This year our Hebrew High program will consist of two offerings, one for 8th through 10th graders, with 10th graders celebrating their Confirmation at the end of the year, and the other for 11th and 12th graders with an eye toward college and beyond.

Grades 8-10: The Jewish Lens

Imagine a classroom where students are so immersed in talking about a photograph that time stands still. A space where young teenagers passionately debate and connect around issues of Jewish values, history and text. Where they research Jewish communities - and to boot, learn the craft of photography.

Welcome to The Jewish Lens experience!

The Jewish Lens is a comprehensive curriculum that uses the work of renowned photographer Zion Ozeri as a stimulus for exploring Jewish values, identity, and tradition. Ozeri's photographs capture the unity and diversity of the world's Jewish community - reflecting the values and traditions that have defined Jewish existence around the world for centuries.

By analyzing and discussing Ozeri's work, students make important links between the images, key Jewish values, and traditional Jewish texts. Students also conduct research to learn more about the diverse Jewish communities reflected in Ozeri's photos. They then focus on their own communities - documenting their communal values on film and curating on-site exhibits of their work. The project culminates with an exhibition that ties together the work of students from all participating schools.

Grades 11-12: "Jewish U"

You've applied. You've been accepted. You've packed up. And now, finally, off to college you go, leaving your high school days behind, saying goodbye to your parents, your siblings, and your friends. But, something you shouldn't leave behind is your Judaism. This course is a discussion about preparing yourself Jewishly for leaving your parents' home BEFORE you go to college. 

Jewish U is a hands-on guide to living Jewishly on campus and for the rest of your life. How do you observe your first high holidays away from home? How do you decide if you should join a fraternity or sorority? How do you find the right place to eat during Passover? How do you talk to non-Jewish roommates about Judaism? How do you find common ground with Jews from different backgrounds? How do you respond to anti-semitism or anti-Israel activities and comments? How do you react to missionizing from Christians or messianic "Jews" (i.e. Jews for Jesus)?  How do you act if you're invited to a wedding, shiva or brit? How do you make personal and ethical decisions in a Jewish spirit? How do you find and create a Jewish home for yourself on campus and beyond. College is about diversity, offering up countless options, choices that YOU will now have to make on your own.

This course is based on the book Jewish U: A Contemporary Guide for the Jewish College Student by Scott Aaron.  It doesn't tell you what to believe or what to do, but it is an invaluable resource for those about to be presented with these myriad choices. Alongside the many contemporary resources that he recommends, Scott Aaron incorporates what the Jewish texts have to say about interacting with others, making decisions, and ethical living.