Abstract:
Is it advisable for a pluralistic Jewish high school to include the documentary hypothesis in its Bible curriculum?
In this paper, the author—associate head of school and teacher of Bible at the Gann Academy in Waltham,
MA—analyzes the curricular justifications for and her experience of teaching this approach to twelfth-grade
students. Through examination of student work and interviews, she illustrates the benefits of and even the need for
meaningful exposure to the documentary hypothesis before college and young adulthood, in an environment that
supports students’ Jewish growth and identity formation.
