a progressive Reform Jewish congregation |
2600 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa California 95404(707) 578-5519 fax: (707) 578-3967 email: [email protected] |
School is just about over and we have completed our first year in our new building. It has been an amazing year and our student body swelled to 152 students, our largest ever (last year we had 133). Children were able to have their artwork and pictures in their rooms as well as all their supplies. When we said the Shehecheyanu last September for the beginning of school, it had special significance as the beginning of our first school year in our space for study, our Beit Midrash.
Getting to know and �bond� with our home was very important to our children. Our sixth grade students, thanks to their teacher, Marcia Gladstone, spent an evening learning and having fun and then camped out in the sanctuary for the first overnight. It was transformative for them and, in spite of the lack of sleep, they want to do it again. Several class lessons were devoted to learning about the stained glass windows and what they represent. For example, they looked at the window in Shalom Hall that represents the Jewish value of caring for the sick, �Bikkur Holim�. This window has a bouquet of flowers.
Our teachers and madrikhim deserve our thanks and praise for all the creative ways in which they helped the children and families adjust to our new building. We have an outstanding and devoted team of teachers and assistants who put in many hours beyond their class time to make STARS meaningful as well as engaging. Please send them your todah rabah in any form you wish. To the following teachers, a resounding yasher koach: Susie Miller (music), Denise Harrison (K), Barbara Whitaker (1st), Yvonne Cobert (2nd), Norman Eisley (3rd); Avi Starr-Glass, Yvonne Cobert and Meryl Fischer (4th); Sherry Knazan (5th, 7th & madrikhim); Marcia Gladstone(6th and B�nai Mitzvah); Idan Amran and Shai Amran (6th); Gesher Calmenson (B�nai Mitzvah), Elly Cohen (B�nai Mitzvah), Margo Miller (B�nai Mitzvah), Judith Goleman (B�nai Mitzvah).
To our madrikhim we say kol hakavod for their enthusiasm and making their time with STARS a priority in their lives: Rachel Wiegardt-Egel (K), Katie Hyman (1st), Raina Blumenthal (1st), Kim Harris (2nd), Julia McCoy (2nd), Jonathan Abramson (3rd), Nicole Schlaeppi (3rd), Sarah Barmazel (4th), Caleb Peretz (5th), Rachel Shotkin (5th), Jordan Ferrick (5th), Jordan Hyman (6th), Molly Morrison (6th), Alana Fichman (7th), Lynden Turner (7th).
One of the major Jewish values we have been studying this year is Chesed, kindness. Teachers have discussed how being kind means caring about each member of the class and welcoming new classmates. Some of the classes looked at our stained glass windows and learned about the mitzvot themes they represent. One window shows two people clasping hands, a representation of Hachnasat Orchim (hospitality, literally �bringing in of the guests�).
Welcoming the stranger is a recurring theme in Torah. For example, Abraham invites the three visitors who approach his tent to rest and partake of a meal. The holiday of Passover also includes the practice of Hachnasat Orchim. Why do we open the door for Elijah at the Seder? One answer is to demonstrate that the stranger is welcome to share Passover with us so that we can perform the mitzvah of hospitality. It is a special kindness to invite other Jews to your home for a Seder. The Rabbis, realizing that inviting those who are alone is not enough, outlined guidelines for both the host and the guests. The host should make an effort to put his or her guests at ease. For the children, this might mean having activities and roles for them at the Seder. And guests, according to the Rabbis, should not overstay their welcome!
As Jews we have a special relationship with Hachnasat Orchim, since we have lived in countries where we were considered foreigners. Although we may not feel excluded in the U.S., we should not forget what it feels like to be an outsider. Our liturgy reminds us that we were strangers in Egypt and we need to remember what that feels like. �Let the stranger in your midst be to you as the native; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.�
STARS is committed to making every child and family feel welcome and included. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for performing Hachnasat Orchim as a school community. Chag Pesach Sameach (Happy Passover).
Last month, 2nd grade families came together for a program on �Celebrating Shabbat�. Parents shared what they did at home to make the day special. Many lit candles and recited the blessings and others talked about making the meal special or coming to services. We shared how difficult it can be to create a separation from the week and a time to slow down and focus on the joy in our lives.
