COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Life is like a building. The Torah-true Jewish life is a building designed by the Master Architect and Contractor and built with the finest of the carefully-specified materials. The Torah-true Jew is the builder who must precisely follow the Contractor's directions. Deviations from the Plan or substitution of unspecified or inferior materials results in a building which does not resemble the Architect's Plan.

The Ohel Avraham Avinu/Ohel Sarah Imenu curriculum was designed to lay a firm foundation and build a sturdy frame for the building. After their conversion, students are encouraged to continue learning in a yeshivah or seminary. A building with a firm foundation and sturdy walls is only barely ready for habitation.

THE FOUNDATION

Language Skills - General

Language Skills courses are concurrent with all other courses. Lashon Hakodesh, the eternal Hebrew language with which G-d created the world, is the foundation for serious Jewish studies. The Language Skills course equips students with the skills to read, pronounce, and understand the language of the Prayer Book and Chumash. In addition, it introduces the spoken language, enabling the student to enter Ulpan at a higher-than-beginner level, should he or she need to acquire advanced speaking skills.

Language Skills I

Introduction to Prayer Book and Biblical Hebrew

Alphabet (consonants and vowels), functions of letters, special symbols, syllables, parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, adjectives adverbs, objects, verbs); verb roots; reversing and dropping letters; introduction to binyanim; past, present, future tense of the seven binyanim; gender, number, person; simple sentences.

THE BUILDING - THE DWELLING PLACE OF THE SHECHINAH

Halachah - The Law which Governs How a Jew Behaves

Jewish law sanctifies Jewish life and dedicates it to the service of the Creator. It separates the Jew from all other people and brings him closer to HaKodosh Boruch Hu.

Prayer - The Lifeline which Connects the Jew to the Source of life

Jewish prayer is the Jew's lifeline to the Creator. The prayer and siddur courses focus not only on correct pronunciation and understanding of the language of prayer but also on the intent and background of the prayers.

Moadim -The Seasons which Bring Rest and Peace, Joy and Gladness to the Jewish Heart

The Jewish Calendar Course takes the students through the Jewish year, introducing them to its observances and celebrations.

Shabbos - The Day which Guards the Jewish People

The Jew's proper observance of Shabbos is the cornerstone of Jewish faith and is equal to all of the mitzvos of the Torah. For students in Jerusalem, the course on Shabbos includes an excursion to Beis Meir where the students observe first hand the exhibition of the 39 categories of work that are forbidden on Shabbos.

Kashrus - The Diet which Guards the Jewish Soul

Even such a mundane activity as eating, when properly fulfilled, takes on a sacred character and sanctifies the human body which is the home of the Jewish soul. A Jew's failure to practice completely the self-discipline of Torah and kashrus makes him/her vulnerable to alien practices which, G-d forbid, erode the Jewish way of life.

Taharah - The Spiritual Environment which Preserves Jewish Identity

Tznius Sometimes translated as modesty, tznius is that quality which is an all-encompassing demonstration of one's knowledge that (s)he is standing before the Creator of the universe at every moment. Tznius is a refinement that is reflected not only in one's clothing but also in one's speech, one's behavior, and even in one's thoughts.

Taharas HaMishpachah Just as the Jewish home is considered to be a miniature Beis Hamikdash, and the Jewish table, the alter, the Jewish family can be considered a holy of holies. Taharas hamishpachah is the purity of the Jewish family and is taught one-on-one rather than in classes.

Shimiras HaLashon Speech is the expression of a collection of thoughts and words meant to achieve a specific purpose. Guarding this precious gift from misuse and using it as HaShem intended insures that our connection to HaShem grows stronger and stronger with each passing day.

Hashkafah - The Viewpoint that Governs How a Jew Thinks

All courses are presented within the framework of Torah hashkafah - mesorah and emunas chachamim/daas Torah. All questions and issues are addressed in that light.

Mussar - The Guidance that Governs How a Jew Grows

Goal-setting Class

Every kind of significant growth - material, emotional, spiritual - requires setting goals. In the Goal-setting Workshop, the students learn not only how to set goals but also how to achieve them using the techniques of the mussar masters of yesteryear.

Jewish Life Skills

Jews require skills for implementing Torah observance in their daily lives. Achieving the ability to think, act, and respond like a Jew is not an easy undertaking. Often a person encounters personal emotional obstacles which result from traces of past experiences. Ideally, in Torah-observant homes, children grow up with ample opportunities to learn Jewish coping skills by seeing them in action. For any individual who missed these opportunities, the challenges can be formidable. The Jewish Life Skills Class makes accessible the skills for self-development that were used successfully by Torah giants including the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Yisroel Salanter, and others. They help students identify and eliminate the negative left-overs from their former lifestyles which might inhibit or interfere with their successful realization of their goals.

