Keeping Connected   March 2025

There are so many themes and concepts that help support the education of our students. One of the many ideas that the students are exposed to every single year and that we hope becomes a central part of their own Jewish identity and growth is the idea of doing mitzvot (commandments or good deeds.) Each class focuses on this idea in many different ways throughout the year, with curriculum, conversations, literature and experiences. We always love to hear about all the different mitzvot everyone is doing so please continue to share them with us.

The 1st, 2^nd and 3^rd grade class just finished experiencing mitzvot with Dov and Dova, the temple’s stuffed bears who love to help with mitzvot. Each student got a chance to take home either Dov or Dova and their suitcase filled with lots of things to help do mitzvot together at home. The suitcase includes supplies to do Shabbat and/or Havdalah at home, a huge list of suggestions of mitzvot to do together and lots of ritual items. The students walk out of the temple on a Sunday morning with a huge smile on their face after having found out that it is their turn to have Dov or Dova come to their home. The young students cuddle the bear and give the suitcase to mom or dad too carry! After spending a week or two together at home, the student and Dov or Dova come back to class and share the mitzvot they did together during their visit. The students add an entry into a journal, complete with photos and writings about their experiences. It is a very joyful and meaningful part of the curriculum.  Our hope is to begin to instill the importance, joy and responsibility of performing mitzvot and to encourage them to continue performing mitzvot for the rest of their lives.

As I was preparing for the bears to begin their visits, I was filling up the suitcases with all the necessary items. One of the items in the suitcase is a list of ideas of various mitzvot to do together when Dov or Dova visits. Instead of sharing that list with you, I thought I would share with you a partial list of the mitzvot that the students and families did do together with Dov or Dova!  It is pretty impressive.

Things 1^st/2^nd/3^rd graders and Dov/Dova did during their week together.

• Attended Shabbat services
• Helped open the ark
• Celebrated Shabbat at home
• Celebrated Shabbat at temple
• Read books together
• Helped empty the dishwasher
• Went to Kol Kolot rehearsals
• Ate challah bread
• Helped feed the cat
• Sang with Kol Kolot on the bima
• Practiced Hebrew letters
• Ate a snack or a meal together
• Lit shabbat candles
• Collected tzedakah money
• Listened to music
• Made challah together
• Donated food to the hungry
• Helped clean the room
• Took care of Nana’s dog
• Played golf
• Played with a puppy
• Helped decorate for Hanukkah
• Celebrated a birthday
• Set the table for shabbat
• Celebrated Havdalah
• Help feed the bunnies
• Went out to dinner
• Helped with the laundry
• Shoveled snow
• Played Legos

May all of our students and families continue to perform mitzvot for a lifetime.

Deborah

Schedule for March 2025

• Sunday, March 2, 2025 – Religious School is in session; Family Ed for 4^th/5^th grade; Kol Kolot rehearsal
• Wednesday, March 5 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm; Chai School field trip (6pm – 8:45pm)
• Friday, March 7 – Shabbat Dinner at 6pm, Family Shabbat at 7pm, led by 6^th/7^thgraders
• Sunday, March 9– Religious School is in session
• Tuesday, March 11 – Post Confirmation, 7pm-8:30pm at Rabbi Perry’s home
• Wednesday, March 12 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm
• Friday, March 14 – Tot Shabbat at 6pm
• Sunday, March 16 – Purim Spiel and Carnival at 10am
• Wednesday, March 19 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm – 6:0pm
• Saturday, March 22 – Family Ed for 6^th grade – 5:00pm
• Sunday, March 23 – Religious School is in session; Kol Kolot rehearsal
• Wednesday, March 26 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm; Chai School Session 3 begins, 6:15pm-8:15pm
• Sunday, March 30 – Religious School is in session; Kol Kolot rehearsal

Keeping Connected   February 2025

The “JOYS” (and “oys”) of Hebrew School

Congregation Shalom’s Hebrew School program meets once a week on Wednesday afternoons, starting at 4:15pm. This is not an ideal time to have students gather to learn a new language.  They are tired from a day of school. They are hungry. They have a long list of other things they would much rather be doing. Parents sometimes find it difficult to get their children physically to the temple. For a few months, the students enter just as it begins to turn dark outside.  For many months, the students leave at 6pm into darkness. How do we create an exciting and engaging program that allows the students to learn Hebrew, develop their Jewish identity, find pride in being Jewish, connect to Judaism and have fun amidst all these circumstances? It is not easy but with a lot of hard work from teachers, madrichim, families and the students, we are seeing success and celebrating Hebrew achievements weekly!

