Amitim Curriculum

Every Amitim student will have two classes per session, one class focusing on synagogue skills, and the other, Jewish studies. This year, the Jewish studies classes will focus on Jewish lifecycle and becoming a responsible Jewish community member and citizen. We aim to teach students at their level. Most students will learn:

Tefillah (prayer)	Jewish Studies
How to have an Aliyah to the Torah	How to study Torah and write a drash
Torah service	Full spectrum of Jewish lifecycle moments
Musaf service	Why being Jewish matters
Torah trope and Torah reading*	How to fully participate in mitzvot of Jewish life
Haftarah trope (optional)	God concepts and experiences
Brachot for foods and other mitzvot	Tzedakah and Tikkun Olam
Once a student has mastered the above list, they will be offered lessons on other parts of the service including Shacharit and Hallel (optional)	How and when to properly don Tallit and Tefillin

*supplementary tutoring will likely be required for most students to learn their Torah portion

MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE LEARNING:

Sometimes bar or bat mitzvah preparation seems so focused on a particular date and the details of the ceremony and the party. When that is the main focus of a person’s study, we might ask what happens next? In Amitim, rather than focus only on service leadership and ceremony, we are cultivating humans who we hope will want to make life choices based on Jewish traditions, values, and how they see themselves placed in the family of things.

Jewish Studies: LifeCycle

Judaism has rituals for all aspects of life from birth to death (and even beyond!). Amitim students will learn about different practices and then reflect on their own experiences. Students will also DO Judaism, participating in lifecycle moments of the community. Each learning unit is designed for students to reflect on their experiences and curiosity. In addition to examining the stories of their own families, students will engage in the life of the congregation with visits to new parents, to a Jewish cemetery and a Mikvah, to Kosher kitchens, and to a shiva minyan. 

Tefilla Training

Students will learn to chant and lead in small groups determined by each student’s background, skill and learning goals. Services that will be taught include: Torah service and Musaf. Depending on the student and the ceremony, they may also study shacharit, or Hallel. 

Torah and Haftarah Chanting

All students must learn trope, the system for Torah leyning (also known as chanting.) Some students  may be able to take this on during their Amitim class. Others will require individual work with an outside tutor to master their particular Torah and Haftarah chanting. Tutoring should begin about a year before the ceremony. See below for more on Tutors.

Drash Writing

Each student will explore the Torah portion assigned to their bar or bat mitzvah date. With the Rabbi’s guidance and input, each student will develop ideas, an outline, and find sources to write their derash (their Torah teaching.). Each student will meet with the Rabbi several times during Amitim, and must plan to work on the drash between sessions. Some families will also work with an adult outside of Amitim. This may be their tutor or another mentor. 

The final draft should be sent to the Rabbi two weeks prior to the bar/bat mitzvah ceremony.

Parent Workshops

Over the course of the year, parents are invited to come to workshops led by the Rabbi and by congregants who have parented through this life-cycle ritual process recently. The dates are TBD and while we encourage parent participation, it is optional.

The topics and teachers this year include: Yossi on Blessings, Rabbi Chai on “Why are we doing this?” and deepening our understanding of the Shabbat morning services, Jessica Wilan on Planning all the details, April Schlanger on Tying tzitzit, Rebecca Millikin & Max Mankita will lead a 2 part Tzedaka workshop, Mark Deutsch on the Teen Midrasha program, and Elena Reinin on parenting your preteen. Dates TBD.