Week 17 · The Jewish Weekday
Shacharit I: Praise and the Shema
Questions 286–305
Academy reading copy. This lesson is not offered as a file download.
Objectives
Explain this week’s central concepts accurately, respectfully, and in clear language.
Answer Questions 286–305 in complete sentences and correct them after discussion.
Connect belief and law to observable practice in home, synagogue, and community.
Core content
Pesukei deZimra; Baruch She’amar; Ashrei; Yishtabach; blessings of Shema; prayer times.
Required reading
The community’s siddur; Donin on prayer and blessings; a current practical halakhic guide selected by the sponsoring rabbi.
Practical observance
Attend weekday Shacharit and follow from its opening through the Shema.
Hebrew strand
Practice 10–15 minutes daily: accurate reading of blessings and service headings. Record one passage that became easier this week.
Homework and reflection
Complete written responses for 286–305; mark every answer that depends on local custom or rabbinic ruling.
Write 150–250 words: “How should this week’s learning change the way I live?”
Record attendance, practice completed, uncertainties, and one question for the sponsoring rabbi.
Rabbinic checkpoint
Explain the movement from praise to revelation and accept the yoke of Heaven in the Shema.