The runner-up in this year's international Bible (Tanach) quiz was Noam Hadad, a 10th-grade student at the Bnei Akiva girls school Amana in Kfar Saba. The year before, the contest was won by Or Eshual, another Amana student.
The Bible quiz, held each year on Independence Day, tests youths' knowledge of the Hebrew Bible. It is open to students from around the world.
Staff at Amana have taken an approach aimed at creating Bible champions. The fast track for Bible learning is part of an overall trend to encourage excellence, explains Principal Rabbi Yossi Kahane. “We help students who are struggling, but it is also important not to abandon those students who excel,” he said.
Following the success of the school's Bible track, it plans to open other advanced tracks for strong students as well, Kahane reports.
The Bible track is headed by Kobi Fried, who looks for potential Bible champions the way coaches seek top athletes. “I try to find the girls in seventh grade, to see who has the potential,” he told Arutz Sheva.
Students who show an ability in learning the Bible thoroughly, and an interest in doing so, are given help in doing so for years before the quiz. “The goal is to get them into intensive learning at an early stage,” Fried said.
The students are able to keep up with their other studies as well, he added, explaining, “These are generally strong students, who don't need any special consideration [from other teachers].” However, he added, in the weeks before the quiz he makes sure that students are given the time they need to focus on Bible studies.