Abstract

This article presents a practical model for creating a sense of belonging and cultivating a multi-layered Israeli-Jewish identity among children of Israeli parents living in the diaspora, with an emphasis on community and on relating to Judaism as a living and evolving culture. The article focuses on the way in which a supplementary Hebrew school moves beyond the boundaries of the educational institution and the framework of the frontal lesson, to become a communal, cultural, and essential anchor for the entire local community. We present a pedagogic approach that combines the teaching of Hebrew as a living language with the creation of a rich Israeli-cultural space, enabling an authentic experience of holidays and traditions. The model demonstrates how language serves as a pedagogic-emotional tool and as a bridge to family roots, a need that intensified dramatically following the events of October 7, 2023. The article offers practical insights for creating an environment in which language learning becomes an engine for strengthening identity and a center of contemporary Hebrew communal resilience.

Introduction: From a Local Need to a Communal Model

The story of our model begins with the Israeli community in Silicon Valley. With the move of the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Palo Alto to its new home, a first-of-its-kind department was established: the ICC – Israel Cultural Center. The goal was clear: to draw the local Israeli community to the campus and to make Hebrew classes a central anchor.

The Hebrew school Beged Kefet, which began with a few classes on the Palo Alto campus, grew out of a genuine communal need to be a supplementary school that serves students from TK through the end of high school on eight campuses across Silicon Valley. Hebrew studies take place once a week in the afternoon in groups tailored to age and level. The curriculum focuses on acquiring the four language skills—oral comprehension, reading, writing, and speaking—and on connection to culture and roots.

What began as parents’ need to preserve their children’s “mother tongue” became an extensive educational system that serves a community that defines itself as secular-Israeli, and which seeks Judaism as culture and as a means of bringing Israel closer to home, alongside a Jewish-American community seeking a living bridge to Israel.

The Communicative Approach: Why Teach Hebrew to Those Who “Already Know” (And to Those Starting from Zero)?

At the center of the model stands the functional-communicative approach. This approach assumes that language is, first and foremost, a tool for creating connection, expressing identity, and participating in community.

For heritage learners—children who hear Hebrew at home but live in an English-speaking environment—the need for this approach is critical. It often seems that these learners “already know” the language, but in reality there is a tremendous gap between the “Hebrew of the home” and the ability to express themselves on complex topics, read cultural texts, or write at an age-appropriate level. The communicative approach enables them to:

• Turn passive knowledge into active knowledge: the transition from understanding their parents to speaking with their peer group.
• Refine identity: Hebrew is transformed from a language that “my parents want me to know” to “a language through which I define myself among my friends.”
• Build a cultural bridge: studying foundations of history, civics, and Hebrew literature provides them the intellectual infrastructure to understand the complexity of the State of Israel.

Hebrew as a Bridge to a Judaism That Is Not “Heritage”

Our model is not aimed exclusively at native Hebrew speakers. We identified a growing need among American Jews who do not speak the language but see Hebrew as the key to a deep connection with their Judaism and with the State of Israel. For them, Hebrew is the “code” of the Jewish people. In the communicative approach, these learners do not memorize empty words, but experience the language through cultural events, Israeli holidays, and current discourse. For them, Hebrew shifts from a bridge to ancient texts to a modern and relevant language which enables them to feel part of the global Israeli-Jewish collective.

Therefore, in parallel, we also provide a unique response for learners who are not heritage speakers, for whom Hebrew is a completely foreign language or a sacred language. In the communicative approach, their language acquisition begins with an experience of functional success.

