The beauty of a Jewish day school (JDS) education – and something that sets it apart from non-Jewish independent day schools – is the ability to provide top-notch General Studies curriculum in tandem with Judaic Studies. Students adapt to this robust dual curriculum which has an unexpected yet positive benefit – Jewish day school students are prepared for a transition to college life because they’ve already mastered time-management and understand the connection between Jewish identity and intellectual growth.
JDS students are real-world ready for a post-high school world because their educational experience has armed them with spiritual, religious, and academic guidance, preparing them to be confident, knowledgeable Jews. Alumni emerge as natural leaders because they view the world through a Jewish lens, using ethical and moral resources and skills to make educated decisions in their everyday lives.
When the secular world intersects with the Judaic world, amazing learning happens. At Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, as the synagogue and school communities prepared for the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, their middle school students were engaged in a unique cross-curricular project that seamlessly blended science with Judaic subjects, embodying BT’s commitment to holistic education.
Judaics integrate with science beginning in the Lower School at Beth Tfiloh, but can take on more sophisticated subjects once students enter Middle School. During the High Holidays this year, Beth Tfiloh 5th grade students explored how the lunar cycle plays a significant role in the Jewish calendar, while also examining the moon’s scientific properties and phases. In their Judaic classes, students learned about Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of the new month), and how the holiday of Rosh Hashanah – which spans two days – is tied to the moon’s phases.
The first question posed to their young scientists was, “Why do Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah for 2 days? Why not just one?” To answer this, students learned that in the time of the Temple, the official start of each new month began only after a witness could visually see the moon. If the evening was overcast and the moon wasn’t visible, the witnesses might need to wait another night for visual confirmation. If witnesses saw the moon on the second day, they could be sure that the new month had begun. Rosh Hashanah is a holiday that begins with the new moon in the fall so understanding the moon cycle made it easy for people to know each year when the Jewish New Year had begun.
Themes of renewal and reflection, central to the Jewish High Holidays, are reinforced through this exploration of the lunar calendar, linking the heavens with the spiritual cycles (also known as the “moonphase” in Judaism). Students also learned that the full moon always falls in the middle of the month. Jewish holidays are seasonal and occur at roughly the same time each year, so Rosh Hashanah was easy for people to predict, even in the days of the first Temple.
During science classes, Beth Tfiloh students study the phases of the moon, the surface conditions of the moon (including its extreme temperatures and lack of atmosphere), the moon’s effect on tides (the gravitational relationship with the Earth), and how the moon appears to us throughout its 28-day cycle. To illustrate this point, students created art projects, painting wooden discs to represent the five key phases of the moon. This kind of cross-curricular integration at Beth Tfiloh not only deepens students’ understanding of their subjects but also nurtures their appreciation for the interconnectedness of all knowledge. Beth Tfiloh is committed to having their students explore all subjects because understanding the world shapes their students’ intellectual and spiritual growth.
