Holiday – Haggim curriculum – 5th Grade
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings:
Admitting mistakes is the first step to doing Teshuvah (repentance); RH/YK is a time to reflect on our
ations and to do Teshuvah for where we missed the mark; We celebrate God’s creation of the world and
partner with God in the ongoing process of tikkun olam (repairing the world), starting with ourselves; Our
relationship with God is complex.
Content:
Texts from the Machzor that relate to our theme of freedom and the students’ relationship with God.
(students will pay particular attention to text #2 (see above), which discusses our relationship to God-if we are
free people or if we are slaves (and how that relationship might differ depending on our status); Text from
Maimonides that lists the steps of Teshuvah G’murah (1.admit your mistake 2.promise not to do it again 3.say
sorry to those you wronged 4.be in a similar situation and choose not to miss the mark again); Students will
look up the names of the holiday in the Torah and discuss the different ideas behind the names (Yom Teruah –
day of the shofar blast, Yom Zikhron Teruah—day of remembering the shofar blast,Yom haDin—day of
judgment)
Skills:
Students will be able to state the names for the holiday and reflect on their actions (as they strive to
become better human beings); locate the text for the holiday in the Torah (Numbers 29:1 and Leviticus 23:24)
Sukkot
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings:
Freedom can be experience when we step outside of our comfort zone; rules can help us feel more
free.
Content:
Masekhet Rabbinic Tractate) Sukkot – Chapter 1, Mishnah 2: the laws of building a kosher sukkah.
Skills:
Students will be able to explain the laws of a kosher sukkah and define the terms “pasul”
(unacceptable) and “kasher” (acceptable. Other skills: students will be able to apply math skills to make a
sukkah that is to scale.
Hanukkah
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings:
It is important to publicize our people’s miracles and to be proud of our Jewish identity; Hanukkah is a
time to celebrate religious freedom.
Content:
Babylonian Talmud, Masekhet Shabbat 23b
Skills:
Explain the concepts of Pirsumei Nissa (publicizing the miracle) and Tadir VeShe’ano Tadir, Tadir Kodem
(when you have a frequent event and an infrequent event, the frequent one takes precedence); Rank the
importance of Shabbat candles, Shabbat Kiddush and Hanukkah candles; Explain why the rabbis decided that
Hanukkah candles were more important than Shabbat Kiddush; Articulate why they feel proud to be Jewish.
Purim
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings:
Freedom of religion, saving human life and preserving personal dignity are important values that may
cause someone to endanger their life or status; we have the freedom to make a choice, even in difficult
situations.
Content:
Students will study three sections from Megillat Esther (text in Hebrew with either vocabulary list or
translation) and evaluate the actions of the main character in each section along these lines: Vashti—1:10-22
(the King asks Vashtito do something that she does not feel comfortable with and degrades her personal
dignity); Mordechai—3:1-7 (Haman asks Mordechai to bow down to him and wants to deny Mordechai his
religious freedom); Esther—4:13-17 (Esther decides to plead before the King, even though she risks her own
life, for the sake of the Jewish people)
Skills/students will be able to…:
…read and translate the text from Hebrew to English; …demonstrate empathy for the characters in the
story and analyze why they made the choices they did; …reflect on whether they would have made the same
choices, if they were in the same position as the characters in the Megillah.
Other skills: Students will be able to read Megillah to the whole school, chant with special Megillah
trope (cantillation), recite the blessings before and after reading the Megillah.
Pesach/Passover
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings:
In every generation, we are supposed to see ourselves as if we left Egypt and re-experience the exodus
from Egypt anew; freedom and change can be scary, but it is necessary for growth and maturation (as this
holiday occurs in the spring when 5th graders are thinking about graduating from JCDS and attending new
schools, this theme is particularly poignant); bringing about freedom and change take time and effort; the
Passover seder is a ritual that unifies all Jews across the generations and geography; the seder is an
opportunity to bring creativity and a constructivist approach to the traditional text.
Content:
The Exodus section of B’Shallah should coincide with the preparation for Passover learning. In the
B’Shallah unit, students learn about: Pesah Mitzrayim (the laws of Passover as celebrated the one time, as the
Israelites were leaving Egypt) vs. Pesah Dorot (the laws of Passover for future generations; Midrashim
(Rabbinic legends) about splitting of the sea, which allows students to empathize with the Israelites who were
leaving and may have felt scared; students prepare for whole school model seder by practicing their parts to
read aloud, as well as a creative project. (In the past, students made pillows to recline on. They chose the
design and wrote skits about the most important verses in the Exodus story to present at the model seder).
Skills/students will be able to…:
…empathize with the Israelites who left Egypt and apply their experience to their own lives; …review
all the major events that led up to the Exodus and explain their role in bringing the Israelites freedom. Other
skills: Students will be able to recite key passages from the Haggadah in Hebrew and explain their meaning;
sing the key songs from the Haggadah.
Yom Ha’Atzma’ut (Israel Independence day)
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings:
Freedom is worth fighting for; Israel’s freedom allows all Jews to have a homeland; Yom Ha’Atzma’ut is
a modern holiday that reflects a modern miracle.
Content:
This unit should coincide with the Lashon (Hebrew Language) unit, Lamah Da’ag HaHodesh HaHadash?
(Why did the new holiday worry?)
Skills:
Students will be able to: explain how Yom Ha’Atzma’ut is similar to the other holidays; reflect on why
the state of Israel is essential for the Jewish people’s freedom; sing the tefillah Avinu She’Bashamayim – the
Prayer for the State of Israel.
Shavuot (Festival of Weeks)
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings:
Freedom comes with responsibility – laws are necessary to maintain and preserve freedom; Jews
become completely free by serving God; our ancestors received important life lessons that they have passed
down to us and that we will pass down to our children; Jews are connected through the generations by our
laws and our values.
Content:
The Torah portion in Exodus, Yitro will be studied. Students will learn about the Israelites’ journey
through the wilderness and their numerous complaints (Exodus ch. 17); Yitro’s suggestion to delegate
leadership (Exodus ch. 18); the preparation for and the receiving of the 10 Commandments (chapters 19-20)
Skills / Students will be able to…:
…explain why laws are necessary to maintain and preserve freedom; explain the main customs of
Shavuot.