Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys

Judaic Studies Curriculum

To challenge each student on his level and to maximize the impact of the classes, CYHSB Judaic classes are grouped by level. In his four years at CYHSB, a student will study:

• Gemara: In Gemara, students study at least one tractate (mesechta) in each of the following three areas (sedarim): Holidays (moed), Marriage (nashim) and Civil Law (nezikin). There is a focus in each class on skills and the ability to read the text with commentaries.
• Chumash: An in depth study of four out of the five Books of Moses that balances depth and breadth, as well as textual skills.
• Halacha: Students study the development of the laws from Har Sinai to today in many areas of Jewish life, including but not limited to Shabbat and Holidays, Blessings and Prayers, Kashrut, Tzitzit and Tefillin.
• Ivrit / Zionism & Names, not Numbers: Over 3 years our students learn conversational Hebrew language with a focus on grammar and practical applications for life in Israel today. Upon completing the Ivrit curriculum our seniors split their year between two impactful courses on Zionism and Holocaust study. Our Zionism class focuses on the current Middle East crisis and the arguments necessary to combat anti-Israel sentiments on university campuses. Our Names, Not Numbers program involves the production of a Holocaust oral history film including the interviewing of local Holocaust survivors.
• Navi: Our Navi curriculum includes select books from the Early and Late Prophets and Writings including Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings and the 5 Megillot.
• Cooperative Study/Beit Midrash: To hone students’ textual skills and to prepare them for post secondary Torah study, this directed self study of Talmud and various Jewish texts is led by the Kollel Torah M’Tziyon.