Over 15,000 Jewish children between the ages of 13 and 16 have entered the fifth annual Bible Contest, of the Department of Education and Culture of the Jewish Agency which will be climaxed with the national finals to be held in New York on Sunday, May 3, it was announced here today.
The contestants, competing in three divisions for the first prizes of a round-trip to Israel, will meet their first major test next month when the district finals are held in 32 United States and Canadian cities beginning on Sunday, March 15. Regional finals will be held a month later on Sunday, March 15.
The three divisions in the contest are for Bible quizzes in Advanced Hebrew, for students enrolled in Hebrew day schools; Intermediate. Hebrew, for students enrolled in afternoon Hebrew classes; and English, for students who study the Bible in English. The aim of the Bible Contest is to “promote a greater interest in the Bible among students of Jewish schools in the United States and Canada, with a view to encouraging more extensive reading and studying of the Bible, and to strengthen the place of Bible studies in the curricula of Jewish schools.”
Endorsed by Jewish educators throughout the world, and by both national and local American Jewish education groups, the Fifth Annual National Bible Contest is under the supervision of a Board of Sponsors of which Rabbi Joseph L. Lookstein of New York is chairman, and Azriel Eisenberg of New York, Rabbi Solomon B. Freehof of Pittsburgh and Rabbi Simon Greenberg of New York are co-chairmen.
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