Would you consider the instructions straight forward within the workbook itself, then? How long does it take your child to finish a lesson? If I know that in advance, I would be able to have a general idea of how to incorporate it into his day/week. I'm sorry for pestering you with many questions; I just try to avoid wasting money by thoroughly investigating a product before purchasing. Todah Raba, Rachel

Jump bumping to bring to the front. Looking forward to any further responses.:) Rachel

The Pharisees, up till the Roman edicts and destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, were very "evangelical", being vigorous about promoting their school of thought. Historically, that is accurate. Between G-d Fearers and proselytes, their numbers grew. Plus, to be a "light unto the nations", the purpose is to reveal the One G-d of Israel to the world. However, the persecution of the Jewish people by the Romans & later the Roman church has reduced those activities. Adonai declared in His Torah that these are His Moedim: His Appointed Times, not Jewish Feasts; they have been entrusted to The Jewish people; but just like the Land of Israel belongs to Him, so do the Times: 1 ADONAI said to Moshe, 2 "Tell the people of Isra'el: 'The designated times of ADONAI which you are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated times. Vayikra (Lev.) 23: 1-2 4 "'These are the designated times of ADONAI, the holy convocations you are to proclaim at their designated times Vayikra (Lev. )23:4 44 Thus Moshe announced to the people of Isra'el the designated times of ADONAI. Vayikra (Lev.) 23:44 As for who is to listen and obey the Torah (instructions): 14 If a foreigner stays with you - or whoever may be with you, through all your generations - and he wants to bring an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI, he is to do the same as you. 15 For this community there will be the same law for you as for the foreigner living with you; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations; the foreigner is to be treated the same way before ADONAI as yourselves. 16 The same Torah and standard of judgment will apply to both you and the foreigner living with you.'" B'Midbar(Numbers )15:14-16 12. Assemble the people-the men, the women, the little ones and the foreigners you have in your towns -so that they can hear, learn, fear ADONAI your God and take care to obey all the words of this Torah;13 and so that their children, who have not known, can hear and learn to fear ADONAI your God, for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Yarden to possess. D'Varim (Deut. )31:12, 13 Rivka, as for who is Jewish; true, Rabbinical law declares that one is only Jewish if the mother is Jewish. That makes sense historically as Jewish women were being raped and kidnapped by gentile men. The Jewish authorities needed a way to recognize who was Jewish. Obviously, everyone knows who the mother was. Scripture shows a different standard. The Hebrew lineage is outlined in the Tanakh as being paternal. Abraham (after the name change) was declared that he would be the Father of many Nations (including the Arab nations), with descendants as numerous as the stars; Isaac, his promised son, produced Jacob, named Israel, as the father of the 12 Tribes that began the entire Hebrew peoples. In the book of Ruth, a Moabitess, declared to her MIL, Naomi: 16 But Rut said, "Don't press me to leave you and stop following you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. Ultimately marrying Boaz; here is the ancestry of King David of the Tribe of Judah:21 Salmon was the father of Bo'az, Bo'az was the father of 'Oved, 22 'Oved was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David. My husband is Jewish because his father is Jewish; the same way that he would be if it had been his mother. My children are Jewish as well, according to the standard of Adonai. I am not a Christian. I am a spiritual child of Avraham; however, that doesn't make me Jewish. My identity is one of a gentile here on earth, but spiritually, in HaShem's view, I am part of the Commonwealth of Israel, as the foreigner described in the Torah. My dd is adopted into our family, but she is still a female, not a male like her brother and she is still bi-racial, even though she's part of our family. But she shares and is a full member with all the benefits, family heritage and burdens of being part of our family. As for the tree; it's the wild olive tree branches being grafted into a cultivated, rooted olive tree; not two completely different trees. The wild branches become part of Israel, Israel doesn't become part of the wild branches as Christianity has maintained should happen through the centuries. It saddens me desperately if a Jewish person chooses to abandon their G-d given identity when they except the Jewish Messiah, as that is not supported anywhere in the Scriptures. Christianity is not Jewish; throughout history they've attempted to replace it (as in Replacement Theology). It's first century roots are established in Judaism; the talmidim of Yeshua weren't trying to start a new religion. Jeremiah 31:31 "Here, the days are coming," says ADONAI, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Isra'el and with the house of Y'hudah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by their hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband to them," says ADONAI. 