This Week, Heichal’s sophomore Tikvah class enjoyed a special trip to Yankee Stadium, accompanied by their instructor, Rabbi Alec Goldstein, and Dr. Joshua Strulowitz, Principal of General Studies. Rabbi Goldstein also serves as the Managing Director of the Lobel Center for Jewish Classical Education at the Tikvah Fund. Despite cloudy skies and the chance of rain, the group had a great time exploring the stadium, tracking down kosher food stands and watching the Yankees defeat the Rangers, 1-0.

The Tikvah Integrated Humanities program is focused on the idea that the great ideas of the West are worthy of serious study and that Judaism has played an indispensable role in shaping Western civilization. The program begins with a study of how Judaism differs from surrounding cultures in the ancient Near East, followed by the study of ancient Greek thought through key works by Homer, Plato, Aristotle and others. The first year concludes with a study of Roman history, from Palatine Hill to the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE, followed by a survey of the Middle Ages from both political and intellectual perspectives.

The tenth-grade curriculum focuses on the period from approximately 1492 to 1776, exploring the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment, along with their corresponding political, military and social developments.

To better understand the rise and development of modernity, tenth graders engage in close, analytical readings of major literary and philosophical works, including Don Quixote, The Prince, Hamlet, Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver’s Travels. Excerpts from key philosophers like Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Burke, as well as poetry from Donne, Keats, Wordsworth and Coleridge, are appreciated and analyzed, creating a truly integrated curriculum.

In eleventh grade, the program continues with an intensive study of American History and 19th-century European literature, featuring authors like Dickens, Dumas and Dostoevsky. Yet the program is more than just an academic journey; it is about shaping young Jewish minds and nurturing Jewish souls in the fullest sense. After such an intensive and enriching year, Heichal congratulates its talmidim on completing such a rigorous and successful course of study.