Seventh Grade Program
At Temple Isaiah, we believe that the seventh grade year is all about building community. We offer seventh grade class on Sundays only during second session so the entire class can be together and get to know each other on a deeper level.
B’NAI MITZVAH UNIVERSITY (BMU) , is designed so that the B’nai Mitzvah process includes parents and creates a close community of families who are experiencing the same life cycle event. The program encourages parents and their 7th graders to discuss the meaning of becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah, engage in dialogue about the nature of prayer and mitzvot, and delve into deeper levels of Torah interpretation.
WEEKDAY RELIGIOUS SCHOOL, classes are devoted to examining what it means to be a young Jew in today’s world. We do this through study of our collective past (primarily focusing on the Holocaust) and through a study of comparative religion, examining Judaism in relation to other world religions. In preparation for becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah, students also participate in a weekly prayer service led by Cantor Korn.
SUNDAY MITZVAH CORPS, teams (i.e. Sunday Classes) go off site every other session beginning in December to give students the opportunity to engage in social action projects throughout the Bay Area. The week before going on a community service project, students study the specific mitzvah that they will be fulfilling with that project.
THE SEVENTH GRADE FUND, is an exciting program that helps Temple Isaiah’s students actively learn about philanthropy and take part in Tikkun Olam through Tzedakah. The Fund was initiated by the Seventh Grade class of 1998, when students agreed to forego buying each other Bar and Bat Mitzvah gifts. Instead, each family chose to donate the money that would have been spent on these gifts into the Fund. With matching grants from individuals and foundations, the class established itself as a charitable foundation. The class then engaged in a short term grant giving cycle, which included learning about philanthropy, choosing an issue, researching potential grant recipients, and distributing all of the collected money to social service organizations. Each seventh grade class since then has had an opportunity to discuss and vote on its participation in this voluntary program at the beginning of the seventh grade year.
OUR SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE YOUTH GROUP, Anachnu, adds an informal component to our students’ Jewish experience. We seek to create a supportive community of adolescents who are committed to each other, the Temple community, and the Jewish tradition.