Goldie Margolin High School for Girls

Judaic Studies Curriculum

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

• Chumash:The Chumash curriculum stresses the development of textual skills and the comprehension of classical exegesis as well as modern commentators such as Malbim, Rav Hirsch, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and Nechama Leibowitz. Through the analysis of events, personalities and law, the study of Chumash is also made relevant and becomes a wellspring of ideas and the foundation for a Torah worldview.
• Navi:The goal of the Navi curriculum is for students to understand the historical framework in which the prophets lived and to obtain the skills needed to continue learning Navi on their own. Over a four-year period, students cover the entire scope of the biblical period.
• Torah She-Ba'al Peh:The Oral Law curriculum provides students with an intensive introduction to many of the classic works of Halacha as well as an understanding for the process through which Jewish Law is derived, determined and applied.
• Zionism:In this two year course the students explore the Jewish People’s religious and historic connections to Eretz Yisrael as well as the events and circumstances that led to the establishment of the State of Israel.
• Jewish History:Students receive a broad yet sophisticated overview of the history of the Jewish People from the Second Temple Period through the Middle Ages.
• Jewish Thought:This course examines many of the basic tenets of Jewish tradition. Students explore their own identity as Jews in a secular modern world. Philosophical questions are raised and the approaches offered by both classical and contemporary thinkers are studied, discussed, and debated.
• Be'ur Tefilah:The goal of this course is to give students a deeper understanding and appreciation of prayer and the siddur. It looks at the philosophy of prayer, the laws that govern prayer, and a woman’s unique obligation to pray.