Pre-School Message
from Sara Foster

Photos from our Purim Party courtesy of Rabbi Klein.

Welcome to a new school year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer!
Parents have often asked me why it is important for their children to attend Religious School. They seemed to feel that the essential part of a child?s Jewish education is the learning of Hebrew as it prepares a child to become a Bar/ Bat Mitzvah.

My question is this: how does a 13 year old do this if they have no idea what it means to be Jewish? After all Hebrew is only a language. Knowing how to read the words does not a Jew make.

Children want to know how their lives fit into a bigger picture. They want to explore their sense of mystery and wonder. They want to make sense of the world around them. Judaism is all about saying, “The world makes sense. We matter. We have something to share with the world.”

A Religious School education provides a child with teachings from the Torah to help them make sense of the world around them. The teachers are comfortable talking about God and prayer with the students. They create an atmosphere in the classroom that is conducive to discussions about those parts of life that do not have easy answers. Religious School is a place where children can express their innermost feelings and receive guidance from Jewish teachers and Jewish teachings.

Sociologists have shown that after three generations ethnicity loses its centrality as a focus of connecting to others like ourselves. The ways of the old country, the foods, many of the traditions, these become merely bits of nostalgia. They hold very little relevance for today?s Jewish families. We need to be able to go deeper than this. We need to go beyond ethnicity and develop a spiritual connectedness to God. Somewhere beyond holidays and history coalitions across the synagogue are telling us we need spirituality and God so that both children and adults know why they want to be Jewish. This is why religious education is important.

Religious School is important as it is the place where children learn about the mitzvot(commandments). These commandments provide rules for living and for the way we treat one another. They teach us how we are to interact with our family and our friends. Mitzvot are uniquely Jewish.

Religious School is important because every week the children are provided with opportunities to live and experience Judaism. They sing. They create Jewish art. They act out Jewish plays. They cook Jewish foods. They attend performances that sometimes include singers, artists, storytellers and actors.

In Religious School, students are encouraged to think about answers to difficult questions, and are given Jewish ways to explore possible answers to these questions.
I encourage you to discuss the school day with your children in the car as you drive them home. Attend our student assemblies, services and our special events like camp assemblies, our seders for Tu B?Shevat and Pesach and our family education classes.

It is also important for you and your family to attend the Family Night services with your children. This year students who attend services with their families have an opportunity to earn a special Jewish silly bands. There will be a sign in sheet in Margie?s office every Shabbat.

The experiences and learning your children receive in Religious School will play an important role in their spiritual growth and maturity. But learning and experiencing Jewish life in the classroom setting only goes so far. Children learn what they live.

I wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year. L'Shanah Tovah Tikvateinu.
Shalom, Linda

Linda