MUS Judaic Studies
Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Judaic Studies 6 - Survey of Torah
The Torah, comprised of the Five Books of Moses, represents the core of Jewish values, ethics,
narratives, and beliefs. It tells the story of our beginnings as a family and how we evolved into a
nation with a 'constitution' and a connection to G-d and the Land of Israel. Our 6th graders will be
revisiting some of the Biblical heroes with whom they are already familiar, but now they will be looking
at the text itself. They will be honing their critical thinking skills as they examine the narratives of
biblical events as well as the messages behind. Some of these messages and concepts will focus on
who we are as a people, how we view the universe, how we relate and interact with others, and how
events shaped us. We will examine the text of the Torah through three different, overlapping lenses:
P'shat (literal or simple meaning), D’rash (commentaries and rabbinic interpretations), and personal
Midrash (giving the students a vehicle to apply their own understandings and world views to the text).
As students of Torah, they will be asked to engage in the Jewish exhortation: hafoch ba v'hafoch ba,
kulei ba - turn the Torah over and over for everything is in it.
Judaic Studies 7 - Jewish Values
This course will explore Jewish Values through the lens of traditional stories and sacred texts. Biblical
and Talmudic texts, Jewish folklore, and modern literature will be used to introduce the values.
Biblical characters and modern Jews who exemplify Jewish values will be used to further bring the
values to life. Students will utilize critical thinking skills in order to foster ethical understandings of the
connection between Judaism and their own lives.
Judaic Studies 8 – Mishna
This course will serve as an introduction into rabbinic literature, specifically, students will examine the
teachings of our ancient sages as found in the Mishnah, the first major written compilation of the
Jewish oral traditions (or "Oral Torah") and the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. In this course,
students will be able to understand "Talmudic thinking" and the way our sages began to develop
rabbinic Judaism over the next two millennia.
High School (Grades 9-12)
Core Courses
Survey of Jewish History (9th grade)
This required course will explore major events in Jewish History from the Biblical period of Abraham
through the Holocaust and modern day Israel. We will explore explicitly the following topics: Origins
and Exile - 2000 – 538 BCE, Diaspora and Diversity – 515 BCE – 1500 CE, Enlightenment and
Emancipation – 1500 CE – 1800 CE, Anti-Semitism and Zionism – 1800 CE – 1940 CE, and
Devastation and Rebirth 1940 CE – 2000 CE. Students will be challenged to weave together Jewish
history as it was externally impacted by outside forces and internally shaped as a result of these
forces. This course is a survey course, which means that we explicitly only cover a small portion of
the numerous possible avenues for study and learning. This class is designed to increase
students' historical literacy and their ability to make meaning from historical events and the telling
of those events. Class discussions, assignments and assessments are designed to give each
student the tools necessary to become an independent and aware critical reader.
Talmud (10th grade)
This course, an introduction to the study of Talmud and the application of its wisdom and values to
contemporary life, is divided into two sections. Section one gives a general introduction to the writing,
style and mode of thinking. After this general introduction, the second section will examine selections
from the Talmud, exploring the wisdom, aphorisms, and thought processes embedded in this massive
work. Through this exploration, students will gain an understanding not just of what and how the
rabbis thought nearly two millennia ago, but also how their writings are relevant to us today.
Jewish Thought (11th grade)
Jewish Thought is a field of Jewish studies that deals with the products of Jewish thought and culture
throughout the ages, as well as their historical development. In this course, students will survey
some of the great Jewish thinkers throughout Jewish history that have helped formulate and shape
Jewish thought. Students will also discuss the connections, parallels, and influences, between
Jewish ways of thought and philosophy in general.
History of Modern Israel and the Holocaust
This course will move chronologically through the history of modern Israel and the history of the
Holocaust. The purpose of this course is to imbue students with the knowledge of this time period
and to focus on how the facts and skills learned will enable students to succeed on college
campuses and beyond. This course will empower students to identify dangerous policies that
appear to be benign on the surface, but have a much more sinister intent embedded within them –
killing is never the first step. Furthermore, students are asked to think about how one might feel if a
college classmate, or student organization, goes on a rant about how Israel only earned statehood
because of the Holocaust and it’s time we stop feeling sorry for them; after all, look at how they treat
the Palestinians. This course will empower students to respond intellectually rather than
emotionally. Finally, this course will act as the preparation for the students' trip to Poland and Israel
in the spring.
Electives
American Jewish History (Semester)
This course is a survey of Jewish history in America. We will be examining the religious, cultural,
political, and economic activities of American Jews from the colonial period to the present. Students
will explore the ways Jewish tradition has adapted to America, how patterns of communal life have
been transformed, what the relationship of American Jews has been to other Americans and to the
international Jewish community, and how American Jewish identities have been created from Jews’
dual impulses for integration and distinctiveness. We will also use the Jewish experience as a means
of evaluating different definitions of American national identity.
Jewish Ethics (Semester)
The way we live is who we are. This course seeks to provide students with the tools necessary to
make good ethical decisions based on Jewish ethics rooted in Jewish text. The course will explore
issues we face in our everyday lives through the lens of ethical texts. Our course will look at the
development of the Musar movement as well as Pirkei Avot, Ethics of our Fathers. We will look at our
reactions and views of current events as well as how original Jewish texts have dealt with these
views. Students should expect to develop a sense of how Jews confront ethical dilemmas and to
relate these ethical dilemmas to our everyday lives.
Jewish Sustainability: Food, Peoplehood, and Planet (Semester)
Sustainability is defined as the ability to meet the needs of the present without jeopardizing the
potential for people in the future to meet their needs. Through the lens of Jewish food culture, Jewish
Peoplehood, and Jewish Environmentalism, this course addresses how our interaction with the
natural world, plays a central role in Jewish sustainability. This course will also look at the history of
Jewish environmental thought and activism, the Jewish Food Movement, and other contemporary
efforts in the Jewish world to create a more sustainable society and world.
My Israel: A Survey of Israeli Society, Culture and Politics
This is a semester course focusing on the modern State of Israel. Lessons will cover everything from
Israeli culture to daily life in Israel. We will look at the causes and effects of major events, examine
chief players in Israel’s past and present, and immerse ourselves in the study of Israeli society. We
will also examine the geo-political status in Israel today, study media bias, and learn techniques for
arguing and refuting anti-Israel comments. The class will also include a wide range of activities
focusing on Israeli culture, including cooking, dance, music and much more. My Israel: A Survey of
Israeli Society, Culture and Politics will enrich your understanding and appreciation of Israel today