Limudei Kodesh

Menahel and Director of Limudei Kodesh: Rabbi Mayer Beller
Phone: 845-357-1515 Ext. 7
Email: mbeller@ashar.org

Kriah and Language
As the yesod (foundation) of limud HaTorah, Kriah and Lashon are the most important subjects taught at ASHAR.  Mastery of these subjects is the key to success in all Limudei Kodesh areas.  To that end, beginning in Early Childhood the letters of the aleph-bet and nikud, coupled with an immersion in Lashon are taught. In every grade, the Rabbeim and Morot are expected to spend ample time in class strengthening kriah skills. This is done through Tefilla, being maavir the Sedrah (with the inclusion of Targum in the upper grades boys’ classes), and the recitation of Tehillim on a regular basis.

As early as Nursery, ASHAR’s students are immersed in Lashon through various programming.  They receive their siddurim at the end of Kindergarten during a very special Chagigat HaSiddur extravaganza.  Practice in reading and language continues throughout the grades using the Tal-Am curriculum in grades one and two for Lashon purposes, and a variety of other sources in the other grades.  Children learn the various po’alim and how to conjugate verbs.  They practice writing and reading stories in Hebrew and speaking Hebrew as well.  Most of our graduates take the high school Hebrew Regents exam at the end of eighth grade.

Chumash
The greater part of first grade is spent on learning shorashim, prefixes and suffixes of words commonly found in Chumash.  Children spend much time on this in conjunction with other Lashon programs.  K’tiva (writing) is also extensively practiced.

At the beginning of grade two the students receive their Chumashim.  They complete Sefer B’reshit by the end of fourth grade, much of Sh’mot in grade five, and Bamidbar in grade six.  Rashi is introduced in third grade and the skills of decoding and understanding Rashi are honed through the eighth grade.

Our seventh grade Chumash curriculum focuses on Parshiyot Re’eh, Shoftim, Ki Teze, and Ki Tavo.  Although only four Parshiyot are taught, they contain a bit more than 175 of the 613 (Taryag) Mitzvot.  We teach these Parshiyot b’iyun (in depth) and we use the topics covered in them as a springboard to learning and understanding over 250 Mitzvot of the Torah.  Using many sources from Gemara, Medrashim, and Meforshim, our students truly learn the geography of Chamisha Chumshei Torah during this year.  A similar approach is used in eighth grade for Sefer Vayikra after an intense review of many parshiyot in preparation for the Board of Jewish Education High School Entrance Exam (BJE’s) administered in mid-November.

As an extension to the Chumash curriculum the students in the upper grades enjoy a variety of unique experiences including hands-on kashering of chicken and hilchot cheilev (Re’eh).  When the opportunity presents itself, we take our students to a farm where they experience the halachot of differentiation of kosher vs. non-kosher animals, dinei b’chor and dinei sh’chita, to name a few.  The boys also have a safrut workshop where they learn hilchot tefillin, how to organize the parshiot therein, and how to sew the batim.  There are also trips for different grades including the Torah Museum of Boro Park and the Children’s Museum on Eastern Parkway. 

Navi
The goal in Navi is for our students to have a broad knowledge of Neviim Rishonim.  Beginning in fourth grade they learn Sefer Yehoshua, followed by Shoftim, Shmuel Aleph, Shmuel Bet, and Melochim in the respective grades.

We focus on the story line and chronology of events in addition to key phrases such as mi amar l’mi, al mi ne’emar, places, and ishei haTanach (people) mentioned in Ta"nach.

As in Chumash the beginning of eighth grade is spent on intensive review of Sifrei Yehoshua through Shmuel in preparation for the BJE’s.

Gemara/Torah She'baal Peh
Every aspect of Jewish life revolves around Halacha which is based on Gemara.  Learning Gemara is a lifelong adventure which although difficult at the beginning, due to the language and style of the Shakla V’tarya (questions and answers), only becomes more enjoyable as one experiences the sweetness of the words of Chazal. 

The boys' classes begin with Mishna in fourth grade (Mesechtot Brachot and Sukkah), and then move onto Gemara from fifth through the eighth grade, beginning with Tefillat Hashachar in grade five.  We learn Eilu Metziut in grade six and a cycle of  Lulav Hagazul, Arvei P’sachim, or Makkot in grades 7 and 8.

Realizing how difficult and frustrating Gemara can be for elementary students, with a generous grant from the Avi Chai Foundation, we are using the Gemara Berurah program for teaching Gemara.  Gemara Berurah, an interactive system for teaching Gemara was developed in Eretz Yisrael by a group of educators and Rabbanim.  Students become attuned to the genius of Chazal and the intricate logic of Gemara by learning how to flow-chart any sugya in Shas.  They work in groups or independently and are challenged to use their flow-charts to read a Gemara and understand its sequence. They use function keys for specific types of statements in the Gemara such as "tanu rabbanan," "kushya" and more.  With this system they also learn some background of each Tanna and Ammorah mentioned in the Gemara which gives them a greater appreciation for the order of statements.  While our talmidim may not learn as many blatt Gemara as in other Yeshivot they nevertheless learn each sugya thoroughly and with clarity.  Gemara for them is alive!

Although girls do not formally learn Gemara at ASHAR, they do have Torah She’baal Peh (T"SBP) a number of times per week where they use topics from the text of the Gemara as a springboard to Halacha, Hashkafa, and provocative discussions.  We are currently looking into the possibility of Gemara Berurah as a venue for this curriculum as well.

Halacha and Yediot Klaliyot
We have found that many children in Elementary Yeshivat (boys and girls), from all backgrounds lack a basic knowledge of Jewish/Torah information.  We have decided to incorporate a full Yediot Klaliyot curriculum at ASHAR.  With the help of Rabbi Binyamin Plotzker (5th grade Rebbi) we are introducing a sequential Yediot Klaliyot curriculum for grades 1-8. Students will be expected to know information in a wide range of topics from things as basic as the Jewish months, and the Yomim Tovim in each chodesh to the 39 melachot of Shabbat and the names of all the masechtot in Shas.  They will learn the various types of b’rachot as well as Gematria and Rashei Teivot.  Our goal is to start simple and gradually increase the information from year to year to prevent it from becoming too cumbersome.  We are planning various incentives for this program such as contests and prizes.  

Jewish History
Begining this year, we will integrate elements of Jewish History into the upper grades' history curriculum and as such the eighth grade will study the events leading up to and the horrors of the Churban Europe (Holocaust).