Hillel Day School’s Journey: Elevating Hebrew Language Education Standards

Like at all Jewish day schools, Hebrew is crucial to the heart and soul of Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit. “[Hebrew] drives a big part of who we are as a Jewish day school. Hebrew is connected to our identity and Hebrew connects us both back historically and forward to our future,” says Rabbi David Fain, Rav Beit HaSefer at Hillel. The idea, however, of a professionalized journey toward Hebrew language proficiency began five years ago, as a result of a “self-study of the curriculum,” in conversations between Rabbi Fain and Amira Soleimani, Director of Judaic Studies Curriculum and Instruction, and the decision to tackle strengthening Hebrew language education as Item #1. What would it take to not just teach Hebrew, but to teach Hebrew as a second language, based on standards at the highest level? Over the next two years, Fain and Soleimani spoke to experts, learned that indeed, international standards (called ACTFL) existed, tried various approaches, and concluded that their most promising path to bringing Hebrew language instruction to the same level of professionalism as general studies subjects required a long-term, deep, and committed relationship with Hebrew at the Center.  Changing the paradigm also required funding over several years to receive Embedded Educational Services from Hebrew at the Center.

Currently, Hillel Day School and Hebrew at the Center are in the midst of the third year of that fruitful relationship. It has not been without its ups than downs. It took time to learn what the possibilities were, to galvanize the Hebrew faculty, secure funding, and build trusting relationships with the Hebrew at the Center pedagogues. “When we started we did not know that there is a real field of second language acquisition and that Hebrew is a part of it. We had to educate ourselves at many levels – the administration, the teachers, the parents – about what’s out there,” says Rabbi Fain. This past week, Hebrew at the Center’s Dr. Esty Gross, Chief of Staff and Director of Education, and Meirav Levy, Hebrew pedagogy coach, spent three energized and impactful days at Hillel Day School, working with the Hebrew faculty as a whole, grade levels, and individual teachers. 

What is Rabbi Fain most proud of? That Hillel now has clear standards for Hebrew that they can measure and hold themselves up to. He is also proud that the Hebrew faculty has a pedagogical language around second language acquisition and Hebrew learning that they did not have before. Most of all, he is proud of students’ Hebrew language outcomes, and that joy and enthusiasm has mushroomed up around Hebrew throughout the school. 

Elyse was one of seven Hillel students honored at the 2024 Heseg ceremony

Hillel’s parents and recent alumni delighted in their harvest, and the Hillel Hebrew faculty and administration celebrated the fruits of their labor at the International HESEG Ceremony on January 14th. (Tu B’Shvat-inspired metaphors are hard-to-resist at this time of year!) For the first time in the school’s history, seven Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit’s 9th alumni scored high enough on the AVANT Stamp assessment while in 8th grade to be honored at the Annual HESEG Ceremony, having met the international standards to earn the Global Seal of Biliteracy. This credential has a unique serial number for each awardee and can be presented on college applications and for college credit. 

Mazal Tov to the students, their parents, the strong and heroic Hebrew faculty, and the visionary administration of Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit! 

(Is your school thinking about taking a deep dive into Hebrew language standards? Contact Rabbi David Fain at Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit to get his perspective, or Dr. Cindy Dolgin, Director of Membership at Hebrew at the Center.) 

הכניסו את ט”ו בשבט הישראלי לכיתות דרך שימוש בחומרים אותנטיים כמו שירים, פוסטים מרשתות, ועוד

בקרו במאגר החומרים האותנטיים של ט”ו בשבט (בין המשאבים המקצועיים באזור החברות אתר שלנו) ומצאו מה מתאים לתלמידים.ות שלכם.ן לפי גיל ורמת עברית. השתמשו בחומרים לפיתוח מיומנויות שפה (למשל, הבנת טקסט ודיבור על פי המודל בטקסט), לרכישת אוצר מילים, ולהיכרות מעמיקה יותר עם תרבות החג בישראל. Continue reading

Professional Development for Hebrew Language Instruction: The Long Game at Bialik Hebrew Day School

Recent Member Highlights have focused on new (first year) members of Hebrew at the Center, but this week, we point the spotlight on Bialik Hebrew Day School of Toronto, a large early childhood through 8th grade school with whom Hebrew at the Center has enjoyed a three-year relationship through membership and additional educational services. By focusing in on just one specific curriculum development project of just one member of Bialik’s large Hebrew language faculty, Member Highlight readers will more fully grasp the intentional model of professional development (PD) over time, from large group PD to small group learning, to one-on-one coaching. 