 

Reading List

Recommended Reading List

* All levels ** Beginner level *** Intermediate/advanced

* GUIDELINES
Guidelines: Tefillah
Barclay, Rabbi Elozar; Jaeger, Rabbi Yitzchok

Guidelines: Purim
Barclay, Rabbi Elozor; Jaeger, Rabbi Yitzchok

Guidelines: Pesach
Barclay, Rabbi Elozar; Jaeger, Rabbi Yitzchok

Guidelines: Three Weeks
Barclay, Rabbi Elozar; Jaeger, Rabbi Yitzchok

Guidelines: Yomim Noraim
Barclay, Rabbi Elozor; Jaeger, Rabbi Yitzchok

Guidelines: Chanukah
Barclay, Rabbi Elozor; Jaeger, Rabbi Yitzchok

Guidelines: Succos
Barclay, Rabbi Elozor; Jaeger, Rabbi Yitzchok

Guidelines: Questions & Answers About the Laws of Family Purity
Barclay, Rabbi Elozar; Jaeger, Rabbi Yitzchok

CONVERSION
* THE PATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS GENTILE by Chaim Clorfene and Yakov Rogalsky

* JEWISH CONVERSION by Rabbi Yoel Schwartz

HALACHAH
Introduction

* SHAAREI HALACHAH by Rabbi Ze’ev Greenwald

LISHMOR V'LAASOS by Rabbi Mordechai Katz

Comprehensive Reference

* HALICHOS BAS YISRAEL (two volume set) by Rabbi Yitchak Yaacov Fuchs

Brochos

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF BERACHOS by Lipman, Shiffy Apelbaum

* BROCHOS by Rabbi Yisroel Pinchos Bodner

* THE BROCHOS HANDBOOK by Rabbi Yisrael Pinchos Bodner

* BLESSING OF BLESSINGS, THE PATHWAY TO PRAYER by Rabbi Mayer Birnbaum

** LET'S LEARN ABOUT BERACHOS by Rabbi Ze'ev Greenwald

Shabbos

* SHEMIRATH SHABBATH (3 vol. set) by Rav Yehoshua Y. Neuwirth

* THE SABBATH by Rabbi Dayan Grunfeld

** THE 39 AVOTH MELACHA OF SABBATH by Rabbi Baruch Chait

* SABBATH OBSERVANCE Volume 1, by Rabbi Ze'ev Greenwald

* SABBATH PROHIBITIONS Volume 2, by Rabbi Ze'ev Greenwald

Kashrus

* KASHRUTH by Rabbi Yacov Lipshutz

** THE KOSHER KITCHEN by Rabbi Ze'ev Greenwald

** LET'S LEARN ABOUT KOSHER FOOD by Rabbi Ze'ev Greenwald

THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO KASHRUS by Rabbi Dayan Grunfeld

Tznius

* RAIMENT OF GOLD published by Meir Nesivim Association

*** MODESTY: AN ADORNMENT FOR LIFE by Rabbi E. Falk

* GUIDE TO DERECH ERETZ by Rabbi S. Wagschal

Shmiras Halashon

* TAHARAS HALASHON arranged by Ze'ev Greenwald

* GUARD YOUR TONGUE by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

* GUARD YOUR TONGUE by The Chofetz Chaim

* CHOFETZ CHAIM: A DAILY COMPANION by Michael Rothschild &    Rabbi Shimon Finkelman

Language Skills

HaMasores HaShaleim - sefer limud l'tinokos shel bayis raban

The Dik Duk Buk by Rabbi Shalom Gold

JEWISH PHILOSOPHY

General

* DAUGHTERS OF DESTINY by Devora Rubin

*** EPOCH OF THE MESSIAH by Rav Elchonon Wasserman

* PORTALS OF FAITH by Danin, Rabbi D.

* MASTERPLAN by Rabbi Aryeh Carmell

The Jewish Calendar

* THE BOOK OF OUR HERITAGE by Rabbi Eliahu Kitov

The Jewish Home

* THE JEW AND HIS HOME by Rabbi Eliahu Kitov

Prayer

* PATHWAY TO PRAYER by Rabbi Meyer Birnbaum

* THE WORLD OF PRAYER by Rabbi Dr. Elie Munk

Ethics and the Jewish Life

* ETHICS FROM SINAI by Irving Bunim

* LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

* AHAVAS CHESED by the Chofetz Chaim

* THE MERITS OF GIVING by Rabbeinu Yitzchak Abohav

*THE HIDDEN WORLD by Varda Branfman

** RESPECTFULLY by Rabbi Ze'ev Greenwald

Eretz Yisroel

* TO DWELL IN THE PALACE edited by Tzvia Ehrlich-Klein

* LAND OF OUR HERITAGE by Dovid Rossoff

* 2000 YEARS OF JEWISH HISTORY by Rabbi Chaim Schloss

Mussar

* A HANDFUL OF LIGHT by Avraham Tzvi Schwartz

* PATH OF THE JUST by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto

* STRIVE FOR TRUTH by Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler

* LIGHTS ALONG THE WAY/ MESILLAS YESHARIM by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski

Location

Ohel Sarah Imenu is located in a small neighborhood in Nachlaot. In the heart of Jerusalem's downtown, Nachlaot is one of the city¹s older and more colorful neighborhoods, retaining much of its original 19th century architecture, narrow alleyways and cobblestone streets. The neighborhood was planned to accommodate the Yemenite, Kurdish, Jerusalem Sephardi (including the famous Banai family), Greek, and Galician Jews. The communities had their own synagogues, many of which still exist today. Each was housed within a walled compound, built around a common courtyard with a water cistern in the center. We are walking distance from the Central Bus Station and all of downtown Jerusalem, and the colorful Mahane Yehuda Market is just a short stroll away.