Our Temple Sinai religious school launches again on August 18 (there is still time to register!). Under the experienced direction of Josie Glassberg, our returning Sinai School Director, this promises to be one of the most organized and visionary school years I’ve ever seen in my time at Temple Sinai. Yashar Kochech!
As a TS substitute teacher, I was lucky enough to get to participate in our teacher training day. In addition to great discussions about classroom routines and rituals, we reviewed our priorities for the religious school. I think these are worth sharing because in many ways they capture our Temple Sinai approach to the Frontier Judaism that we practice here in Northern Nevada:
- Priority 1: Our students should have fun, in a positive Jewish environment, while building a positive Jewish identity.
- Priority 2: Our students should have positive interactions with Jewish adults who are not their parents or rabbis.
A much more distant Priority 3: Curriculum of Judaics and Hebrew
I love this approach to Jewish education so much that I extended it as a New Year’s blessing to all of us. May we all have fun together at Temple Sinai while celebrating our Jewish identities. May we build community and connection together beyond our immediate family and clergy. And as a distant third blessing, may we continue to learn and observe the ways of Torah. I think this approach to Connection over Curriculum reflects the reality of being a Jew in Northern Nevada, and allows Temple Sinai to meet us wherever we are in our Jewish journey.
I’ve always found it an incredible cosmic coincidence that the start of the school year, which shapes so many of our lives, also heralds in the Jewish New Year of Rosh HaShanah. I look forward to an entire season of planning fresh starts and designing the upcoming year with you all.
L’Shalom,
Morah Tova