Each year in SAR, the Judaic Studies curriculum expands and students begin to learn additional

subjects. In second grade, it is Chumash; in third grade, it is the commentary of Rashi and in fourth grade, the students begin to learn Navi. In fifth grade, the students are introduced to the study of Mishna.

In the month of Tishrei, fifth graders learned divrei Torah about the holidays that gave them a taste of the importance of Torah She’baal Peh (oral law). For example, they traced the development of the mitzvah of eating in the sukkah. First, they studied the pasuk from the Chumash, then learned a Mishna that explains how to fulfill the mitzvah, and finally, a section of Rambam that clarifies the mitzvah even further.

After the chagim, fifth graders began their study of Mishna. They learned that Hashem taught Moshe Rabeinu the Chumash and the oral law while Moshe was on Har Sinai. It was only when Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi feared that the words of the Mishna would be forgotten, that the Mishna was written down. The students are looking forward to studying the first perek of Masechet Brachot. First, they learn how the Mishna is divided into masechtot, perakim and mishnayot. Then they discuss the question and answer style of Mishna learning, and ultimately learn the different opinions that are presented in each Mishna. In doing so, students appreciate and feel connected to the chain of learning that began with Hashem to Moshe and then Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi to his students and now to SAR teachers to the children of kitah hey.

The transmission of Torah learning from generation to generation will be celebrated at the Leil Dor L’Dor in February.