TEMP L E BET H
EL
The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County
Alan Fenning
Rabbi Peter Levi
Rabbi Rachel Kort
A Little Shabbat Chai Magic: Simchat Torah
Temple Beth El of South Orange County
TBE is in the OC
Temple Beth El of South Orange County
Two minute TBE history
Founded in early 1980s with nomadic existence
Purchased land and built modular facility in early 1990sUshered in period of rapid growth (from 125-150 M.U.s to 500+)
Purchased larger site and renovated existing building 2000Continued growth to around 650 M.U.s in 2005; then leveled off
Recognized for excellent education programNATE accreditation; family track; madrikhim
Temple Beth El of South Orange County
Eruvin 53b-54a
Beruriah came across a student who was reciting traditions in a whisper. She kicked him and said to him, "Is it not written (2 Samuel 23:5): an everlasting covenant, recounted in all things, and preserved? If it is recounted in all your 248 limbs it is preserved in memory, and if not – it is not preserved.”
Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai
Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai
Why would anyone think of moving
?
Will Your Grandchildren Be Jewish?
Based on the current intermarriage rates and the average number of children per family, the chances of young, contemporary Jews
having Jewish grandchildren and great-grandchildren, with the exception of the
Orthodox, are increasingly remote.
Responses to the statement:
“I have a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people.”
72% for those 65+62% for those 55-6458% for those 45-54 52% for those 35-4447% for adults under 35 (Cohen and Wertheimer, 2006)
In just ten years, between 1990 and 2000, the number of Jews who reported that most of their
close friends were Jewish fell from 43% to 33%!
Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai
Kids today live in a different world today such that we
cannot rely on generations old models of building Jewish
identity.“I grew up in Skokie...we didn’t do Shabbat.”
--Mother at Temple Beth El, 2011
Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai
Studies have shown that the tradition model of Jewish supplementary education is not enough to create an enduring Jewish identity for adults.
JEW American
Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai
“Only one form of Jewish education actually generates more intermarriage: Sunday school (or, in general, one-day-a-week supplementary school, generally associated with Reform congregations). All other things being equal, those who report going to a Jewish school only once a week (e.g., “Sunday School”) for 1-6 years experienced an increased likelihood of marrying non-Jews by 8 percentage points, as contrasted with those who never went to a Jewish school.”
“A Tale of Two Jewries: The ‘Inconvenient’ Truth for American Jews” Steven M. Cohen, 2006
Jewish educational activities that have been shown to have the greatest positive impact on Jewish identity are
Day Schools
Jewish Summer Camp
Organized Trips to Israel.
What are the qualities of day school, camp and Israel that make these experiences so impactful? The kids get to LIVE in Jewish time.
Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai
Instead of learning about Judaism on Sundays, learn by doing.
Transform classroom learning into hands-on authentic Jewish experiences.
Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai
This is the experience we seek to offer through Shabbat Chai.
Instead of focusing on teaching facts and skills, we focus on creating authentic Jewish experience for our children; we want to give our kids an opportunity to live Jewish.
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–1944)
Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai
Shabbat Chai isn’t just about a group of Jews
coming together on Fridays and Saturdays instead of
Sundays.
Shabbat Chai isn’t just about a group of Jews
coming together on Fridays and Saturdays instead of
Sundays.
Shabbat Chai is about living Shabbat: community,
joy, Torah, prayer, dancing, singing, a break from work
and school.
We are working to infuse these diverse qualities of
Shabbat into the program.
Shabbat Chai isn’t just about a group of Jews
coming together on Fridays and Saturdays instead of
Sundays.
Shabbat Chai is about living Shabbat: community,
joy, Torah, prayer, dancing, singing, a break from work
and school.
Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai
The Process: Precursors
Rabbinic Transition [2006-2008] – commitment to a more Shabbat-oriented community
Institutional Culture – Strong education program; Innovations/ Purposeful experimentation
Economic /Financial Issues – loss of church tenant; onset of recession
Temple Beth El of South Orange County
The Process: Board Process
Discussions of “big picture”; synagogue transformation
Steps to address deficit
Decision to examine feasibility of Shabbat learning July 2009 Triggering event: financial factors
Feasibility report September 2009
Decision to proceed with Shabbat learning for Fall ’10 Nov 2009 Top down process Potential loss of members/students
Temple Beth El of South Orange County
Congregational Involvement in Planning
Announcement of working concept
Emphasis on values/Jewish identity formation
Brief mention of economics
Open sessions to discuss plans and get membership input on working concept
Professional staff changes: -- Director of Education phased retirement -- Assistant Rabbi
Temple Beth El of South Orange County
Letter to Congregation December 2009
Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education
Level of deficit not sustainable
Steps to reduce deficit and achieve balanced budget in 2 years1. Shift to Shabbat learning so facility can be rented Sunday mornings and afternoons2. Re-align professional staff roles with impending retirement of educator3. As economy recovers, encourage return to prior dues/giving levels4. Also, planned giving and capital campaign to address longer-term finances
