Private lessons (45 minutes) are held Sunday through Wednesday in Eastern Montgomery County, MD. Rates and Policies
To inquire about lessons, send an email to wendy_at_klezmusic.com with the student's name, the Bar/Bat Mitzvah date, and your name and phone number.
Preparation Time (weekly lessons):
For most students who are already competent Hebrew readers, preparation time of approximately 8 months is sufficient for learning to chant the following for a typical Shabbat morning service:
Maftir and Haftarah portions and their blessings
Torah service
Closing prayers
Please allow additional time for assistance with speech preparation, or for special needs children, or if the student will miss a significant number of lessons due to summer camp or family vacation. If additional Hebrew literacy tutoring is needed, a minimum of 10 to 12 months is recommended. Please write if you have any additional questions or concerns regarding prep time.
Bar and Bat Mitzvah students will need the following materials:
Bar Mitzvah booklet, available at any Jewish bookstore. This will contain, among other information, the student's Haftarah and Maftir Torah portions and all related blessings. Not all booklets include the English translation of the Haftarah text. Try to get one that does.
3-ring notebook with lined paper
Set of colored highlighters
(The more the better. Suggested: yellow, orange, green, blue, pink, lilac, violet.)
Pencil with eraser, pen, pencil sharpener.
Portable tape recorder, blank tapes, batteries.
3-ring binder to organize paperwork
Bag or backpack to carry all materials
Kippah
These materials should be brought to every lesson. A blank tape, as well as the tape in use, should always be available, along with spare batteries. Students tend to forget these items, so the parent should check before leaving the house for each lesson. Optional but useful: Jewish calendar, ruler, Hebrew-English dictionary. All other materials will be provided by the teacher.
Explanation of Terms
Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Literally, Son/Daughter of the Commandment: a person who has reached age 13 and is now an adult according to Jewish law, with attendant responsibilities and privileges. Also, the public ceremony marking this coming of age. Not a verb: one is not "barmitzvah'd" - one becomes a bar mitzvah, or celebrates a bar mitzvah. Plural: B'nei Mitzvah, or if all are girls, B'not Mitzvah.
Torah
Literally, "Teaching". In the context of the synagogue service, the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Each book is divided into portions, which are read in public, consecutively, on Shabbat, when most Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremonies take place, and at other specified times during the year.
Haftarah
Selected reading from The Prophets associated with each Torah portion. Traditionally, chanted by the Bar or Bat Mitzvah. The common transliteration "haftorah" is misleading. The term is not related to the word "Torah", but has the meaning "conclusion", and is related to the word "maftir", indicating a concluding portion. Plural: Haftarot.
Prophets (N'vi'im)
Section of the Bible directly following the Torah, consisting of
the Books of Joshua, Samuel, Kings, Judges, Prophets.
Maftir
Short closing portion at the end of the Torah reading, typically 3 to 5 verses. Also, the person called up to chant the blessings over this reading, which honor always falls to the Bar or Bat Mitzvah if one is present.