As part of the workshop, the parents met separately from the children and discussed the Shabbat tradition of blessing children. The seventh day is the day that God rested from the work of creation. Our children are one link to the action of creation and we agreed that we need to pause and appreciate them and God�s role with a blessing. The traditional blessings are said by the parent or grandparent while placing hands on the child�s head or shoulders. This physical gesture can be a strong emotional connection even when the children do not understand the words that are said. The traditional blessing for boys asks God to make them like Ephraim and Manashe, the children of Joseph. This refers to the blessing Jacob gave to his grandsons. For girls, the blessing asks that God make them like our matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. For both boys and girls, the blessing continues with a prayer asking that God bless and keep them and give them peace. We also talked about creating our own personal prayers.
They can be whispered, if they embarrass your child, or said out loud. According to Jewish tradition, parents are blessed by the actions of their children. Parents may want to recount some deed of their child that made them feel blessed. You can recount something the child did that week that made you particularly proud. We discussed some ideas and then each parent took an index card and wrote down what they might say in a blessing to their child.
The blessing of children at Shabbat is about a tradition that allows us to demonstrate our love on a day that embraces love.
�Blessing our children is loving their best selves as their
true inner selves.�
� Mordechai Gafni from Shabbat at Home
by Zion & Fields-Meyer.
It is that time of year to begin planning for summer camp. Last year, over 25 of our youth attended Jewish overnight camp at either Camp Newman, the URJ camp for Northern California, or Camp Tawonga, a JCC camp in Northern California. We would like all our families to consider a Jewish sleep-away camp.
Many children who attend overnight camps engage in their summer activities and make new friends. Jewish camps also have great activities but add the special aspect of immersion in Jewish living. The campers have a unique opportunity to live in an environment that builds Jewish identity. They are excited to be living with Jewish friends and surrounded by Jewish activities. One of our campers, Isaac Kort-Meade, who attended Newman, said, �At school there are only a few Jewish students but at camp you are one of many. You are now part the majority.� Camp Newman states on its application what most Jewish camps experience: �The moment campers enter our gates they enter a very special world; a world where everyone feels a sense of connection, community and mishpacha (family).�
When I asked some of our children what they liked best about camp, they all said the Shabbat experience. At camp they can live Shabbat, actively participate in prayer services in a spiritual outdoor service surrounded by nature, learn Hebrew, and learn through living Jewish values. Harry and Ben Miller both attended Camp Tawonga.
When I asked them what they liked best about camp, Harry said, �I like the services; they�re cool!� He also said camp changed his Jewish identity. Ben, who is in 4th grade, said, �I love the Jewish crafts and Shabbat. Shabbat is the best part of the week.�
To help families pay for camp, there are several funds available. CST has a Campership Fund based on a first-come basis; the Bureau of Jewish Education (Jewish Community Endowment Fund) has financial support for most middle class families; the BJE has a newly endowed merit fund for firsttime campers in grades 6, 7 and 8.
Camp can be expensive but the investment has been shown to be worthwhile. Research studies have found that camp is one of the major factors that build a lifetime commitment to Jewish living and a strong Jewish identity. Contact us for camp applications and scholarship forms. I hope that many of your children experience one of these, or another Jewish camp this summer.
We want to thank Sinai Memorial Chapel � Chevra Kadisha of the San Francisco Bay Area for their continuing support of our religious school programs. We, as well as other synagogue religious schools, have been the fortunate recipients of their philanthropy. Each year they disperse their earning to various organizations and designate a portion for Jewish education.
This year we were awarded $700 to help subsidize our madrikhim training program which directly benefits all our students. Our madrikhim program has grown this year to include 16 teens in grades 9 through 12. Under the direction of Sherry Knazan, our madrikhim teacher, they meet monthly to study, learn and share their experiences as classroom assistants. As a result, our teens in the madrikhim program have a better understanding of the learning needs of the children and are more successful in the classroom. In addition, they learn important skills as teachers and are more connected to their Jewish community. We hope that many will become religious school teachers in their college years or beyond.
We appreciate Sinai Memorial Chapel�s dedication to Jewish education for our youth and families and we are grateful for their support of Jewish life in Sonoma County. Their commitment to fund religious schools supports the Jewish mitzvah of Talmud Torah and also plants the seed for a life long interest in Jewish learning.
Being Jewish in North America is very different now than when many of us grew up. Anita Diamant, at her discussion here last month, said that she would not want to live as a Jew (and a Jewish woman) in any other time. She expressed her view that it is a very exciting time as Jews explore new ways to live Jewishly and develop their Jewish identities. The majority of families in STARS, (over 70%), are interfaith. In addition, virtually all our families have non-Jewish family members. Some find the month of December with Christmas and Chanukah to be challenging and struggle with discomfort at different events and activities. What is OK? Are we doing it right and affirming the other�s traditions and beliefs? We are truly fortunate to live in an open society where being unique is valued and many non-Jews are interested in Jewish customs and traditions.