Financial situation (Temple
President)
Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education
Emphasis on relationships
Increasingly organize communal life around Shabbat
Identity formation and experiential learning goals
Synagogue Transformation (Senior Rabbi)
Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education
Shift from Sunday mornings to Saturday mornings at same hours
Outline of activities/schedule with and without bar/bat mitzvah Classroom learning; tefillah and shira/song sessions Adult learning Older grades attend some/all of bnai mitzvah service
Mid-week alternative for those with serious Saturday morning conflicts
Shabbat Learning Working Concept (Director of Education)
Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education
Conflict with sports; dance; other activities
Member Reactions/Discussions
Mid-week alternative would separate classmatesAltering essentially private service aspect of b’nai mitzvahPossible fundraising in lieu of shifting to Shabbat learningPotential to have religious school of Friday afternoons; mix of Fridays/SaturdaysOverall, some adamantly opposed, some strongly in favor, most had mixed feelings
Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education
Evolution of the Working Concept – for last open sessiona. Two Saturday mornings and one Friday evening per month (average) Similar to current family education scheduleb. Monday alternative before/after Hebrew school
Follow-up letter to open session attendees – early Februarya. Exploratory meeting on setting up fundraising task forceb. Invitation to join implementation task force--Make recommendations to Board--Scheduling scenarios for Shabbat learning and weekday alternative--How to integrate Shabbat morning learning with b’nai mitzvah service
Response to Congregational Discussions
Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education
2 Fridays, 1 Saturday or Sunday Mitzvah Day each month
All Holy Days
Mid-week “hebrew”school add 1/2 hour
No mid-week religious education alternative
Implementation Task Force Results
The Shabbat Chai Program
Temple Beth El of South Orange County
The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County
Shared Language: Transformational institutional change through education
Shared Values: Learning Jewish by Living JewishLiving in Jewish Time
Shared Shared Vision: Building vs. Fixing
The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County
Religious Education on Shabbat isn’t just Sunday School on Friday
Implementation
The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County
Typical Day
The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County
How do you teach belonging? Create opportunities for community building
Parent Task Force: Families feeling welcomed by families, not just professional staff
Team Building as part of the curriculum
Reinvigorating Junior Youth Group
On going opportunities for families to connect
Celebrating Shabbat as One Temple Community
The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County
Aligning our curriculum to embrace the Learning by Doing philosophy
Our goal is simple: learn through authentic experience
Experiential Education
Project Based Learning: Preparing a project while at the same time engaging in Jewish learning in an informal setting
Prophetic Text Messages:What message would you send to change
the world?Live your life because you don’t get another one.
Stop wasting earth’s resources!Don’t abuse yourself or others!
Just dance!
Stop fighting!
Mitzvah Mall
The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County
Faculty buy-in
Learning together
Working together
Highlighting success
The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County
2011-12 Shabbat Chai Calendar
Shabbat Feb. 3 Fri 4-7pm
PreK-2nd Grade Family Shabbat Feb. 4 Sat 9am-12pmAll Shabbat Chai Program Feb. 11 Sat 9am-12pm3rd -8th Grade Retreat Mar. 2-4 Fri-Sun All DayShabbat (PreK-2nd Grades and families unable to participate in the retreat)
Mar. 2 Fri 4-7pm
Erev Purim Mar. 7 Wed 5pmShabbat Mar. 16 Fri 4-7pmShabbat (5th Friday) Mar. 30 Fri 4-7pmMitzvah Day Apr. 15 Sun 9am-12pmShabbat Apr. 20 Fri 4-7pmShabbat May 4 Fri 4-7pm
6th & 7th Grade Family Shabbat May 5 Sat 9am-12pmShabbat May 18 Fri 4-7pmShabbat Jun. 1 Fri 4-7pm
Shabbat Sept. 16 Fri 4-7pmPreK-2nd Grade Family Shabbat Sept. 24 Sat 9am-12pmErev Rosh Hashana (Multi-Generational Service)
Sept. 28 Wed 5:00pm
Rosh Hashana Sept. 29 Thurs 10am-12:30pmKol Nidre (Multi-Generational Service)
Oct. 7 Fri 5:00pm
Yom Kippur Oct. 8 Sat 10am-12:30pmErev Sukkot Oct. 12 Wed 5:30pmSimchat Torah Oct. 20 Thurs 6:30pmMitzvah Day Oct. 30 Sun 9am-12pmShabbat Nov. 4 Fri 4-7pm3rd-5th Grade Family Shabbat Nov. 5 Sat 4-7pmShabbat Nov. 18 Fri 4-7pmShabbat Dec. 2 Fri 4-7pmShabbat Dec. 16 Fri 4-7pm
Temple Hanukkah Celebration Dec. 23 Fri 5pmShabbat Jan. 6 Fri 4-7pmShabbat Jan. 20 Fri 4-7pm3rd-5th Grade Family Shabbat Jan. 21 Sat 9am-12pmMitzvah Day Jan. 29 Sun 9am-12pm
The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County
His students asked Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, "A red cow – in what priestly garments is this rite performed?"He said to them, "In golden garments of the high priest."They said to him, "You have taught us, 'In white garments'."He said to them, "You have you spoken well. A deed which I did with my own hands and saw with my own eyes – and nonetheless I forgot the rule/ All the more am I likely to forget it when only my ears hear the rule."It is not that he did not know, rather he wanted to prod the students. . . . For Rabbi Yehoshua says, "He who only reviews by heart but does not toil [does not act] is like a man who sows and does not harvest. One who learns Torah and forgets because one does not follow it is like a woman who gives birth and buries." --Tosefta Parah 4:7
TEMP L E BET H
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