Yasmine Merri, born and raised in the Haifa area, is a veteran teacher at the Bialik Hebrew Day School. In addition to engaging in professional development offered through universities and other professional develop (PD) providers, over several years, Yasmine participated in various webinars, as well as small group curriculum development projects with Hebrew at the Center. As Hebrew at the Center Members who have added some additional educational services, Yasmine had also participated in some small-group coaching with Hebrew at the Center’s coach, Meirav Levy in the past.  Yasmine thought she – and ultimately the Hebrew department and its students – would benefit from a more intensive coaching experience between Yasmine and Meirav to develop a 4th grade complete unit of study, from beginning to end.  

Before beginning this unit development, Yasmine had participated in curriculum development with her peers and Hebrew at the Center coaches, including Meirav. Yasmine was already familiar with Hebrew at the Center’s templates for Hebrew language curriculum development, available in HATC’s Members-Only Member Zone. Yasmine recognized Meirav as a systematic and organized thinker and approachable person who showed respect for the scope and sequence already in place at Bialik, and for the experience and humanity of its teaching faculty. Now, in the third year of working with Hebrew at the Center, Yasmine was ready and eager to get to work one-on-one with Meirav as her expert “guide-on-the-side,” who would not think of this as a one-unit project, but would truly help Yasmine grow, experiment, learn from mistakes, try again, extend, and internalize all of the disparate elements of becoming an embedded expert in Hebrew curriculum development for Bialik. 

What does “beginning to end unit development” entail? Systematic, customized curricular development begins with a deep understanding of students’ prior knowledge and the development of the school and department’s high level goals before defining more granular objectives for a grade and unit. It entails taking the time for overall design before beginning to develop lessons and activities.  

Although Meirav had already been coaching at Bialik for several years, she reviewed Bialik’s scope and sequence documents, this time through the lens of how the new 4th grade unit would fit in, build upon, and complement the overall objectives of the school. It took five coaching sessions over the course of time between Yasmine and Meirav to undergo high-level planning and design for the new fourth grade unit. During that time, many practical and creative ideas surfaced on the micro level on how to implement the high-level plan, so these ideas for activities were documented and put aside, so as to be accessible after the curriculum design phase, during the actual lesson plan writing stage.  

As of now the design phase has concluded. Yasmine is currently working on writing lessons, activities, and formative and summative assessments of students’ attainment of knowledge and skills in reading, oral understanding, writing, and speaking. Yasmine is consulting with her fellow teachers and her direct supervisor, and when ready, coaching with Meirav will resume, which will also involve final editing.  

Adi Barel, Associate Director of Jewish Studies, who oversees Hebrew language teaching and learning at Bialik, is clear that the right way to achieve proficiency is by creating in-house curriculum, based on Bialik’s goals, resources, and everything that comes before and after. The right people to develop that curriculum are Bialik’s own teachers, and to do so properly, they need scaffolding and professional support. During this, the third year of working with Hebrew at the Center, those who were most actively engaged in the previous two years of professional development were given the opportunity to work one-on-one with a Hebrew at the Center coach, to take the theory and experimentation of the past two years and to develop new units for Bialik. Yasmine is one of those ambitious members of the Hebrew faculty. Says Adi, “Yasmine paved her own way.” Yasmine previously completed a Master’s Degree at Middlebury College’s Hebrew language school, where on a theoretical level, she internalized what the proficiency approach to language learning should be. Back at Bialik, Yasmine expressed interest in taking on more responsibility and leadership. This year, Yasmine’s career took a mighty step forward when she became a full-time curriculum developer for Bialik. It took years for the school to get to a place of readiness to embrace the proficiency approach, and all along the way, Yasmine was preparing to be a leader of that change. Hebrew at the Center, and Meirav Levy in particular, are honored to participate in bridging the theoretical concepts to the practical underpinnings of the proficiency approach, for Yasime Merri and for other members of Bialik’s Hebrew language faculty. 