Advantages of the communicative approach for learners who do not speak Hebrew:

• Reducing language anxiety: In order to build self-confidence, the program centers communication of ideas rather than perfect grammatical accuracy. When a student succeeds in holding a short conversation about Israeli music or ordering food in Hebrew, it generates for him a sense of competence and a positive emotional connection to the language. The program is designed to gradually build a series of successful experiences in everyday contexts: in the lower grades, the focus is on simple and practical concepts such as writing a family recipe, documenting a trip, or dramatizing short texts. Here, the goal is simply to “speak” and to break the barrier of fear. As students advance in age and level of difficulty, the language becomes richer and more complex. At this stage, grammatical rules are integrated as tools for correct linguistic functioning (such as conjugating verb patterns, person, and tense), enabling students to refine their ability to express themselves. In middle school and high school, the emotional foundations laid in their younger years enable students to confidently approach complex tasks, such as presenting on current topics and gaining strong command of the language in all its nuances.
• Hebrew as a “cultural code”: For the American Jewish student, Hebrew is far more than a collection of words; it is the key to deciphering Israeli and Jewish culture. Through the communicative approach, students do not merely learn a language; they acquire the “cultural code” that allows them to feel like insiders rather than as observers from the sidelines. The program combines foundational skills with deep cultural understanding. An authentic linguistic foundation is laid already in the elementary grades, when students acquire the fundamentals of reading and writing through methods similar to those used in Israel, exposing them to a living and authentic language from the very beginning. Learning focuses on culture-dependent expressions, slang, and concepts that have no precise translation into English but are essential to understanding the Israeli way of life. As part of age-appropriate adaptation, students are exposed to diverse Israeli norms, from the meaning of wearing a white shirt on memorial days to familiarity with terms from military and social life. This combination transforms Hebrew from a foreign language into a language of identity, bridging the geographic distance and creating a deep emotional connection to Israel.
• Contextual learning: Instead of learning words in isolation, the language is acquired through relevant and engaging content, “burning” current issues, popular music, and values-based discourse. For a student who does not speak Hebrew at home, this is the bridge that turns Israel from an abstract place on the map into a living and breathing entity with which the student can communicate unmediated. The program deepens this connection through exposure to Hebrew literature. From third grade through the end of high school, students read books by major Israeli writers such as Yehonatan Geffen, Meir Shalev, Ora Morag, and Tamar Verete-Zehavi. The reading is guided and accompanied by a structured reading journal that helps unlock vocabulary and understand each work’s unique cultural context. Each book-reading concludes with a creative culminating project, enabling students to demonstrate their understanding of the plot and to express the knowledge they have accumulated in a personal and experiential way.

For this group, and for all learners of Hebrew in the Diaspora, language learning is a strategy of joining the collective. Hebrew becomes the tool through which they define their connection with their Judaism and with the State of Israel, not only through the media but through direct contact with the words, the songs, and the people.

Beyond School: Creating a “Safe Space” – Language as Resilience and a Community of Peers

The events of October 7, 2023, put our model to the ultimate test. The need for an identity and communal anchor intensified overnight. If in the past parents had sought “academic enrichment” for their children, after these events the central need became belonging. We saw an awakening not only among Israelis but also among Americans Jews who sought connection to Israel through language. Inquiries came from all ages — from children to students at universities such as Stanford and MIT—who were seeking to sharpen their identity through Hebrew as a strategy for coping with rising antisemitism on campuses. The Hebrew school became a safe space. As reflected in public discourse in diaspora communities, a critical need emerged for a place where Israeli-Jewish identity did not require justification. In our school, the Hebrew language is the glue which enabled students to air their feelings within a “peer group” that understands their pain without the need for explanations. This space provided emotional resilience and enables students to stand proudly before the challenges of the moment beyond the walls of the institution.

The need was felt especially among our middle and high school students who attend public schools. The Hebrew school became a “home” in the deepest sense of the word. It was the place where they could understand the situation, share thoughts, ask questions, and find support among their peer group. In response to challenging questions about their identity and belonging, we adapted the lessons and provided them with the tools to step outside the “bubble” and stand proudly for their views.

Out of an understanding of the acute need to provide tools for coping with this reality, we developed unique enrichment programs. These programs provided students with a broad, sober, and authentic picture of the State of Israel through several central axes: deep familiarity with the human diversity that composes Israeli society, understanding the concept of “hyphenated identity” (Jewish-Israeli-American), and shaping their personal identity as Hebrew-speaking Jews or as part of an integrated Israeli-American story. Learning also occurred through meetings with teenagers from Israel and discussion of formative chapters in history. The encounters turned news headlines into personal stories of friends and strengthen emotional connection and solidarity.