The website Interfaith.com is a great site to learn more about how others have worked out raising Jewish children in an interfaith family. Their annual survey found that nearly all had some level of participation in Christmas. The majority said it was limited to exchanging gifts and eating Christmas food.
Nearly all said that what is most important is family togetherness and showing respect for relatives. They expressed a desire to teach their children tolerance. You may be interested in Interfaith.com�s suggestions for addressing the �December Dilemma�. Click on December Holidays and there are various thoughtful tips for many of the concerns interfaith families have.
The story of Chanukah is about the struggle of adopting the current culture�s values and ways. With the predominance of Hellenism, there was a movement to bring people back to Judaism. Although it was portrayed as an either-or situation, many of us see our families enriched and embraced. In the prayer said on the first night of Chanukah, the Shehecheyanu, we thank God for giving us life and bringing us to this day. We are also grateful to live in a time when being Jewish is valued.
Cheshvan is the only month in the Jewish calendar without a holiday. As a result it was decided to designate Cheshvan as Social Action Month. We thought that we can look at what we have done thus far and are planning at STARS that contributes to tikkun olam.
For Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur all classes had a lesson on tzedakah and feeding the hungry. We talked about the food drive that Shomrei Torah holds over the holidays and discussed the mitzvah of feeding the hungry. The children learned what a food bank and a soup kitchen are and then looked at Jewish texts that are related to hunger. For example, second grade looked at the quote, �You shall not close your hand for your fellow person who is poor,� Deuteronomy 15:7; Fifth grade studied the story of Naomi and Ruth gleaning the corners of the fields which were left for the poor to harvest. Seventh grade collected canned and other foods and brought them to synagogue.
This year we are also emphasizing environmental areas where we can help. The sixth grade will be joining Christ Church United Methodist members in November to participate in a river keeper program at Santa Rosa creek. They will learn together about stream preservation and also will clean up along the creek banks. Our Tu B�shevat program will center on the environment as well and children will create a small garden of some plants that are mentioned in the Bible.
Students in grades 4 � 7 receive a monthly Jewish magazine called Babaganewz which regularly contains an article about Tikkun Olam. In the Cheshvan issue they interviewed Barbara Boxer who is the first woman to chair the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. She spoke about growing up in Brooklyn and that experience made her �treasure the clean and beautiful environment in California.� It also helped her realize that �we are stewards of this planet.� When asked how Judaism influenced her career and life choices she responded that when she grew up she �learned three core Jewish values�.the command to �not stand idly by� when neighbors are in trouble; the responsibility to heal and repair the world, tikkun olam; and the obligation to pursue justice, which Devarim teaches as �Justice, justice you shall pursue.�
We hope that our students are learning these lessons as well. Please remember to send tzedakah with your child each week, whatever the amount. They will quickly learn that we have the obligation to care for others who are less fortunate.
On the first day of school all parents received a copy of our new Brit (covenant) of Behavior. We now have our own building that can encompass the various names of a synagogue: Beit Tefilah (House of Worship), Beit Midrash (House of Study), and Beit HaKnesset (House of Assembly or Community). The STARS Committee, believing this is an auspicious and appropriate time, asked that a Brit be developed for our families.
Our Brit is based on some important Jewish values (midot). A portion of our curriculum is devoted to Jewish values since these are essential components of Jewish living. As a religious institution we are able to teach, discuss and practice values that build menschlekeit (mensch behavior). The midot that are a part of our Brit are: Kavod�respect and honor; Derech Eretz�good manners or appropriate behavior; Shalom Bayit�peace in the home (for STARS this also means peace in the classroom); Chesed�kindness; and Talmud Torah�Jewish study.
Kavod encompasses the areas of safety (respect for self and others) as well as respect for our sacred space. Some examples include honoring the time of prayer by participating and, as needed, by being respectfully quiet. For safety we have rules such as no tree, fence or wall climbing. Derech Eretz includes setting positive standards as well as rules at our school. On the first day of school each class set some classroom rules after studying the midot.
Shalom bayit in the classroom means creating a place of peace and caring. We emphasize making the class welcoming to all children, including new students. Each of us is created in God�s image, b�tzelem Elohim, and activities such as name calling or bullying are not acceptable.
