Hebrews'Cool!

Beth Torah's Hebrews'Cool program is dedicated to teaching young children, members and non-members, about the Torah, Israel, Hebrew, and Jewish tradition. We promote the values of living Jewishly at a young age in order to inspire children to live according to the values of Judaism starting at a young age. Hebrews' Cool is one part of our growing family of programs for Jewish youth. 

Our View

A big problem facing Jewish youth today is a sense of apathy toward Judaism. We often hear our children complain that shul is boring, mainly because they do not understand Hebrew and therefore are confused by the meaning of the services. Due to a lack of comprehension, Judaism might seem boring to children; furthermore, perhaps there is a lack of educators that know how to present Judaism in a more exciting and modern way. It is our mission, passion, and joy to create a program that actually engages young people. With all of the other commitments children might have, it is difficult to send them to shul on a Sunday morning; however, with our exciting program, is might be a little bit easier to get them out of bed. 

Hebrew and T'fillah

Our goal is to give our students the background they need to participate in t'fillah services. In the early years, they will learn the basics of reading and writing, and they will be able to read and sing common prayers like the Shema. The Grade 1  students also engage in a project  called Ivrit B'Atzmah, in which they create their own Hebrew alphabets out of plasticine. 

History and Culture

Our goal is to showcase some of the vast wealth of literature and thought that has developed since the Hebrew Bible was written. In the early years, our students will be exposed to some of our folklore - from ancient tales of morality to the humour of Chelm, and stories that are still being written today. Our older students learn about modern Jewish values that derive from the writings

Israel

As our national homeland and the center of our culture, a study of Israel will be incorporated into just about everything the students do. In addition, they will learn about the modern state, and we will foster a strong connection between our students and Israel through story-telling, annual tzedakkah projects, and video projects. In particular, our Grade 4 class spends the year learning about the different regions of Israel, while our Grades 5 and 6 students study Israel's history from the birth of Zionism through the current conflict in the Middle East.