diversity-- Amos and MLK Birthday
9. Honesty
10. Bal tashchit (protection of the environment): Tu B'Shevat
11. Oshek (not oppressing workers)
12. Tikkun O'lam / Repairing the World-- differentiated from Tzedakah and mitsvahs
13. Kedusha (each person is unique)

Grade Three

The third grade curriculum focuses on Jews around the world-- historically and in the present. The students should come away with an understanding of the concept of Diaspora and some idea of Jewish history over time. We do not want Sunday School students to think of Jewish history solely as a story of oppression; though they will study the Inquisition, equal emphasis should be placed on the Golden Age in Spain and other times when Jewish people flourished.

Unit: Biblical Period

1. Prophets (taught as people who had brilliant things to say,
   even when they weren't popular--
   not necessarily as people who spoke the word of god):
   Miriam, Deborah, Amos, Samuel, Isaiah
2. Tribes as Communities/ Twelve tribes
   (Torah could travel even when temple site could not)
3. Diaspora (concept of)/ choices and assimilation

Unit: Greek and Roman Period

4. Jews in Greek and Roman times/ Hellenists (Hanukkah)
5. Historical Jesus/ origins of Christianity*

Unit: The Origins of the Torah and Talmud

6. The Torah and Talmud (need for community laws);
   value of commentary and debate in and with these texts,
   how the practice of Judaism changed

Unit: Medieval Period

7. Jews in Medieval times (jobs, roles)

Unit: Jews in Spain

8. The Golden Age in Spain (poets, artists, scientists, etc)
9. The Inquisition and migration patterns in 1492;
   concept of Sephardim and Ashkenazim

Unit: First Jews in the Americas

10. First Jews in the Americas/ New Amsterdam (1492-1800)

Unit: The past 500 years for Sephardic Jews

11. Sephardim 1492- 1800
12. Sephardim 1800- present

Unit: Modern Jewish life around the World

13. Modern Jewish life around the world part 1
14. Modern Jewish life around the world part 2
15. Ethiopian and other Jews' (Russian, etc) immigration to Israel

Grade Four

The fourth grade curriculum focuses on Shtetl life in Eastern Europe between 1800 and 1903 and Jewish life in the United States from 1880- present. Students should gain an understanding of why so many Ashkenazi Jews came to the United States at the turn of the century and how they contributed to American culture.

Unit: Life in Eastern Europe/ Shtetls (1800-1930)

1. Shtetls/ Pale of Settlement: 1800-1930/daily life practices part I
2. Shtetls/ Pale of Settlement: 1800-1930/ daily life part II
3. Shtetls: 1800-1930/ pogroms and discrimination
4. Three choices for Jews facing this discrimination:
   a) Stay put and fight for things to be better for Jews and others in Eastern Europe;
   b) Move to the U.S.;
   c) Move to Palestine and try to build a Jewish state there.
   Fourth grade focuses on those who moved to the US;
   the others are covered in the 5th grade).
   How to make such a choice?

Unit: The Immigrant Experience (1880- 1930)

5. Family Trees/ Genealogy
6. Immigration waves/ Ellis Island
7. Everyday life on the Lower East Side of NY 1880-1930
8. Jews and the early American labor movement
   and its connection to the Jewish Labor Bund of Russia and Poland
9. Yiddish Culture in the US/ 1880-1930: Literature, Press, Theater, Music
10. Other places in the U.S. where Jews moved
    (Jewish life in the Mid-west, the West, rural areas / Jewish farmers)*

Unit: The Jewish American experience (1930- 2000)

11. American Jews and the McCarthy period/ Hollywood Blacklist,
    Jews in the entertainment industry*
12. American Jews and the 60s (Anti-War, Civil Rights and Women's movements)
    and Soviet Jewry support in the 70s and 80s
13. Contemporary U.S. Jewish social action efforts
    (labor, environmental, peace, etc)/ Earth Day
14. American Jews' relationship to Israel*
15. History of Jews in Washington, DC/ Mid-Atlantic area
16. Diversity of Jewish American culture today--
    food, music, literature, arts, community organizations, summer camps, etc.

