Why were baseball Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, award-winning director Steven Spielberg and early 1900s union organizer Clara Lemlich leading a service last week at Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael?
Actually, it was merely kids dressed as those famous Jews — and 19 others — as the sixth-grade Judaic studies class from Brandeis Hillel Day School in Marin led a special tefillah (prayer service) for more than 200 people.
The costumed service was the brainchild of BHDS Marin teacher Dorit Israel. It evolved from a program called the Jewish Court of All Time, in which students delve into history by adopting a historical figure and acting in that role.
So there was Steven Spielberg (aka Ethan Fonarev) saying, “The parashah Toldot is like creating movies: You need good and bad.” And there was Hank Greenberg (aka Samuel Swire) relating his portion to hard work and perseverance.
Others on hand included four-time Olympic gold medalist Jason Lezak (Zev Schuman), pioneering judge Birdie Armstrong (Ella Armoza), dancer-choreographer Anna Sokolow (Maya Togersen), and geometry pioneer Alex Grothendieck (Abigail Brotman).
JCAT, a program of RAVSAK, the Jewish Community Day School Network, is a mostly online program, but students also impersonate their characters and discuss cultural, social and moral issues in a fictional trial.