The foundation of menschlikeit is chesed, kindness. Students learn about Hillel�s golden rule, �love your neighbor as yourself.�
The value of Jewish study, Talmud Torah, is at the heart of Judaism. It is our goal to pass on our traditions to the next generation. Our brit states that students have the right to learn and we work with families to create a positive learning atmosphere. Teachers come to class well-prepared with the intent to teach. We have also established a plan for addressing individual student�s interference with class learning.
It is important that the brit be supported by all segments of our school and community. Through the partnership of the teachers, students, madrikhim, parents and administration, as well as the larger Shomrei Torah community, we can succeed in our mission of being a House of worship, learning and community.
The month of Tishrei with the holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, are a time for introspection and planning for the new year. We are firmly planted in our new building and realize that, now more than ever, we need to share our good fortune and blessings with those who are less fortunate. Last Spring we applied for a grant to develop a program for our school that will help our families embrace Service Learning.
Through the generosity of the Bureau of Jewish Education we received the grant to engage in Service Learning, a way to learn about being involved in helping the community. We will be focusing on community service as well as the environment. As a result of the year-long program, we anticipate that there will be a deeper understanding of the Jewish teachings that command us to care about and repair our world.
In particular, we will focus in the areas of Gemilut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness) and Bal Tashchit (do not destroy). Gemilut Chasadim is part of our prayer service as one of the �obligations whose worth cannot be measured.� It is also the theme of one of the stained glass windows in our new building in Shalom Hall. Bal Tashchit refers to the mitzvah to preserve our world and the obligation to do our part in valuing God�s creation. The right side window in the sanctuary spells out the Creation story, Bereshit. We will tie these concepts into our curriculum in a variety of ways including family programs, class activities and holiday celebrations.
Each class will be developing a project, such as the Doing Good Well program in 7th grade. Sherry Knazan will be working with the class and families to create a year-long project that engages them to affect change from a Jewish perspective.
You will be hearing more about this over the year. For the High Holy Days we will participate in the collection of food for the local food bank. The classes will learn about why we are obligated to help others and parents will be encouraged to shop with their children to purchase healthy foods to donate. At our Sukkot Program and on the holiday of Tu B�shevat, we will be learning about �saving our planet� and what we can do to help.
On the environment theme, we have been working with the newly created Shomrei Torah Environment Committee. We plan to coordinate our activities and engage in some hands-on activities at our property. These may include a �field trip� around the property to learn about water conservation or planting a garden and tending it each week. We hope to conclude the year with family commitments to continue service learning as a regular part of family life.
Both Gimilut Hasadim, acts of loving kindness, and Bal Tashchit, do not destroy, refer to God�s presence. By caring about others and reaching out to them we recognize the spark of the divine in each of us, B�tzelem Elohim. Also, it is a Jewish teaching that the world ultimately belongs to God and we are merely the caretakers entrusted to use it wisely and care for God�s creations.
The STARS staff is looking forward to our New Year 5768 and new learning.
The Hebrew month of Elul begins on August 15th, the beginning of the new moon. It is a time to begin to prepare spiritually for the High Holy Days which begin the following month with Rosh Hashanah. During this time Jews begin the difficult process of self examination and reviewing the year. It is a time for introspection, repentance and increased spiritual connection. The process is hard work but on the upside is a feeling of hope that we can do better and that in the coming year we will make some changes.
At STaRS we will also be looking at ways to improve and do some thoughtful examination of how we can make some positive changes. We are preparing in a concrete way�registering children (have you registered yet?), recruiting teachers and madrichim, planning programs. We are also doing some of the reflective work necessary during the month of Elul: are we reaching our goals? How can we improve our curriculum? How can we do a better job of building community in our school? How can we teach the whole family?
The STaRS Committee has been active in this process and we have been looking at ways to improve classroom dynamics. Specifically, we will be developing a plan that addresses class behavior and instilling an atmosphere of respect and support.
We are also doing some planning in other areas such as teacher training. Three teachers are currently enrolled in a STaRS Hebrew class taught by Marcia Gladstone. The class is held at Shomrei Torah and the goal is for our teachers to learn prayer Hebrew and methods for teaching children. In the area of curriculum, we will be expanding to include additional family programs and new areas such as the importance of the environment. The ecology focus will tie in with the new initiative from our social action committee.
Families may also consider this time for introspection and planning with regard to their children�s (and their own) Jewish learning. Consider discussing ways to reach your Jewish goals for your family and then write them down. Here are some suggestions both large and small. Feel free to create your own list:
It is the desire to change, to be better at what we do, that gives us hope. We are looking forward to seeing our families on September 8, the first day of STaRS.