Grade Five

The fifth grade curriculum focuses on nineteenth century Jewish life in Western Europe, the roots of political Zionism and modern Israeli history and current events. Critical thinking skills-- regarding why and how oppressed groups often oppress others, the pros and cons of various forms of nationalism and other challenging concepts-- will be touched upon as a way of encouraging students to form their own opinions about Israel and Zionism.

Unit: Jewish life in Western Europe: 1500-1930

1. Difference between a ghetto and a shetl--
   Ghetto life and those outside (Donna Gracia)
2. Court Jews and re-admission to England,
   beginnings of capitalism and Jews' roles
3. Kabbalah and false messiahs*
4. Origins of Hasidism/ Baal Shem Tov and concept of rebbes
5. Jews and the Enlightenment (Jews being seen differently);
   Western style Haskalah/ Moses Mendelssohn and Baruch Spinoza
6. Jews and the French Revolution/ Rothschild family
7. German Jews, the beginnings of the Jewish Reform Movement,
   Marx and Freud*
8. Eastern style Haskalah and discrimination/Pogroms
   (review choices from the fourth grade to deal with this discrimination-
   i.e. move to the US, stay put
   and fight for a better world in Eastern Europe or go to Israel)
   The Jewish Labor Bund of Poland and Russia
   (those who chose to stay and who believed in the concept of Doikayt--
   that Jews homes are wherever they currently live;
   anti-Zionist-- Bundists including Arkady Kramer, Esther Frumkin, Vladimir Kosovsky)--
   A sense of the debate, in both Western and Eastern Europe,
   surrounding Zionism and the founding of a Jewish state.
9. Anti-semitism in Western Europe/ Alfred Dreyfus/ Emile Zola

Unit: Early Zionism(s) and plans for Israel

10. Growth of interest in Jewish Nationalism/ Zionism/ Theodore Herzl/First World Zionist Congress
    (choice to move to Israel-- fueled by Dreyfus case and other events)/ Balfour Declaration
11. Early decisions (selecting a language, etc.)
    and differing strands of Zionism;
    how land was acquired from Arabs;
    myth of Jews settling 'unsettled' land;
    Arab hostility against Jews/ the role of Great Britain and Turkey

Unit: Israel/ The First 50 years

12. The first five aliyot (concept of Aliyah);
    Early kibbutzim and Haganah (defense force), initial Palestinian abuses
13. Establishment of the State/ Law of Return/ Free Aliyah;
    The 1947-49 War, continued Palestinian abuses
14. The Six Day War (June, 1967) and increased immigration,
    Yom Kippur War (1973)*
15. Jewish/ Palestinian Israeli history and relations post 1973:
    Begin and Sadat; Peace Now; First Intifada; Rabin assassination
16. Second Intifada and current events/ human rights abuses
17. Modern Israeli life and culture/ issues-
    religions versus secular, divorce, etc.*

Grade Six

The sixth grade curriculum has three primary components: the Holocaust, comparative religion and comparative Judaism. The unit on comparative Judaism should include ritual and prayer practices and customs so that the students are familiar with what other Jews do, as well as believe. Parents should be as involved as possible with the Holocaust unit and as much time as possible should be given to processing the students' feelings and reactions to this period of Jewish history.

