ABSTRACT
Unlike many adults, children are gifted with the ability to bridge the gap between context and text, pinpointing peculiarities and subtleties in a text while using their own knowledge and experience to interpret that text. This means that the methodology of halakhah as practical wisdom is ideally suited as a pedagogical philosophy throughout elementary school, even as children are just being introduced to halakhah, Jewish texts, and religious life. This approach generates dialogue in the classroom, where children present different perspectives of and about observance, ritual, and rules, and it is through such discussions that children's religious identities develop. This is particularly the case in settings that include diverse religious backgrounds, as the approach allows children who are more inclined to a devotional outlook to appreciate the contextualist perspective, and vice versa.