If you were to observe the Hebrew School, you would see a busy and active environment. There are small groups of students spread out all through the social hall and sometimes into the sanctuary and hallway, working with each other, working with teachers and madrichim and sometimes working by themselves practicing Hebrew. Here is a short list of some of what you might see.

• Students recording their own Hebrew on IPads.
• A student working one on one with a madrichim learning new words and phrases.
• A small group of students chanting a prayer together or line by line.
• Students working with word cards from a prayer, reading the individual words and putting them in order.
• Students laying on bean bags chairs reciting prayers and blessing they have already mastered.
• A group of students playing Hebrew vocabulary Jenga.
• Students up on the bima, chanting a prayer they have mastered.
• Students helping each other to learn new material.
• Students and teachers playing “Game Show Vocabulary,” complete with buzzers and score keeping.
• Students taking a moment to go through the aleph-bet flashcards to see how fast they can identify each letter and the sound it makes.
• Students reading nonsensical Hebrew words to practice putting letters and vowels together.
• A group of students involved in a game of AlephBet Chutes and Ladders.
• Students matching Hebrew Words of the Week to their English meanings.
• Students playing group games like Blooket and Kahoot.
• And so much more

As you can see, Hebrew School might not look like your own Hebrew School experiences. (We hope is is improved and more engaging for all.) So much time and effort and hard work go into planning for Hebrew School and implementing it each week. It works best with support, encouragement and enthusiasm from parents and our whole temple community. Please work with us to talk positively about Hebrew School and the joys that do come from learning Hebrew at Congregation Shalom.

We often end the Hebrew day with everyone sharing their “Oys and Joys” from Hebrew School from that day. There are “oys” each day as students work to learn and speak and chant a new language. There are also many “joys” including spending time with friends, learning a new prayer, mastering a prayer and getting to move on to a new prayer, winning a game, getting a turn on the IPad or beanbag chair, learning something new, and so much more. The teachers and madrichim are proud of the hard work from the students and we all work together each day to try to create an environment that is filled with “joys.”

Please share with me your own thoughts about us scheduling Hebrew School on Wednesday afternoons. If you have other ideas, we are always thinking about ways to improve all parts of the Religious/Hebrew School and your thoughts and ideas are welcomed. Also, please join with your children in finding and articulating the joys of Hebrew School, Congregation Shalom and being Jewish!

Todah Rabah, (thank you)

Deborah

Schedule for February 2025 

• Sunday, February 2, 2025 – Religious School is in session
• Wednesday, February 5 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm; Chai School, 6:15pm – 8:15pm
• Friday, February 7 – Shabbat Dinner at 6pm, Family Shabbat at 7pm
• Sunday, February 9– Religious School for Preschool – 7^th graders; Parent/Teacher Conferences for 1^st – 7th
• Tuesday, February 11 – Post Confirmation, 7pm-8:30pm at Rabbi Perry’s home
• Wednesday, February 12 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm; Chai School 6:15pm-8:15pm
• Sunday, February 16 – NO SCHOOL – Massachusetts School vacation
• Wednesday, February 19 – NO HEBREW SCHOOL OR CHAI SCHOOL – Massachusetts vacation week
• Sunday, February 23 – NO SCHOOL – Massachusetts School vacation
• Wednesday, February 26 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm; Chai School 6:15pm-8:15pm

Keeping Connected   January 2025

I hope everyone had a festive Hanukkah and I wish you all a Happy 2025!

We have a wonderful Shabbat planned to begin the year. On Friday, January 10, 2025 our school community is invited to gather together at 6:15pm for a Shabbat Pizza dinner followed by the January Family Shabbat at 7pm in which Kol Kolot will be joining!

Kol Kolot (meaning All Voices) is our new youth choir. There are twelves students, in grades 1^st – 7^th, who have been rehearsing together this year after Religious School. They are a spirited and enthusiastic group of children and we are all excited to have them help bring beautiful music to the January Family Shabbat. I hope you can plan to attend the Shabbat and support these wonderful singers. Arielle Richter leads the group and is accompanied by Jonathan Richter. It is a Shabbat that you won’t want to miss.

