Teacher
Moreh Matan Chapnizka
Moreh Daniel Ori

Curriculum

Tanakh: Prophets
The Prophets: Speaking Out for Justice curriculum explores the lives of seven prophets and the Jewish values they exemplify with connections to modern day teens and adults who walk in the prophets’ footsteps.  6^th graders will complete hands on projects inspired by the prophets.  Students will use the Etz Hayim to study verses from Torah and Prophets.  In addition they will learn verses of Torah to read in Junior Congregation.

Holidays and Shabbat:
Rediscovering the Jewish Holidays

• Identify, understand and examine rituals, mitzvot, and ritual objects associated with the holidays
• Identify the text sources of the holidays
• Master the Hebrew terms associated with each holiday
• Discuss historical context of holidays
• Identify the conceptual characteristics of Shabbat
• Make personal connections between students and the main concepts and ideas exhibited in the holidays

Spirituality and Prayer:
6th graders will meet weekly with Rabbi Fredda Cohen to reinforce their Shabbat morning service skills and understanding, as well as learn the Ashrei, Torah Service including blessings, Haftarah blessings, and Torah and Haftarah trope.

Click here to listen to the shabbat and holiday prayers and songs.

Hebrew:
Students will strengthen their Hebrew reading skills when practicing tefillot in the Siddur.  They will build their modern Hebrew vocabulary as well as their reading skills with the dynamic, engaging program Let's Talk: Modern Hebrew for Teens.

Israel:

• Articulate the special relationship between us and Israel
• Experience the food, music, and unique customs of Israel
• Understand Israel's history and the challenges facing modern Israel
 

History:
The History of the Jewish People, Vol.2: The Birth of Zionism to Our Time
The 6th graders will explore Jewish history starting with the Birth of Zionism.  Students will compare their lives with those who came before them and discover how people’s decisions in the past affect their lives now.  Through debates, simulations, primary source materials, mock interviews, and town meetings we will discuss this question: How do we maintain our Jewish identity? 

Moreh Matan Chapnizka

Matan Chapnizka was born and raised in the village of Rosh Pinna in the upper Galilee in Israel. After completing his IDF service as a jazz saxophonist and a band leader, he was offered a full-tuition scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he earned his Bachelor's of Music, Summa Cum Laude.

Matan has always had tremendous love of the Hebrew language, Jewish heritage and education, which led him to begin teaching Hebrew and Jewish Studies in after school programs around New York. Matan is living in Manhattan with his fiance and enjoys the cultural richness of the city while taking part in it as an active musician - performing, teaching and recording.
 

Moreh Daniel Ori

Daniel joined the Bet Am Shalom staff in 2008 as the sixth grade teacher.
He was born in Israel and spent most of his childhood in Kfar Saba, in addition to three years in Rochester New York when he was in middle School.

Daniel is a Jazz musician and composer and loves to read and travel.
Upon finishing the Israeli army as a tank commander, Daniel studied three years at the Rimon School of Contemporary Music in Tel Aviv.

In 2005 he moved with his wife from Tel Aviv to Boston in order to study at Berklee College of Music. They relocated to New York City two years ago.
Daniel is also the Middle School Music teacher at Solomon Schechter in Manhattan and has been teaching there since 2008.