The Our Shiputzim Parental Guide to the Bagruyot

As Israeli teenagers and their parents are well aware, ‘tis the season for that annual Israeli rite of passage: the bagruyot (matriculation exams – bagrut is the singular term).

This period can be particularly stressful for new oleh parents. After all, bagruyot are very different from SAT’s, Achievements, Regents, A-Levels, O.W.L.’s, and all the other standardized tests of their own high school years.

In fact, although we made aliyah over a decade ago, there are still many aspects of the bagrut system which I don’t understand. For instance:

1. How can it be that a “100” in history can lower one’s average?
2. Why does one need two days off for every bagrut?
3. How can one’s score on a nationwide, standardized test be partially determined by each individual teacher’s subjective grade?

But one thing I have learned is that the most important thing is to sound as if you know what you’re talking about – even if, in reality, you haven’t got a clue.

And so, in keeping with this blog’s unstated goal of assisting new and veteran olim, I’ve asked the official Our Shiputzim Information Specialist to draw up a list of bagrut basics.

See how many of these terms you can identify. (Please leave your responses in the comment section. B”N, I’ll post an update with the correct answers some time in the next week or two.)

• Matkonet
• Ezrachut
• Hagashah (Occasionally - and somewhat inaccurately - also known as tziyun magen)
• Megamah
• Feezikah
• On-seen (Hat tip: Jameel)
• Mikud
• Lashon
• Yechidot
• Machshevet (Hint: this is not to be confused with machsheivim)
• ‘G’
• Eretz
• Mo’ed bet
• Efess-chamesh

Update: The "answers" can be found here.

Don’t feel too bad if you only got four or five.

Or one.

Or none.

Because the next time your teenager cryptically refers to “the matkonet” and complains about “lashon and ezrachut," you can just whip out this guide, nod intelligently, and say:

“Don’t worry. There’s always mo’ed bet, and isn’t the mikud pretty easy this year anyway? And besides, your hagashah wasn’t bad at all, no?”

Your child won’t know what hit him…

!בהצלחה לכל הנבחנים