33 "For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra'el after those days," says ADONAI: "I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, 'Know ADONAI'; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more." How can the Torah be abolished if HaShem was going to "write it on their hearts"? There would be nothing to write. They were just another sect of Judaism of the time - one of about 14 sects. It is pure arrogance for a Christian to declare themselves an authority on Judaism. Historically, the church hasn't considered herself as an equal at all, but of super-seccesionist. I am amazed at the affinity for Catholicism that exists in some of the posts here as it is the mother of Replacement Theology (though not the only one that has its theology tied up in it in some way) and root of Jewish oppression throughout history; infecting Martin Luther & his teachings, as he began the transition to protestantism. I love the beauty of Liturgy and ritual and traditions; as long as they support G-d's Instructions for worshipping Him. I can understand the attraction to the beauty of the rituals and structured prayers; after all, both Catholicism and Talmudic Judaism rose adjacent to one other, so they have many similarities in style and extra-Scriptural law (extra-Scriptural doesn't equate with anti-Scripture, I want to make that clear). However, it is the Protestant denominations, mainly from the 20th C. on, that pay the most attention to the Nation of Israel, support her prosperity and defend G-d's People. I hope Christians will consider your links; I am familiar with them and use some of them myself. However, the link to the blog post was a turn-off and didn't promote unity. Her language was unnecessarily inflammatory and her tone condescending; not a reflection of your desire to be a light. Her blog post does you a disservice and distracts from the good that you were trying to do. I apologize for dragging this out in such a long post; I didn't originally intend to do so. I love the Jewish people so; my heart is one of Ruth who cries out that "Your people will be my people and your God will be my God". My Messiah is Jewish, no matter His depiction as otherwise thru the centuries. This is complex due to the actions of people over the past 2000 yrs.+. The relationship of Jews and gentiles isn't as complex in G-d's Scriptures as rabbis, popes, priests, & pastors have made it out to be. I don't believe in a hodge-podge creature, but a people united as echad; bringing together of many into one. But which Judaism do you think should be the one? Ultra-Orthodox, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist or Humanist; what about the hard-core feminist views? Commentary is insightful & interesting, however you must go to the Source & we can agree to disagree on some traditions of man without accusations of who is really being Jewish. I understand, & share the frustration of the mis-use and misunderstandings of the symbols of Judaism (a cross in a Star of David vexes me). Those who want to know more about the Appointed Times of The L-rd should study Jewish sources, showing respect, if not agreement, with the centuries of traditions and insights of the Sages; as well as Messianic Jewish sources (which is different than Torah-Observant and Hebrew Christians, and gentile believers are not Hebrew Christians). The Rabbis through the centuries don't necessarily have better answers than Messianic ones. There's always been heated and respectful debate within the Jewish community without denegration. Extremely important is the best possible attempts at speaking Hebrew correctly in the Blessings (but is that Ashkenazi or Sephardi pronunciation? With/without vowels? See how crazy you can get?:)); it's vital that if you're going to speak the blessings and observe the Feasts, then you do your homework. Learn with a Hebraic mindset, not a Greek one; HaShem revealed Himself through the Hebrew Scriptures & through mostly Hebrew authors, from the Torah, Nevi'im, K'tuvim to the Brit Chadashah . The entire thing is Jewish book. Thank you taking the time to read my novel and I pray I didn't offend anyone too much (preferably not at all) or deter the moderator from posting my words. I look forward to many more opportunities for sharing Hebraic methods and resources for teaching our children! Shalom, Rachel