UNIT: The Holocaust/ Shoa/ De Kurbhn

1. Pre-Holocaust: Weimar Germany, Depression,
   Hitler's rise/closed borders to Jews, Nuremberg Laws
2. Early Holocaust: Kristelnacht/yellow stars/ghettos/Judenrat
3. Holocaust: How the World Responded
   (Denmark, Voyage of the St. Louis, etc.)
4. Holocaust: Culture/creativity-- music, poetry,
   finding the will to live amidst terror
5. ) Holocaust: Others targeted
   (Roma, gays/lesbians, Poles, unionists, people with disabilities, Jehovah's Witnesses)
6. Holocaust: Jewish resistance efforts
7. Other genocides during the twentieth century
8. Legacy of the Holocaust
   (Jewish commitment to tikkun o'lam/ civil rights/ human rights)
9. Post-Holocaust: Survivors/Refugees/ Immigration/Connection
   of the Holocaust to the establishment of Israel in 1948/ UN Declaration

Unit: Different ways of being Jewish in Israel and the United States

10. Being Jewish in Israel;
    fight for religious pluralism in Israel/Israel's government*
11. Being Jewish in the U.S: Different secular/ humanistic groups
    and movements/ rituals and practices
12. Being Jewish in the U.S: Different Orthodox/ Hassidic
    and Conservative groups and movements/ rituals and practices
13. Being Jewish in the U.S: Reform/ Reconstructionist
    and Renewal movements/ rituals and practices

Unit: Comparative Religions/ Philosophies/ Ways

14. Overview of Islam and Christianity/ rituals and practices
15. Overview of Hindus, Sikhs, Suffis, Buddhists/ rituals and practices
16. Overview of First Nations', African and others' rituals and practices

Unit: Religion and contemporary U.S. culture

17. Separation of Church and State/ religion and
    tolerance/ oppression in contemporary U.S. culture*

B'nei Mitsvah Year

Objectives

The objectives of the B'nei Mitsvah curriculum are to:

• assist in the rite of passage from childhood into young adulthood as a member of the secular humanistic Jewish community
• foster relationships and an inner drive within students so that they want to be actively Jewish for the rest of their lives
• develop an independent research project and presentation; and
• serve as a capstone for their prior education in the Machar Jewish Cultural School

Content

Since independent thought and original contributions form the basis for active Judaism, this curriculum outlines sessions, geared to assist students to form their own answers to the six questions described below. Each section includes both theory and practice.

1) How Can Someone Be Jewish and Not Believe In God?

• Theism Pros and Cons
• Practical Responses Based on Jewish Values

2) How Can I Become a Secular Humanistic Jewish Hero or Heroine?

• Great Precursors
• Picking a Hero or Heroine; What Would You Do in Their Shoes?

3) Is There Hope for Peace in Israel?

• History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
• Modern Israeli-Palestinian Peace Movements

4) How Can I Live A Life That Reflects Secular Humanistic Jewish Values?

• Civil Rights and Labor Movement History/Issues
• Living in a Predominantly Christian Society and Finding Allies
• How is Secular Humanistic Judaism Like and Different From Other Movements in Judaism? Tolerance and Internalized Oppression
• Using Jewish Art to Lighten the Spirit (poetry/literature and painting)

5) How Should I Respond to the Issue of Anti-Semitism?

• What is Anti-Semitism? Why Does it Exist?
• Why Should We Care About Anti-Semitism if it is Not Happening Here?

6) How Can I Conduct My B'nei Mitsvah Presentation?

• Topic development- Interview with Adults
• B'nei Mitsvah Class Presentation Outline B'nei
• Topic development- The Presentation (includes speech coaching)
• Letters to My Family

Machar Post-B'nei Mitsvah Teen Group

Every year, Machar's Teen Group Coordinator and Rabbi Ben, along with the teens (ages 13-18) put together a calendar of activities that include community action, social events, and group travel. The teen group meets approximately once a month to have fun and at the same time share common ideas and discuss issues that concern them all as teenagers, as secular humanists, and as Jews. Activities range from going out for dinner and to the theater and then having some discussion about the play, to meeting at a teen's house for a Jewish holiday party or to watch a movie and discuss it, to participating in a community-service activity as a group. Members of the Teen Group also attend the SHJ Teen Conclave to meet new Jewish friends from across the United States and Canada, who share common goals and who have common needs as secular humanistic youth.

For information regarding the Teen Group, contact Sonya@machar.org