Marcia Gladstone
Hi, my name is Marcia Gladstone and I am one of the three lucky people who is privileged to be a bar/bat mitzvah tutor at Congregation Shomrei Torah. I truly feel that the program here is exceptional on every level. To attend a bar or bat mitzvah here is to feel bathed in an atmosphere of kehillah (community), spirituality and love. Over the years, Rabbi George has created a nurturing cocoon of faith and acceptance for the families, the students and the teachers. As a result, the students seem to just blossom and grow into their best selves on the bima for the entire community to witness. I have taught for 45 years, been involved in Jewish education for 33 years and been part of the Shomrei Torah school since its inception. I have degrees in elementary education and philosophy of religion and possess advanced degrees in special education and child psychology. Eight years ago, I was fortunate to be named teacher of the year by the Diller Foundation inSan Francisco. I love art, sewing, reading, friends, family, long walks and Judaism. Of all the grades that I have taught (preschool-middle school), my favorite has always been young adolescents. I find them inquisitive, funny, interesting. They have strong opinions and yet have incredibly open minds and hearts. Listening to their bar mitzvah sermons never fails to inspire and move me. They can be so amazingly insightful, warm and compassionate. I consider myself unbelievably blessed to share my passion for Judaism and love of learning with these incredible young people. I look forward to getting to know you better as we move through this incredible process together.
Margo Miller
I am the daughter of a rabbi coming from a line of rabbis going back 8 generations and grew up steeped in tradition. I attended Yeshiva in S. CA. learning to read Hebrew and English both at age 4. I moved toIsraelto attend h.s. 1969-1972.
Back in CA I attended U.C. Berkeley, and earned a B.A. in Anthropology, majoring in Middle Eastern languages, cultures and religions, with a Minor in Arabic and Islamic studies, as well as course work in Hebrew literature and grammar, linguistics, and language acquisition. I did field work in a Yemenite village inIsrael, studied Palestinian Dialect at Ulpan Akiva inIsrael, and worked in Jewish summer camp, as a Sunday school Hebrew teacher, and at Hillel as an office assistant.
I have an M.A. in anthropology fromUniversityofChicago, which I attended on a National Defense Fellowship in Persian. I studied and did field work inIran(UniversityofFerdowsi). I then worked as Assistant to the Vice President for City Colleges ofChicagoin community education, and as liaison for onboard education with the United States Navy.
Back inCaliforniaI earned an M.Ed. at U.C. Davis, with a focus on community education, curriculum development, program evaluation and research methodologies. In 1992 I moved toSonomaCountyand stayed home with a new baby for a few years. I began teaching Hebrew school in grades k-6, plus bnei mitzvah and adult classes in 1996. Since then I have had extensive professional development training, primarily in teaching Hebrew reading and prayer, as well as other courses relevant to Jewish education.
I started teaching at Shomrei Torah in the first year of STaRS. I was the kindergarten teacher that year, and that group of adorable youngsters all graduated from high school just this past June! I’ve been teaching b’nei mitzvah since 2,000. The curriculum is challenging, and my job is to support my students by tailoring the level of challenge and mode of instruction to each one individually. I hope I share my love of my subject matter, whether it’s the finer points of reading Hebrew or the larger points of what it all means. I am very patient, and never bored by practice and drill, but my favorite is when students ask me questions, and we have great conversations.
A positive and successful experience for each and every young person and also the whole family is always my number one goal. I remind them it’s all about the process, not the performance. On the day of their bar or bat mitzvah, we celebrate that our young people are transforming, having worked hard at a long term task, taken on more independent responsibility, mastered skills, gained confidence and pride, earned a new level of respect from their family and community, and become invested in their Jewish heritage. The b’nei mitzvah experience is like no other, and I am so grateful I am privileged to share it.
Elly Cohen
I am so privileged to be tutoring Shomrei Torah’s B’nai Mitzvah students since 2006. Working with them and their families, watching them grow so compassionate, caring and thoughtful, has been one of the most satisfying and spiritually rewarding religious experiences in my life. Being Project Manager of Remember Us: The Holocaust Bnai Mitzvah Project, for the past 5 years has led me to wonderful relationships with students and congregations world-wide, enhancing my understanding and connections to Judaism, and especially to my students here.
My husband Len and I retired in 2005, moved back toSanta Rosato live on my family’s ranch. For 30+ years I was a Cantorial Soloist with Temple Beth Torah inFremont,California. During those years I also taught religious school, tutored B’nai Mitzvah students, coordinated the junior and congregation choirs, and served on the Board of Directors in many capacities, (as well as working full time in the real estate, construction and lending industries). However, my most important occupation was raising our two children Joshua and Naomi, who have made me a very proud grandmother of Kiara and Silvan, and continue to let me shlep naches year after year. My goal in my “retirement” is to continue to shlep naches (experience every bit of joy) that life offers, especially with my Shomrei Torah family.