If you are planning on attending the Shabbat Pizza Dinner, please rsvp to eddirector@congregationshalom so that we can plan accordingly.

And don’t forget about Tasha, the puppy we are supporting through our tzedakah collection this year. Keep up the good work. As of this writing, we are just shy of $250. Our goal for the year is $500!

Looking forward to returning to school and seeing everyone again

Schedule for January 2025

• Sunday, January 5, 2025 – Religious School resumes, last yoga, Kol Kolot rehearsal
• Wednesday, January 8 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm
• Friday, January 10 – Shabbat Pizza Dinner at 6pm, Family Shabbat with Kol Kolot at 7pm
• Sunday, January 12– Religious School for Preschool – 7^th graders
• Tuesday, January 14 – Post Confirmation, 7pm-8:30pm at Rabbi Perry’s home
• Wednesday, January 15 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm; Chai School second sessions begins 6:15pm-8:15pm
• Sunday, January 19 – NO SCHOOL due to long weekend
• Wednesday, Janaury 22 – Hebrew School; Chai School
• Friday, January 24 – Tot Shabbat at 6pm
• Sunday, January 26 – Religious School for Preschool – 7^th graders; Family Ed for 6^th grader and parents
• Wednesday, January 29 – Hebrew School; NO CHAI SCHOOL
• Sunday, February 2 – Religious School for Preschool – 7^th graders; 5^th grade parent meeting at 10:15am

Keeping Connected   December 2024

This is Tasha! She is a Yellow Labrador puppy who is being trained at the Israel Guide Dog center to hopefully become a seeing eye dog for someone in need. As the students say, “She is soooo cute.”

The Israel Guide Dog Center is the tzedakah project for the year. There is a dog bowl in the lobby that collects monetary donations. This money will be given to the Israel Guide Dog Center to help train puppies to become guide dogs, emotional support dogs or service dogs and then given to those in need. Congregation Shalom will be following Tasha this year to watch her grow and get trained. We will be sent “pupdates” throughout the year to find out how she is doing.

We are keeping track of the money collected by filling a jar with dog biscuits. Each biscuit represents $5 of tzedakah money collected. Our goal is to fill the jar (and to then donate the biscuits to dogs!)

The main mission of the Israel Guide Dog Center is to improve the quality of life of Israelis who are blind by providing them safe mobility, independence, and self-confidence through the faithful assistance of Guide Dogs specially trained in Hebrew for the challenging conditions in Israel. Our tzedakah collection will go directly to helping to support this mission.

How can you help your student understand the idea of tzedakah? The PJ Library website defines tzedakah as “justice, specifically, doing the right things by helping people or causes in need.” “Healing the world” is a part of our temple’s mission statement. At the Religious and Hebrew School, we are constantly helping our students to understand the Jewish responsibility of performing tzedakah in many ways. This is an ongoing conversation through the years.

Many families have shared with me different ways that they help their children understand tzedakah and donate to the school tzedakah project. It is important that parents are role models for their children. If your kids see you doing good for others, they will learn that it is an important family value. Helping others as a family is also a good way for children to begin to learn and incorporate giving to others into their daily lives. All the students have engaged in conversations with us about ways that they can donate money for tzedakah. One student shared that he gets allowance and brings some of it to the temple. Someone else shared that she gets money for doing chores and that some of that money can go towards helping the dogs. We talked about holding a lemonade or hot chocolate stand to earn money for our tzedakah project. Some students said they ask their parents for some money to bring to temple. And the list of ideas goes on and on. This can be a wonderful family discussion and experience. What do you do to help your child understand the idea of tzedakah? How do you help and encourage them to donate to our project? Please share with me your own ways of helping your children understand the importance and responsibility of tzedakah so that we might be able to help other families that are still trying to figure out how to incorporate this into their own lives.

Congregation Shalom is committed to Tikkun Olam, helping the world to be a better place.  Jump on the tzedakah wagon with us and help the dog biscuit jar fill up to help Tasha and her puppy friends to grow into strong and healthy dogs who are trained to help those in need!