At the center of our educational approach stands the Hebrew language, not only as a school subject but as a people’s language which constitutes a living bridge to identity and solidarity. We offer them a developmental continuum in which language is the central tool for personal and social exploration:

• In early childhood and elementary school: the emphasis is on experience and on acquiring reading and writing through an emotional connection to “Israeli childhood,” holidays, and values, using classic works of Israeli children’s literature and poetry.
• In middle school: Hebrew becomes a tool for exploring “circles of belonging.” In the “Identity and Belonging” program and the My Family Story project, students use the language to explore and document their roots; in the “Intergenerational Connection” program the language serves as an intergenerational bridge in interviews with veteran community members; and in the “Israeli Leadership” program, it serves as the foundation for understanding key figures who shaped the nation.
• In high school: Hebrew studies provide the foundation for deepening the essential knowledge required to provide the students with tools for shaping their identities as Israeli-Americans. Through programs such as “Israeli Cinema” and “Israel in the Time Tunnel,” the Hebrew language enables students to analyze complex issues in Israeli society, become familiar with formative moments in history, and engage with the concept of “peoplehood” in maturely and thoughtfully.

The importance of Hebrew as a “living language” is expressed clearly in the hours devoted to current events and educational discussions. Since October 7, the classrooms have become a safe space for processing the reality. Through diverse materials and open discourse in Hebrew, students discuss issues of hostages, fallen soldiers, and mutual responsibility. These encounters turn news headlines into personal stories, strengthen the emotional connection to Israel, and prove that Hebrew is the key to our solidarity and communal resilience.

We also identified the need to understand history as an anchor for self-confidence. Knowledge in the fields of history and civics, from the founding of the State of Israel to the challenges of the present, equips students with an “advocacy toolbox.” This knowledge gives them the confidence to express an informed position in a challenging environment, in the face of difficult questions or hostile discourse. As a result, Hebrew and knowledge about Israel are no longer merely school subjects, but essential components of the student’s national and personal resilience. They enable the student to move from the position of “defender” to the position of “belonging,” possessing a proud Jewish-Israeli identity grounded in knowledge.

Practice and Implementation:

In order to turn a supplementary school into a communal anchor and a source of identity resilience, we followed the following principles:

1. A response for public school students: creating an afternoon framework that combines studies with social and cultural events for students who otherwise would not find roots or community.
2. Strategic partnerships: working closely with organizations such as the TALI Foundation for pluralistic Israeli Jewish education, the Department for Organization and Connection with Israelis in the Diaspora (WZO), and cooperation with Jewish schools and communal bodies in the region, enabling the development of current and relevant content.
3. Adaptation to “hyphenated” identity: recognizing that the students are Israeli, American, and Jewish, and giving space to all of these components of identity through language.
4. Support for wider circles: the model also provides support for parents, who seek an anchor and a Hebrew-speaking community in order to cope with the challenges of raising children with a hyphenated identity (Israeli-American-Jewish) in times of crisis.

One of the most significant tools in our model is obtaining accreditation for Hebrew studies in public high schools. This move gives the language official status–it is no longer only a “home language” or a religious language, but a language with recognized international standing. This recognition gives students academic legitimacy and pride, and places Hebrew alongside other world languages. The school’s students can study their heritage language, Hebrew, as an alternative to the world-language requirement needed for high school graduation and college admission.

Conclusion

The Hebrew language in supplementary education is much more than a school subject; it is the anchor which enables the Israeli and Jewish community in the diaspora to maintain its vitality and connection to its roots. The Beged Kefet model demonstrates that when language is learned as part of a broad cultural and communal context, it becomes a tool for growth, resilience, pride, and belonging—a living bridge connecting the past, present, and future of children and their families.