Thank you for noticing! Yes, I am new here. I haven't done an official intro.; perhaps I'll get around to that soon (you know, along with Pesach prep., menu planning, gardening, chicken keeping, sleeping, eating...:001_huh:). Rachel

Want to pm me and have me ask him about what program next? Would he be ready for college courses? He's not ready for college level courses yet; he's only 10.5. He will in just a few years, though (time passes oh so quickly and he is verbal and passionate about his heritage). However, I am attemting to gather materials for his (and his sister's) scope and sequence for Hebrew from next year through their graduation; so I will pm you later today. I appreciate your offer to help. That is a Blessing that your dad has that knowledge and skill.:001_smile: LHT has the specific goal of reading the torah. YHL is more comprehensive with the grammar and a greater emphasis on oral skills. We use both. Today 11:47 AM LHT has the specific goal of reading the torah. YHL is more comprehensive with the grammar and a greater emphasis on oral skills. We use both. That is important to know. Our goal for our children is for reading the Scripture and for oral communication. My son starts his bar mitzvah training later this year, which is very exciting. I only know the Hebrew that I've learned at shul and in assisting him with his materials-he has out-surpassed me! He's pretty much self-teaching at this point. I can get alot of it, but my recall just isn't as quick as his. May I ask you a few more questions? He does Shalom Ivrit 5 days a week, adding in the prayer companion 1 day and script writing another. How would you suggest I add in these two new resources? How long do they take? Is there a teacher's guide since I'm not proficient in the language? Also, I am beginning him in Latin for Children next year, too. You may not be able to help me here, but I am wondering how to incorporate the Shalom Ivrit, the other resources and Latin. I'm not concerned about whether he can do it, but how to work it all in together in a day/week:confused:. Thanks for your time, Rachel

My son is in his fourth year learning Hebrew via Behrman House materials. He's currently working through Shalom Ivrit 1. However, he needs more grammar teaching, IMO; Shalom Ivrit is very subtle in presenting grammar rules and he's ready to put together his own sentences. Which one of these materials, Yesadot Halashon or Lashon HaTorah, would be useful for supplementation? I wouldn't think I should use both. If you've used one or the other, or both, could you tell me their strengths and weaknesses? Also, how often are you using them? Todah (thank you), Rachel

Thank you responding. Considering you experience so far with MCT, do you think you will use the next in the series? Also, how often do you use it and how long does it take to implement? Thank you, Rachel

I'm looking at these two company's programs for deeper poetry study in the next couple of years; I have an almost 10 yr. old and a 10 yr.old. They have been reading poetry aloud, and found it enjoyable, since they could read. Could someone tell me what they perceive to be the pro's and con's of each? Also, can the MCT Poetry series be used without the rest of the LA program and without the vocab. supplement? However, do you think having the vocab. supplement would be advantageous? How much time does each one require? We read poetry 2-3x a wk., but I'd only want a "study" once a week. I want to use the one that is the least workbookish. Any other information you think would be worthwhile for me to have, I would appreciate! Thanks, Rachel

Disagree with Isaac Watts or Daniel Valles? I, too, disagree strongly with several of Mr. Valles' doctrinal statements and it makes me wonder. I wonder though if the use of Mr. Watts' book Logic on its own would suffice? Without the extra organization of the'seminar'. I guess I'd have to actually read it first.:glare: Rachel

I'm really considering it for either next year or the year after, at age 11 or 12. Isaac Watts originally wrote Logic specifically for children to defend the faith using reason and of course, develop reasoning (logic) skills in general. He didn't agree that faith and reason were mutually exclusive. I think there is a tremendous lack of reasoning skils and logic in our society and especially among people of faith. When you do get around to using it, I look forward to you posting your experience. Rachel

In am bumping this up to glean the same info from someone. I contacted Mr. Valles and he said it could be started at age 12. He recommended Fallacy Detective after his Seminar due to the nature of the Logic Seminar. Cynthia, did you decide to go ahead and purchase the Seminar and use it? If so, what do you think? If anyone else can contribute their experience, I'd appreciate hearing that, too. Thanks, Rachel