With gratitude,

Deborah

Schedule for December

• Sunday, December 1 – NO Religious School
• Wednesday, December 4 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm
• Friday, December 6 – Tot Shabbat at 6pm
• Sunday, December 8 – Religious School for Preschool – 7^th graders; Family Ed for 6^th grade families; Kol Kolot rehearsal at 11am
• Tuesday, December 10 – Post Confirmation, 7pm-8:30pm at Rabbi Perry’s home
• Wednesday, December 11 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm
• Friday, December 13– Shalomites Creative Service at 6pm
• Sunday, December 15 – Religious School for Preschoolers – 7^th graders until 10:30am; Hanukkah Party for students and families from 10:30am-noon
• Wednesday, December 18 – Hebrew School
• Friday, December 20 – Shabbat Dinner and Hanukkah Shabbat
• Sunday, December 22 – NO Religious School
• Wednesday, December 25 – NO Hebrew School
• Sunday, December 29 – NO Religious School
• Wednesday, January 1 – NO Hebrew School
• Sunday, January 5 – Religious School is back in session for Preschoolers – 7^thgraders; Kol Kolot rehearsal

Keeping Connected    November 2024

“Mmmmm – What’s that delicious smell?”

Imagine it’s a Friday night. You have had a busy week of work and school and activities. You are exhausted and can’t even think about cooking up a Shabbat dinner for your family. Lucky for you, once a month you can have Shabbat Dinner at temple! Jump in the car and head over for a 6pm meal of pasta, meatballs, salad and challah. And you get an added bonus welcoming in Shabbat with your temple community!

You walk into the temple and immediately smell sauce simmering in the kitchen. The tables are already set, with markers and paper for everyone to doodle. Friends and classmates begin to gather in the lobby and the social hall. Everyone then sits together, grabs a dinner plate and enjoys good food, good company and the joy of Shabbat. No shopping, no cooking, no preparing for you! How can you not join us?

After dinner and socializing, you can then head into the sanctuary for a Family Shabbat Service, filled with music, prayer and much joy. This all sounds like the perfect Friday night.

And you can do this every month!

A few years ago, we changed the structure of our monthly Friday night Shabbat dinners in the hope of gathering more of our community together for Shabbat. All school families are invited each month. It is really fun if you reach out to your friends and classmates. You may also meet a new friend and family. It’s really a win-win!

Let’s work together this year to create even more joy and community at the monthly Shabbat dinners. Mark your calendars. Plan to join us for dinner and Shabbat. What a great way to welcome in Shabbat!

Though we do offer the dinners at no cost, we do accept donations at any time to cover the cost of the food. (We have a great group of cooks and clean-up crew who volunteer their time so the cost is just for the food!) If you want to donate to the Shabbat Dinners, please earmark your donation to say it is for School Shabbat Dinners. Thank you in advance for any money you choose to donate.

The dates for the dinners for the rest of the year are as follows:

• November 15
• December 20
• January 10 – Pizza
• February 7
• March 7
• April 4
• May 2

Hope to see you at a Shabbat Dinner,

Deborah

 Schedule for November

• Friday, November 1 – Tot Shabbat at 6pm
• Sunday, November 3 – Religious School for Preschoolers -7^th grade, Family Ed for 6^th grade
• Wednesday, November 6 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm; Chai School 6:15pm-8:15pm
• Sunday, November 10 – NO Religious School due to long holiday weekend
• Tuesday, November 12 – Post Confirmation, 7pm-8:30pm at Rabbi Perry’s home
• Wednesday, November 13 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm; Chai School 6:15pm-8:15pm
• Friday, November 15 – Shabbat Dinner at 6pm; Family Shabbat led by 4^th/5^thgraders at 7pm
• Sunday, November 17 – Religious School for Preschoolers – 7^th graders; Kol Kolot rehearsal
• Wednesday, November 20 – Hebrew School, Chai School
• Sunday, November 24 – Religious School for Preschoolers – 7^th graders: Kol Kolot
• Wednesday, November 27 – NO HEBREW SCHOOL
• Sunday, December 1 – NO SCHOOL – due to the Holiday weekend

Keeping Connected    October 2024

Forming K’hillah – קְהִלָּה

(Community)

Religious and Hebrew School have gotten off to a great start this year.  There is joy in the building, lots of community building, and engagement in curriculum.  Thank you to everyone for your support and commitment in helping your students be at school with a positive attitude!More