Consider Jewish education

It’s never too early to begin your child’s Jewish education or too late to continue it. Our school is a very happening place for that on Saturday mornings and Wednesday afternoons, September through May.

If you have a child who will be 3 or 4 this fall, enroll him or her in our preschool class. It’s packed with experiential learning activities – cooking, art, role playing, games, stories -- focused on Jewish holidays, Jewish values and Jewish rituals. 

If your child is beginning kindergarten or older, make sure he or she attends our Chai classes which teach Torah, Avodah (prayer) and G’milut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness) through study and experiential learning activities.

School wide, all ages celebrate the Jewish holidays, take part in Jewish cultural activities such as singing and dancing, and participate in some part of Shabbat morning services.

While we use and teach some basic Hebrew – blessings, greetings, common words – to all ages, more intensive Hebrew studies begin at age 8 or 9, when your child has reached third grade. If you want him or her to be able to read Hebrew from the Torah and the siddur (prayer book), be able to lead a service, have a bar/bat mitzvah and perform Jewish home rituals, they need to be enrolled in Hebrew studies.

Beyond bar/bat mitzvah, we have a two-year confirmation program that involves the study of ethics (person-to-person relationships) and theology (person-to-God relationships) with Rabbi David Steinberg.

If your child isn’t involved currently in Temple Israel’s Religious and Hebrew School, contact me at 724-8857 (Temple office), 728-5686 (home) or via anbuck@jewishduluth.org (e-mail) for more information and enrollment materials.
                                                                                                       Andrea Novel Buck
                                                                                                       Youth Education Director