Hebrew at Yachad
Yachad utilizes the Behrman House Hebrew pedagogy, focusing on decoding and learning Hebrew letters through commonly seen Jewish words and phrases. The Behrman House program includes two levels of learning, starting with Shalom Hebrew for our beginners and moving towards Hebrew in Harmony for our advanced learners who are ready to tackle prayer-based Hebrew.
Yachad focuses on 5 main Hebrew elements:
Tefila (prayer) in Hebrew (K-6th Grade)
Students attend tefillah at Yachad in two forms, traditional prayer and tefilah electives. This allows students to learn prayer through a medium of thier preference (ex. art, music, drama). We also ask that families attend Shabbat morning services to experince tefilah as a family unit.
Jewish Life Vocabulary (K-6th Grade)
By infusing Hebrew vocabulary and letters into the learning environment at Yachad, we aim to expose learners to the Hebrew that will enable them to participate in Jewish life in America, ie phrases like mazel tov (congratulations!), bikur cholim (visiting the sick), and b’tzelem Elohim (in the image of God; as well as words like t’shuvah (repentance), tanach (the Jewish bible), and mezuzah. Familiarity with these words not only lays the groundwork for successful Hebrew decoding, it also transmits important Jewish values and cultural elements.
Hebrew Decoding – (3rd – 8th grade)
Students begin with Behrman House’s Shalom Hebrew program which focuses on decoding quickly and accurately. The program incorporates key cultural words (shalom, mitzvah, mezuzah, tzedakah), movement, and writing practice to give students a range of modalities. Our most advanced hebrew learners use the Hebrew in Harmony program which teach Hebrew through prayers that they will see during Tefilah.