In Middle School, Judaic Studies at WTA is taught in a Beit Midrash–style model, where students rotate through core Judaic subjects in focused 20-minute learning intervals. This structure allows students to learn each discipline with peers at a similar instructional level, enabling targeted skill development, meaningful differentiation, and deeper engagement with texts. Across all subjects, students are challenged to think critically, read carefully, and articulate ideas clearly—preparing them for advanced Torah learning in high school and beyond.

Our Torah learning is characterized by intellectual rigor and deep respect for sacred texts and rabbinic interpretations, alongside structured opportunities for questioning, analysis, and discussion. Students learn how to engage primary sources carefully, build arguments rooted in text, and understand the continuity of Torah across generations.

Importantly, WTA’s Judaic curriculum is spiral-based, building knowledge and skills progressively over the course of schooling. By the time students graduate Middle School, they have learned all five sefarim of Chumash, key halachot of daily life and Shabbat, core Yediot Klaliyot, basic terminology and reasoning skills for Mishna and Gemara, and foundational concepts for studying these core texts. This deliberate progression ensures that each year deepens understanding while connecting to prior learning, creating confident, independent learners equipped for future success.

Through this child-centered, Beit Midrash-based approach, Middle School Judaic Studies at WTA cultivates knowledgeable, thoughtful, and committed learners—students who not only know how to learn Torah, but who carry a genuine Ahavat Torah forward into high school and throughout their lives.

In Middle School, students advance to the Ulpan Or curriculum, building strong reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills while exploring Israeli culture. Through acclaimed books like the Dod Aryeh series, songs, poetry, and class presentations, students practice Hebrew in meaningful, real-world contexts.

Our classes are leveled to meet each student where they are, allowing for differentiated instruction and steady progress. While Ivrit is woven throughout our Judaic studies, this focused curriculum ensures students gain fluency, confidence, and a deep appreciation for Israeli language and culture—preparing them to thrive as knowledgeable, engaged members of the global Jewish community.

By the time students enter Middle School at WTA, they have completed the study of Sefer Bereishit and have developed foundational skills in learning Chumash. In Middle School, students alternate years studying the remaining sefarim of the Torah, with the goal that by graduation they will have engaged with all five sefarim in a meaningful and developmentally appropriate way.

Students engage in in-depth study of Chumash with Rashi and other classical mafarshim, developing skills in close reading, textual analysis, and interpretation. Instruction emphasizes understanding peshat, identifying guiding questions in Rashi, and learning how classical commentators build meaning from the text. Students strengthen Hebrew reading fluency while learning to track story development, support interpretations with evidence, and express ideas clearly—both orally and in writing.

Navi study introduces students to the historical, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of Tanach. Students explore key narratives, leadership transitions, and moral challenges while learning how Navi functions as both history and prophetic message. Instruction focuses on contextual understanding, textual analysis, and connecting themes in Navi to Jewish values and lived experience.

In Mishna, students develop foundational skills in oral Torah learning. Beginning with Masechet Brachot and progressing to Bava Metzia, students learn how to read Mishnayot fluently, identify structure and key terms, and understand halachic reasoning. Emphasis is placed on comprehension, precision, and clarity of thought, laying the groundwork for Gemara learning.

Gemara study introduces students to the logic and methodology of Talmudic learning through carefully scaffolded exposure to sugyot in Pesachim and Bava Metzia. Students learn how to follow arguments, identify questions and resolutions, and engage respectfully with complex ideas. Instruction builds analytical thinking, perseverance, and confidence in navigating challenging texts.

Halacha is taught as a living system that shapes daily Jewish life. Students study practical halachic topics of daily Jewish life while learning how halacha develops from textual sources through rabbinic interpretation. This subject strengthens students’ understanding of Jewish practice and fosters personal responsibility, kavod, and informed observance.

• 5th & 6th Grade: Continuation of the esteemed Chayenu curriculum for Yediot Klaliot

• 7th & 8th Grade: In-depth study of Hilchot Shabbat

 WTA is a centrist Modern Orthodox co-educational Yeshiva Day School. Halacha serves as the guiding force behind all decisions in our school, and our Hashkafa is consistent, transparent, and reflected throughout every aspect of our community.

 In addition to Torah, mitzvot, and emunah in Hashem, the kedusha and centrality of Eretz Yisrael are at the heart of the WTA experience. Whether in tefillah, Torah learning, or developing fluency in Ivrit, the Land of Israel plays a central role in nurturing a strong, meaningful, and spiritually connected identity within each of our students.

Jewish life is infused in everything we do at WTA, reflecting our core value of Ahavat Torah — a love of Torah that guides our students’ learning, growth, and sense of community. Students celebrate milestones, like bar and bat mitzvahs, and actively engage in Jewish traditions throughout the year.

Each week, students participate in weekly parsha learning and take home special “Parsha Hunt” trivia sheets to complete on their own time or with their families. Middle schoolers help guide our monthly Rosh Chodesh Inter-Grade Learning , preparing lessons to teach younger students a different Jewish value each month. Daily enrichment includes daily dives into meaningful topics: exploring the teachings of notable rabbis, Judaism & Tech, studying the nuances of a tefillah, or participating in engaging programs like Friday’s Kushiya & Kugel, designed to make Jewish learning interactive and fun.

Students experience Jewish life beyond the classroom through special trips to historic and major Jewish sites including kivrei tzadikim and our annual tefillah ba’sadeh outing, hands-on holiday celebrations, and opportunities to bring ruach to the building. They lead divrei Torah and actively shape the communal experience of each chag.

Through these varied experiences, students develop a deep, lived connection to yahadut and kehilla, strengthening their knowledge, leadership, and commitment to Torah values that will guide them both within and beyond the WTA community.