Core Themes &
Learning Areas
TORAH &
JEWISH HOLIDAYS
Students explore key Torah stories—from Creation to Avraham, Sarah, and Yosef—through storytelling, dramatization, and project-based experiences. As they progress, students delve into weekly parshiot, uncovering deeper meanings and values through class discussions, art, skits, and hands-on projects. Jewish holidays are brought to life with multisensory activities that highlight traditions, mitzvot, and their personal and communal significance.
TEFILLAH (PRAYER)
The tefillah program develops both familiarity and emotional connection. Students learn foundational prayers through song, movement, and discussion. As they grow, they expand fluency in morning prayers, engage with their own personalize siddurim, fostering gratitude, reflection, and a meaningful relationship with God.
MIDDOT &
JEWISH VALUES
Character development is central to Judaic learning at ElRay. Through stories, role-play, visual arts, and class discussions, students explore core middot such as kindness, respect, and honesty. In later stages, they engage in project-based units like “Our Middot in Action,” where they design and present mitzvah projects that put Jewish ethics into practice. SEL is woven throughout to help students internalize and live these values daily.
HEBREW LANGUAGE & LEARNING TO READ HEBREW
Students begin with joyful exposure to Hebrew letters and sounds using Montessori-inspired materials, movement games, and thematic centers. They progress to decoding simple words, prayers, and classroom vocabulary through multi-sensory, inquiry-based instruction. Hebrew reading groups, personalized siddurim, word books, and interactive games make Hebrew literacy both meaningful and developmentally appropriate. Instruction is differentiated to support confidence and fluency at each child’s level.
JEWISH IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY
Students build a personal and collective sense of belonging to the Jewish people. They explore questions like “Who am I as a Jew?” through storytelling, mitzvah activities, and classroom celebrations. As they mature, students take on community-focused projects, researching needs and leading mitzvah-based initiatives, reinforcing the values of chesed, responsibility, and active contribution.