Hebrew school
A Hebrew school is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning one's Torah portion in preparation for the coming-of-age ceremony in Judaism. Classes are usually taught in dedicated rooms at a synagogue under the instruction of a Hebrew teacher, often receiving support from a hazzan for learning the ancient chanting of a student's Torah portion and from a rabbi during the ceremony, owing to the fact that a Torah scroll is typically very challenging for a student to read because it lacks Hebrew vowel markings while also having very condensed text with minimal line spacing.
Hebrew schooling can be either an educational regimen separate from secular education, in a similar fashion to Sunday school among Christians; education focusing on topics of Jewish history and learning the Hebrew language; or a primary-, secondary-, or college-level educational institution in which some or all of the classes are taught in Hebrew. The first usage is more common in the United States, while the second is used elsewhere bar Israel—for example, in reference to the Colegio Hebreo Unión in Barranquilla, Colombia, or the Associated Hebrew Schools in Toronto, Canada.
History
According to an article in the Jewish Quarterly Review entitled "The Jewish Sunday School Movement in the United States" and printed in 1900, "the exact beginning of the American Jewish Sunday schools is obscured by uncertainty and difficulty of opinion", though it is largely credited with the works of Rebecca Gratz, a Philadelphia native, who sought to provide Jewish schooling to those most in need. As students received secular schooling, Gratz understood the need to provide Jewish history and Jewish traditions to those most lacking a basic understanding in Jewish education. In fact, Jewish Sunday school grew largely in response to Christian Sunday school, as a means of providing proper Jewish education to students who otherwise lacked any religious grounding in Jewish traditions and history or lacked the financial means necessary to attend such a school. As a devout Jew, Gratz dedicated her life to helping the poor and neglected. In 1818, "under the sponsorship of the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society of Philadelphia, the Hebrew Sunday School Society of Philadelphia was created on 4 March, her birthday, with about 60 students". To this day, Rebecca Gratz is referenced as "the foremost American Jewess of her day".Curriculum
Hebrew school is typically taught on Sunday and on one day of the week – either Tuesday or Wednesday – in the late afternoon, following secular education in private or public schools. Hebrew school education developed in the 1800s and is largely credited to Rebecca Gratz.Today, typical Hebrew school education starts in kindergarten and culminates in the 10th grade with confirmation. While the idea of confirmation largely grew out of Reform Judaism, it is largely practiced by both the Reform and Conservative movements today. It is based in the Reform and Conservative movements and therefore not practiced in the Jewish Orthodox movement. Instead, Orthodox students attend daily religious schools such as yeshivas, where they study Jewish texts like Torah and the Talmud in greater depth. Orthodox schooling often prepares young boys to become rabbis and involves a deeper level of study than Hebrew school education provides. Whereas both boys and girls study in Hebrew schools in a co-educational environment, education in the Orthodox community is based on single-sex education, with greater emphasis placed on traditional roles for men and women. Some Orthodox congregations offer Hebrew school for non-Orthodox students, such as the TAG Hebrew schools common in Chabad houses.