A Rigorous, Skill-Based Approach to Chumash.

Tzemicha teaches independent learning and critical thinking, with an emphasis on mastery of the learning process. Skills are taught in a clear, structured way, so students take ownership of their learning.

A smiling student in a navy Tzemicha uniform learning at her desk

A smiling student with red curly hair working in her Tzemicha workbook at her desk

The Goal

The Chofetz Chaim taught that teaching girls Chumash has a clear purpose: to instill emunah in Hashem and to show them how to live b'derech haTorah. Tzemicha is designed to help every Chumash teacher fulfill that purpose.

How It Works

Every passuk is learned independently. From the very first passuk they learn, students read each phrase and work it out on their own. With their teacher's guidance, they then put the pieces together and discover the meaning of the passuk for themselves.
Pesukim are learned as part of a unit. Students first step back to see the big idea, then zoom in on the individual words and phrases, and finally step back again to connect those details to the larger picture.
Each passuk is read according to its ta'amei hamikra. The trop shows exactly where to pause, so students read the passuk smoothly, in clear and meaningful phrases. Read this way, the passuk becomes much easier to understand.
Skills are practiced until they become second nature. The lashon component teaches one skill at a time and provides thorough practice, so each skill becomes automatic and students can apply it to their Chumash learning with ease.
Tzemicha Mei'haTorah is woven throughout the curriculum. These lessons bring out the Torah's lifelong messages and help students apply them to their own lives, so they can grow into their best selves.

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The Tzemicha Process

Pre-Learning

Teacher-Directed

The teacher lays the groundwork by introducing:
- The vocabulary of the pesukim, organized by category and presented in its simplest form
- The key concepts, including words that require more than a translation (a be'er is a well, but what is a well?)
- The relevant background, including how the new topic connects to what students have already learned

Student-Directed

Students then locate each word in the passuk that contains a base word or shoresh they learned, linking the simple form to the actual words of the passuk.

Learning

The teacher reads the passuk one phrase at a time, without translating.
After each phrase, she asks a focused question to guide students' thinking.
Through their answers, students piece together the meaning of the passuk on their own.

Teacher Support

The Tzemicha Teachers' Edition provides:
- Guiding questions for each phrase
- Explanations of each phrase, showing how the wording of the passuk is understood
- Meforshim for the teacher to study, so she comes to the lesson with a thorough understanding of the passuk and can lead her students to greater clarity

Post-Learning

Students reinforce what they learned by answering review questions in their workbooks.
The class chants the passuk together to build fluency in its lashonos.
A Tzemicha Mei'haTorah lesson reviews the inyan and draws out a message. Students reflect on how that message applies to their own lives and how it can help them grow.