The BYHS Curriculum

There are some minor differences between the schedules at the boys' school and the girls', but each day begins with community prayer in both buildings. Mincha is observed every day, and the boys daven Maariv following their last class during the appropriate time of year.

The BYHS campuses are "open;" students who have their parents' permission may leave school during their lunch periods or during free periods.

Judaic Studies

Each student is enrolled in five Judaic Studies courses each semester, and each course is taught on four levels. Because of the high degree of individualization, it is quite possible for a student to have the five courses on four different levels.

Talmud and Bible courses emphasize the reading and analysis of texts in their original languages (Biblical Hebrew, Rabbinic Hebrew and Aramaic). Considerable time is devoted to the study of the classical commentaries, to facilitate the development of critical reading on the part of the students. The courses in Talmud also focus on the understanding and mastery of the complex argumentation that characterizes much Talmudic literature.

The primary goals of the courses in Jewish Law are to expose students to a broad range of practical Jewish Law, to familiarize them with the classical codes, and to instruct them in their proper use in the context of the modern world.

Courses in Jewish philosophy and thought seek to sensitize the students' thinking, understanding, and feeling of what it means to be Jewish, while Zionism and Holocaust studies are designed to make those particular aspects of Jewish history more meaningful to the adolescent Jew of the late Twentieth Century.

General Studies