Ahavat Yisrael, Love of Israel, is a core value of the Blanche Bayar Religious School. We want our students to make a personal and lasting connection to Israel. This winter we will give our students in grades 4-7 an opportunity to explore multiple perspectives of Israel’s complexities through meaningful discussion and creative expression.
Using age-appropriate texts, music and creative activities, our learners will analyze the meaning of Israel’s national anthem Ha Tikvah (“The Hope,”) reflecting on their own understanding of hope, home and identity. Using fictional characters who share their relationship to Ha Tikvah and their hopes for Israel, students will be introduced to the diverse voices of Jewish Israeli’s, Arab Israeli citizens, and American Jews. They will reflect on how the ideas in Ha Tikvah carry many meanings for different people. The curriculum was written by The Jewish Education Project, under the auspices of UJA Federation, New York.
Many of our children feel proud of Israel. Others may wrestle with how to love and support Israel while holding concerns about some of her realities. The curriculum, “Hatikvah: Our Hope for Israel” consists of six carefully crafted lessons. It is designed to meet varied concerns with care and integrity. It affirms the strong connection Jews around the world feel to Israel, while inviting learners to explore the challenges and complexities of that connection with empathy, curiosity, and creativity. Our goal is to ground Ahavat Yisrael in thoughtful engagement and real, age-appropriate understanding.
Our teachers will facilitate values-based learning in a safe, inclusive classroom environment, empowering students to ask questions, express their feelings, and listen to perspectives different from their own. Our parents will be apprised of lesson objectives and content along the way.
Here is an overview of the concepts and themes of each lesson:
1. Hope and Homeland: Why an anthem matters
Lihyot am hofshi be-artzeinu: To be a free people in our own land
2. Hope and Prayer: Ha Tikvah and Israeli Jews
Ha-tikvah bat shnot alpayim: The hope of two thousand years
3. Hope and Belonging: Ha Tikvah and Arab citizens of Israel
Nefesh yehudi: A Jewish soul
4. Homeland and Diaspora: Ha Tikvah and American Jews
Ayin le-tzion tzofiyah: An eye looks to Zion
5. Holding on to Hope: Ha Tikvah and the hostages
Od lo avdah tikvateinu: Our hope is not lost
6. Hope for Tomorrow: An anthem for a better future
Kadimah! Onward!
“Our hope is not yet lost, the hope of 2,000 years – to be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.”
Patti Kahn
BBRS Religious School Director
