In this course, we study three of the five Megillot. We read the three Megillot which are read in the spring: Esther, Shir HaShirim, and Ruth. These three works all grapple with themes of love, power, politics, identity, and the definition of family. Additionally, these texts are the only three books in Tanakh in which…

What we believe about the End of Days matters, as it affects the way we understand our life’s purpose. In this course, we explore philosophical texts about the Messiah and Olam Haba (the World to Come), the way in which Jewish beliefs have changed over time, and what it means to say we believe.

Since Israel’s founding more than 70 years ago, Israel has struggled to become both a nation like all other nations and the unique Jewish state, a democratic nation of the world and simultaneously the national homeland for the Jewish people. Israeli society is complex and multi-dimensional, comprised of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and others. There…

What is the one thing that families want students to accomplish before going off to college? Of course, they would say, “Be a mensch!” Join us on an exploration of Mussar (virtue-based ethics), studying texts in English and Hebrew from sources including Mesillat Yesharim , Chovot HaLevavaot, and Pirke Avot that are meant to lead…

In this course, students investigate the major trends in Jewish history between the fall of the Second Commonwealth in the middle of the first century and the emergence of the Zionist movement at the end of the nineteenth century. Students uncover and examine these trends by performing the job of the historian: analyzing and synthesizing…

No full description in the guide. Mentioned in a note: offered in Grade 12 for those interested in a more challenging option featuring significant group work and independent learning.

People make choices. Choices make history. What factors lead people to make the choices they make? What are the inherent aspects of human beings that can result in either being perpetrators of evil, bystanders, or upstanders? To begin answering these questions, we “face history” by discussing human behavior in the Holocaust and in events leading…

This course is designed to introduce students to some salacious stories that are part of our Biblical tradition and thereafter investigate how the Midrash, commentaries, and Talmud resolve inherent tensions and problems in the canonical text. We explore how biblical and rabbinic literature address basic human impulses and imperfections, and we discuss how power dynamics…

Scientists and doctors can do things today that were inconceivable only a few years ago. But just because things can be done, does it mean that they should be done? Furthermore, our ways of understanding humans continue to develop and evolve. This class explores how our traditional, yet dynamic, religion has been confronting some of…

Jews and non-Jews have expressed their interpretations of biblical texts and ideas through a variety of artistic forms and media through the centuries. In this course, we widen the traditional scope of biblical drashah to include classical and modern artistic representations of famous biblical narratives. The course extends students’ exposure to the Tanakh and continues…

How has Jewish law and practice addressed gender roles and sexuality over time? This course explores the complex relationship between ritual practice and accepted cultural norms. From classical rabbinic sources to modern debates, we see how changing views on these topics have influenced how we practice Judaism today.

Over the past 100 years, the world has changed at a rate unimaginable in any prior generation, and the COVID-19 era has made questions about tech use even more complex. As technology advances at an exponential rate, our abilities often outpace our conversations about what is the right thing to do. From programming AI through…