Jewish Life & Learning

Deeply Jewish. Open to Inquiry. Grounded for Life.

At TVT, Jewish learning gives students more than knowledge of texts, traditions, history, and Hebrew. It gives them a framework for understanding who they are, considering what they owe to others, and navigating a complex world with curiosity, courage, and purpose.

We invite students to ask meaningful questions, engage seriously with Jewish ideas, and develop an authentic relationship with Jewish life. Students encounter tradition not as something fixed in the past, but as a living source of identity, wisdom, community, and responsibility.

A Modern Jewish School

Text Study

Rooted in primary sources, students engage with Jewish texts in both English and Hebrew. Text study serves as the foundation for critical thinking, reflection, and meaning-making across disciplines.

Ritual

Shabbat, holidays, and prayer experiences create a meaningful Jewish rhythm throughout the week and year. These shared practices build connection, reflection, and a sense of belonging for all members of our community.

Ethics

Six core Jewish values are woven into every aspect of school life, guiding how students learn, lead, and relate to one another. Ethics, centered on compassion, kindness, and community, are elevated and celebrated in every arena and opportunity.

Responsibility

Students practice tikkun olam through experiential learning and service. By engaging with real problems and meeting the needs of real people, students learn that responsibility to and accountability for others is an essential part of Jewish living.

Allies & Advocates

Students learn to stand with the Jewish community through empathy, understanding, and moral courage. By engaging in dialogue and learning how to respond thoughtfully to real-world challenges, students build the confidence to be allies and advocates for themselves and others.

Jewish Learning That Grows With Each Student

Lower School	Middle School	Upper School
Jewish learning begins through joy, story, song, Hebrew language, holidays, and shared ritual. Students build foundational knowledge while experiencing Judaism as something they actively live and shape. Milestones such as receiving a siddur and reading from the Torah allow students to mark their growth within a caring community.	As students become more independent thinkers, they examine Jewish texts, history, ethics, and contemporary questions with increasing depth. They learn to consider multiple interpretations, support their ideas, and connect Jewish wisdom to the choices and responsibilities of their own lives.	Upper School students engage with complex questions of identity, belief, history, Israel, ethics, and Jewish peoplehood. Through discussion, research, reflection, and experiences beyond the classroom, they develop informed perspectives and learn to articulate what being Jewish—or learning within a Jewish community—means to them.

Jewish Learning That Grows With Each Student

Lower School
Jewish learning begins through joy, story, song, Hebrew language, holidays, and shared ritual. Students build foundational knowledge while experiencing Judaism as something they actively live and shape. Milestones such as receiving a siddur and reading from the Torah allow students to mark their growth within a caring community.
Middle School
As students become more independent thinkers, they examine Jewish texts, history, ethics, and contemporary questions with increasing depth. They learn to consider multiple interpretations, support their ideas, and connect Jewish wisdom to the choices and responsibilities of their own lives.
Upper School
Upper School students engage with complex questions of identity, belief, history, Israel, ethics, and Jewish peoplehood. Through discussion, research, reflection, and experiences beyond the classroom, they develop informed perspectives and learn to articulate what being Jewish—or learning within a Jewish community—means to them.

TVT is an oasis where students, faculty, and families explore Jewish ideas and ideals in both traditional and innovative ways. Through the TVT experience, our students learn who they are and who they wish to be.
Rabbi Stuart Light, Director of Jewish Life & Learning

Weekly Kabbalat Shabbats

Every Friday morning, our school gathers together for Kabbalat Shabbat, welcoming the Sabbath through student-led songs and leadership. This beloved weekly tradition is open to the whole TVT community, as we joyfully communicate the message that "all Jewish roads lead to Shabbas."

Jewish Studies and Hebrew Classes

Students take Jewish Studies classes every year at TVT. Hebrew language is a required course from TK to 8th grade, with the option to continue through 12th grade. Jewish Studies faculty intentionally plan their classes to center around inquiry and innovation. In this way, students are challenged to personalize Jewish practices and culture.

Jewish Life

At TVT, students of different backgrounds and experiences enter through our gates every day. As a result, our Jewish life feels robust, dynamic, and joyful. We come together to celebrate more than 10 Jewish holidays each year, sing prayers and zemirot during weekly Kabbalat Shabbats, and share family events such as our 1st-grade Siddur ceremony and 5th-grade Holocaust Diaries.

Jewish Learning

In Jewish Studies and Hebrew classes, students have the chance to reflect on their forming identity and to consider what the world asks of them moving forward. This is where students slow down and think about life's biggest questions. These studies broaden perspectives and challenge everyone, Jewish or other faiths, to understand their place and their promise in the world today.

Jewish Holidays

The TVT community gathers together to march in costume on Purim, to sing freedom songs before Passover, and to allocate tzedakah at the Mitzvah Fair on Yom Papa (founder’s day). Each Jewish holiday offers a fresh opportunity to practice Jewish rituals and universalize holiday values. Jewish holiday celebrations at TVT are where tradition and innovation meet.

Annual Trips to Israel and Poland

After years of Jewish Studies and Hebrew classes, 11th grade students travel to Israel and Poland for their Capstone experience. Before this culminating trip, students participate in a year-long seminar to explore the Holocaust and the History of Israel.

Jewish History Timeline

There is no TVT without Jewish history, and we are reminded of that every day in our Lower School, where there is a “walking history” of Judaism etched into a hallway floor. This special interactive feature gives students, faculty, families, and visitors a chance to immerse themselves in and reflect on the joys, hardships, love, and perseverance of the Jewish people.

Cornerstone Projects

Yearly cornerstone exhibitions spotlight TVT's Jewish studies program. Whether it's the 1st grade siddur ceremony, the 4th grade Torah reading program, or the 10th grade "I Made My Own Page of Talmud" exhibition, students are eager to creatively share their Jewish learning with others.

Many Backgrounds. One Learning Community.

TVT welcomes families with a wide range of Jewish experiences, practices, cultures, and family backgrounds, as well as families of other faiths who value an education grounded in Jewish learning and values.

Students are not expected to arrive with the same knowledge or observe Judaism in the same way. They are expected to participate with curiosity and respect. Within that shared experience, Jewish students deepen their knowledge and identity, while students of all backgrounds learn to understand Jewish life and stand alongside one another with empathy and courage.

“Our Jewish values-driven approach to all programming encourages students to be thoughtful, compassionate leaders, strengthening their academic engagement and personal growth.”
Kelli Vermillion, Lower School Faculty Member