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“We want our children’s Religious School experiences to be better than ours were,” says Religious School committee member and parent Cece Kaufman-Himelstein. “Education has changed and so should our approach.”
That is why, as Sherith Israel Religious School Director Nancy Sheftel-Gomes explains, “parents take the time to sit down and talk about what they want their children to know, do and feel as part of their learning in Religious School.”
At Sherith Israel, learning is experiential. “From preschool through high school, we focus on enrichment and hands-on activities,” notes Sheftel-Gomes. “Whether we’re looking at building strong Jewish identities, introducing Torah or teaching Jewish values, we make Judaism come alive.”
Whether the children are singing along with the rabbi during Tefillah, winning the tug of war at the annual school picnic or cleaning a beach on Mitzvah Day, Sherith Israel Religious School develops strong Jewish identities, making Torah learning and living the anchors of CSI’s programs.
Religious School is a family affair at Sherith Israel. While children study in their classrooms, parents attend adult learning sessions, rehearse with the volunteer choir or help in the synagogue’s award-winning social action programs — Chicken Soupers and Hamotzi — which feed the chronically ill and needy of our city every Sunday. In addition, class-level family-education programs give parents the opportunity to learn along with their children. By studying together with the congregation’s clergy, children and parents grow together as Jews.
“Our multifaceted curriculum engages and inspires our students through music, art, cooking and just plain fun,” says Sheftel-Gomes. “Teens enjoy the experience so much that they routinely come back to help with Religious School and attend a mid-week teen program.”
She adds, “Sherith Israel’s Religious School builds community through the study and practice of tikkun olam, tzedakah, tefillah and Torah. The entire community looks forward to seeing our children pass down to their children what it means to live a Jewish life.”