The following is a summary of the core courses that students will study in their five years at Midrasha. This curriculum is supplemented by a large number of elective courses, including Hebrew, literature, art, drama, music, and all aspects of Judaica.
• In 8th grade in their core hour, Gesharim students study ethics, concentrating on: tzedakah, poverty and homelessness, social justice, parent-student communication and obligations, Jews by choice, drugs/alcohol/smoking, death and mourning, animal rights, war and protecting the earth. The class is supplemented by a weekend retreat and a day trip.
• In 9th grade in their core hour, Etgar students study Jewish identity. Their curriculum units are 1) Who We Are, 2) My Piece of the Puzzle (including comparative Judaism), 3) To Whom We Relate (relationships, friendship, I/Thou, dating, marriage and family) and 4) How We Relate to Others. This class is supplemented by three weekend retreats.
• In 10th – 12th grade in their core hour, students study Bible first semester and either Jewish history or Bible second semester. Each semester there are several courses from which to choose.
• While Kesher, the 10th – 12th grade classroom and retreat program, is technically an elective, nearly all students choose to participate. Tenth graders in Kesher Aleph study Israeli history, culture, literature, and politics. Eleventh and twelfth graders in Kesher Bet spend one year studying the American Jewish experience (history, demography, sociology, politics, literature and culture) and one year studying Jewish thought and spirituality. This is supplemented with three weekend retreats.
• Our Thursday afternoon text class chooses one theme each year and follows it through the Bible and Talmud.
• Our Tuesday evening class this year will cover “Mystical Visions of God.”