For more information about Bialik Hebrew Day School’s intentional approach to Hebrew language professional development, curriculum development, and proficiency approach, reach out to Adi Barel, Associate Director of Jewish Studies. For more information about educational services provided by Hebrew at the Center, reach out to Dr. Cindy Dolgin, Director of Membership and Data. 

Westchester’s Shinshinim Prepare for Hebrew Month

Each year on Eliezer Ben Yehuda’s birthday, the Jewish world remembers his singular impact on revitalizing the Hebrew language by observing יום עברית/Hebrew Language Day. However, the eight Shinshinim in Westchester have decided to extend this celebration throughout the month of January, bringing their unique approach to Israel engagement to thousand of young people and adults through the programming they facilitate in almost forty organizations.
 
The Shinshinim are select young Israelis who use their gap year to work in the diaspora prior to their service in the IDF. Posted in congregational schools, day schools, JCCs, and a range of other educational settings, they work to build a personal and positive relationship between the Jews of the community and Israel, Israelis, and Israeli culture. Hebrew programming aligns beautifully with their mission, and the group spent a morning training with Rabbi Andrew Ergas, EdD, CEO of Hebrew st the Center, learning how to to apply the approach and tools of the Amitei Ivrit program to their target audiences. This approach, originally developed in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel and the sponsor of the Shinshinim program, has been field-tested in over forty Jewish summer camps and is now also being utilized in congregations and day schools. Alison Bender Kellner, the Educational Coordinator for this group shared, “The interactive introduction effectively raised their interest in “why teach Hebrew” and the modeling of the games got them excited about “how to teach Hebrew. They eagerly took the Hebrew at the Center teaching tools and are looking forward to using them at many of their 30+ sites throughout Westchester.”
 
For more about the Amitei Ivrit program, visit the program page on the Hebrew at the Center webpage. In the meantime, we wish the Shinshinim plenty of success as they interact with their learners via a fun, innovative, annd  interactive approach to the Hebrew language and strengthen their connection to Israel.

Finding Ourselves at a Key Moment in Jewish History: Observing יום השפה העברית/Hebrew Language Day Post-October 7th

Click here to read in English

אנחנו בעיצומו של רכע מכריע בהיסטוריה היהודית:
חגיגת יום השפה העברית – אחרי ה-7 באוקטובר


“שני הדברים שבלעדיהם לא יהיו היהודים לעם: הארץ והלשון.”
-אליעזר בן יהודה

 

כשאליעזר בן יהודה אמר דברים אלו, הוא היה חלק מהפרויקט הלאומי היהודי הרחב שפעל הן להקמת למדינה יהודית ריבונית והן להחייאת השפה העברית. אלו היו שני מרכיבים הכרחיים כדי לאפשר לעם היהודי “לחזור לתוך ההיסטוריה” כעם שהוא שחקן פעיל בהיסטוריה של עצמו במקום שההיסטוריה “תפעל עליו מעצמה”. כשאנו חוגגים את יום השפה העברית הנערך מדי שנה ביום הולדתו של בן יהודה, איש ששיחק תפקיד משמעותי בהחייאת השפה העברית המודרנית, ראוי לציין עד כמה החזון הזה הוא לא פחות נכון עבורנו היום, במיוחד לאור הטרגדיה הנוראה של ה-7 באוקטובר ותוצאותיה.

בן יהודה ועמיתיו חוו באופן אישי את מה שקרה כאשר לעמנו חסרו מאפייני הריבונות: ארץ, צבא, ודגל, וכן שפה ותרבות שהוכרו כשוות לאלו של עמים אחרים. הם היו עדים לאנטישמיות מקומית וממוסדת, לשנאת היהדות, לפוגרומים אכזריים, ועוד, מבלי שעדיין הבינו את ההיקף של העתיד לבוא באירופה באמצע המאה ה-20.

למרבה המזל, הפתרון שהם הציעו הכין את העם שלנו להגיב ל-7 באוקטובר באופן שונה בתכלית ממה שחווינו במאות ה-19 וה-20. המלחמה עדיין בעיצומה בישראל ולא ברור עדיין האם תתממש האפשרות שהיא תתרחב. אנטישמיות ושנאת ישראל ממשיכות להרים את ראשן המרושע ברחבי צפון אמריקה ומעבר. אבל בשונה מהתקופה בה פעלו אליעזר בן יהודה, בני דורו, וקודמיהם אשר החיו את השפה העברית, עמנו כבר לא חסר אונים. בתוך ישראל, לעם שלנו יש כוח רב בדמות מדינה ריבונית, שלה צבא חזק מלא בחיילים מסורים ומיומנים, כולל בני שלי, שגויס באותו יום אוקטובר נוראי ומאז נמצא בעזה וסביבתה. לעם שלנו יש גם כוח נוסף – הכוח הנובע מעמידה האיתנה של עמנו ברחבי תבל, והכוח הנובע מהעבודה הקריטית שלוקחים על עצמם מורי העברית מדי יום.

הציטוט של בן יהודה בפתיח מציב את הארץ ואת השפה במרכז הלאומיות שלנו. צה”ל ואזרחי ישראל, הנתמכים בסולידריות עולמית של העם היהודי, עושים את העבודה החיונית של הגנה על הארץ, על העם ועל החברה בגבולותיה. אנו מצדיעים למחנכי השפה העברית הממלאים תפקיד חיוני בהבטחת המרכזיות של העברית, הבטחת הדור הבא של יהודים המוכנים לבנות מטרה משותפת עם דוברי עברית בישראל ומחוצה לה.

באופן אישי, ומקצועי, אני כועס עמוקות על מה שהאויבים שלנו מנסים לעשות לנו. באותה מידה אני מקבל השראה מהאופן שבו הגיב השטח המקצועי שלנו. מורי עברית בבתי ספר יהודיים, בישיבות, במחנות יהודים, בבתי כנסת, ובמסגרות נוספות, ביחד עם הצוות המדהים של עברית במרכז ועמיתינו בתחום השפה העברית, כולם מחויבים לקידום הוראת השפה העברית לחיזוק הישגי התלמידים, להבטחת מסוגלות עצמית והצלחה של המורים, ולמילוי ההבטחה שמבטיחים מוסדות החינוך להורים, לקהילה, ולעתיד היהודי שלהם. אנו שמחים במיוחד למלא תפקיד של מנהיגי שטח כדי לטפח ולקדם רעיונות חדשים וגישות חדשות אשר יתרמו עוד יותר למשימה הקדושה הזו. זוהי עבודה שמחזקת ומדגישה את המטרה והגורל המשותפים שלנו כעם.

בנוסף, אני קורא לכל אלו המאמינים במטרה להיות פעילים יותר בדרישה למצוינות ולאחריות מהעובדים בשטח, ולתרום מזמנם, נכסיהם, ומשאביהם הכספיים כדי להפוך משימה זו למציאות. אנו בעברית במרכז מקווים שהיום החשוב הזה בלוח השנה העברי ימשיך לעלות בחשיבותו, ושבשיתוף פעולה, נוכל להבטיח קהילה עברית אוריינית פעילה. באותה מידה בה כולנו נהנים מהמתנה שהעניקו לנו בן יהודה ועמיתיו, אנו מקווים שגם אתם תתרמו למשימה קדושה זו.

אני מודה לצוות ולעמיתינו, למנהיגי בתי הספר, ולתומכינו, על כך שאפשרו לנו להניח עוד לבנה בבסיס לעתיד חזק עוד יותר שמשחרר את העוצמה של העברית.

בהכרת תודה,


הרב ד”ר אנדרו ארגז, מנכ”ל
עברית במרכז


“שני הדברים שבלעדיהם לא יהיו היהודים לעם: הארץ והלשון.”

“There are two things without which the Jews will not be a nation –
their land and their language.”
– Eliezer Ben Yehuda

When Eliezer Ben Yehuda made this statement, he was working as a part of the broader Jewish national project to bring about both a sovereign Jewish state and a revitalization of the Jewish language. These were two necessary elements to allow the Jewish people to “step back into history” as a people that would now once again be actors in history rather than have history “act upon them.” As we celebrate יום השפה העברית/Hebrew Language Day, held each year on Ben Yehuda’s birthday, an individual who played an oversized roll in making Modern Hebrew language return to its role as a living tongue, it is worth noting how this vision is no less true for us today, especially in light of the horrific tragedy of October 7th and its aftermath.

Ben Yehuda and his peers had personally experienced what happened when our people lacked the instruments of sovereignty: a land, an army, and a flag, as well as a language and culture that was recognized as equal to those of other people. They had witnessed both individual and state-sponsored antisemitism, anti-Judaism hatred, brutal pogroms, and more, not yet realizing the scale of what was to come in Europe in the mid-20th Century.

Thankfully their proposed remedy prepared our people to respond to October 7th in a manner fundamentally different than the experiences we endured in the 19th and 20th Century. The war is still unfolding in Israel and the possibility that it could expand is still not clear. Antisemitism and hatred of Israel continues to raise its evil head throughout North America and beyond. But unlike the period that birthed Eliezer Ben Yehuda and his generation and predecessors that revived the Hebrew language, our people are no longer powerless. Within Israel, our people have hard power in the form of a sovereign state with a powerful army filled with deeply dedicated and capable soldiers, including my own son who was called up that horrible October day and has been in and around Gaza since. Our people also have soft power – the power that comes from our people standing together as one throughout the globe and the power that comes from the critical work Hebrew educators undertake each day.

Ben Yehuda’s quote above places both land and language at the center of our nationhood. The IDF and the citizens of Israel, supported by global solidarity from the Jewish people, are doing the essential work to defend the land and the people and society within its borders. We salute Hebrew language educators around the globe who are playing an essential role in bringing about the difficult and still incomplete task of elevating the primacy of Hebrew in our communities and ensuring the next generation of Jews become equipped to build and maintain a common destiny with Hebrew speakers in Israel and beyond.

While I am personally and professionally profoundly angered by what our enemies are trying to do to us, I am equally inspired by how our field has responded. Hebrew educators in day schools, yeshivot, Jewish camps, congregations, and in other settings, along with the amazing team at Hebrew at the Center and our colleagues in the Hebrew language space, are all committed to advancing Hebrew language education to strengthen student outcomes, ensure teacher self-efficacy and success, and fulfill the promise educational institutions make to their parents, their community, and the Jewish future. We are particularly pleased to play a role as field leaders to cultivate and advance new ideas and approaches that will further contribute to this sacred mission. This is work that is reinvigorating our shared purpose and destiny as a people.

I also call on those who believe in the cause to become more active in demanding excellence and accountability to those working in the trenches, and to contribute their time, reputational assets, and financial resources to making this mission a reality. We at Hebrew at the Center hope that this important day in the Jewish calendar will continue to rise in prominence and that by working together, we can ensure a more Hebraically literate community. In the same way that we all benefit from the gift Ben Yehuda and his peers brought to the table, we hope you will contribute your gifts to this sacred task.

I thank our team and colleagues, school leaders, and our supporters for enabling us to build yet another brick in the foundation for an even stronger future that unleashes the potency of Hebrew.

In gratitude,
Rabbi Andrew Ergas, EdD, CEO
Hebrew at the Center