All of CBST's children's programs are interactive and intergenerational. Children of all ages and families of all shapes and sizes are encouraged to come and participate. Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, bring your children! Children bring your adults!
For more information or to enroll your child, please contact Melissa Simon at (212) 929-9498 ext. 30 or msimon@cbst.org.
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Introducing
Limmud Mishpachah
Congregation
Beth Simchat Torah’s
New Education Program
for Children and
their Families
Beginning in Fall ’08
- Multiple neighborhood locales
- Shabbat and midweek components
- Family and community involvement
- Open to members and non-members
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Limmud Mishpachah (“Family Learning”) is an innovative, two-part education program at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah (CBST):
Part 1: Midweek Neighborhood Study Groups
Once a week after school, small, grade-specific groups meet in different neighborhoods where members of the CBST community live. For the first time, this makes it feasible for families not living near the West Village synagogue to participate in Jewish learning on a regular basis.
Part 2: Shabbat Communal Learning
Twice during the month, all children of the same age group gather together in a classroom at the synagogue during regular Shabbat services.
These two components are not conceived of as separate entities, but instead are designed to work together, each one reinforcing lessons and ideas from the other. A project from the midweek session, for example, might be presented to the larger group on Shabbat.
STAFF AND CURRICULUM
Classes will follow a set curriculum that takes a progressive, questioning, non-denominational approach, while teaching key concepts in Judaism, including Hebrew language; Torah study; holidays, rituals and customs. Our program is infused with topics essential to the CBST community, such as social justice and non-traditional families.
As a whole, Limmud Mishpachah plays off of the strengths of—and speaks to the specific needs of—our diverse community, providing children and their families with a well-rounded, comprehensive, engaging, and fun Jewish experience in which their parents, friends, and fellow synagogue members are deeply involved.
Both components will be taught by professional educational staff under the supervision of Children’s Educator Melissa Simon and Rabbi Ayelet S. Cohen.
Midweek Neighborhood
Study Group Component
NEIGHBORHOOD GRADE-LEVEL DAY OF THE WEEK
West Village 2nd-3rd Grade Wednesdays
K-1 Tuesdays or Wednesdays (TBD)
Upper West Side K-1 Tuesdays
Park Slope K-1 Wednesdays
Maplewood, NJ 2nd-3rd Grade Wednesdays
6th-7th Grade
The West Village groups will meet at CBST’s Bethune Street location. All other sites will be determined, and might range from members’ homes to nearby libraries or schools. All sites are contingent on reaching a minimum enrollment. In future years, sites and grade-level groups will continue to be added based on need and interest. In 2009, we anticipate adding additional locations. If you are interested in adding a site in your neighborhood, please let us know.
Dates: Mid-week neighborhood sessions all begin the week of September 10th, 2008, and run through the end of May, with time off during school vacations and holidays.
Times: 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
General Curriculum:
- Tikkum Olam (“Repairing the World”): Acts of social justice and community service
While a set curriculum will be followed in all of the groups, the overall approach will not be heavily regimented or traditional, instead taking a more progressive, open-ended viewpoint that encourages questioning and discussion.
Teachers: Each group will be led by a skilled teacher under the supervision of Children’s Educator Melissa Simon and Rabbi Cohen.
Shabbat Communal
Learning Component
All children of the same grade level gather together twice a month during the Saturday morning Shabbat service for communal prayer and study. These sessions reintroduce and reinforce concepts from the small midweek sessions.
Location: CBST, 57 Bethune Street, West Village (each grade-level group will have use of its own learning area within the synagogue)
Dates: The 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month, beginning Saturday September 13th through the end of May.
Times: The Shabbat classroom sessions begin at
11 a.m. and end around 12:30 p.m. to coincide with the conclusion of the main Shabbat service so that everyone may join together for Kiddush lunch.
Teachers: Melissa Simon, Cantor David Berger, CBST’s Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinical Interns, and skilled teachers supervised by Children’s Education Director Melissa Simon and Rabbi Ayelet S. Cohen.
Additional Shabbat Programming
All families are welcome to arrive early and participate in the main Shabbat service beginning at 10 a.m. at the Bethune Street location.
After children begin their class sessions at 11, parents have the option of remaining in the main service, participating in adult education sessions, or bringing young children (age 5 and under) to the Alef-Bet Shabbat, a kid-and-baby-friendly mini-service led by Cantor Berger and our Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinical Intern.
Our Educational Mission:
CBST is committed to providing a dynamic, inclusive, and multifaceted Jewish education program for our children and their families. Our program builds and strengthens a contemporary, learned, relevant, ethical, and deeply rooted sense of Yiddishkeit (Jewish culture and identity) through learning and doing: the study and practice of Torah, social justice, liturgy, Hebrew, music, and the arts.
We Welcome You:
CBST began almost 35 years ago as a place where gay and lesbian Jews could participate in Jewish life in ways that affirmed both their Jewishness and their lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identities.
Today, while we remain a predominantly LGBT congregation, our synagogue is enriched by the presence of many pro-gay straight members. Our members are people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Our diversity doesn’t stop there. Our congregants run the gamut of observances and beliefs. Our families include Jews and non-Jews. We have members who keep kosher and don’t travel on Shabbat. Some of our members are avowed atheists. Others are deeply spiritual or religious. A number of our members, both Jews by birth and Jews by choice, discovered their interest in Judaism only as adults. A growing group, adults and children alike, are Jews of color.
We hope that our education program will reflect our community, enabling our children to understand the diversity of the Jewish world and to find their place in it.
The Re-Imagine Initiative:
For more than a year, a committee of CBST members that includes both parents and non-parents has been meeting with our rabbinical staff and educational professionals to re-imagine our programming for families and children at CBST.
Following an intensive period of research and reflection that included looking at various models of Jewish education, assessing the specific educational needs and priorities of the CBST community, and receiving input from CBST members, the committee has now begun implementing specific programs.
This year has already seen major improvements made to the Friday night and Saturday Shabbat programs for families. The start of our all-new, vastly expanded family education program in Fall ’08 combining traditional and innovative educational formats is a direct result of the Re-Imagine committee’s work. We welcome your feedback at any time.
TUITION/FEES:
$900 for CBST members, $1150 for non-members
SPECIAL DISCOUNT:
First-time members of CBST who register for Limmud Mishpachah may receive a 10% discount on their first year of CBST membership and a 10% discount on tuition.
Tuition scholarships may be available for CBST members.
HOW TO REGISTER:
Registration forms are available at CBST
QUESTIONS?
Contact CBST’s Children’s Educator Melissa Simon 212-929-9298, ext. 30, or at Msimon@cbst.org.
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Shabbat services for younger children and their grown-ups.
Alef Bet Shabbat
Second and Fourth Saturday of each month, concurrent with the Liberal Minyan
Ages: for children up to the age of 5 with their grownups
At our Bethune Street Location
Celebrate Shabbat in a lively educational environment through prayer, song and dance, arts and crafts and storytelling. All are welcome to participate in the Liberal Minyan beginning at 10:00am and to join in community for Kiddush lunch after services conclude. Led by Cantor David Berger and Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinical Intern. RSVP strongly recommended.
10:00am – 12:15pm Liberal Minyan
10:30am – 11:30am Unstructured free play for all in children’s play space
11:30 am– 12:15pm Alef Bet Shabbat
Monthly Shabbat Torah Study, concurrent with the Liberal Minyan
Ages: pre-b’nai mitzvah students
Join Rabbi Cohen for a monthly Torah discussion. Contact Melissa Simon for more information.
Kabbalat Shabbat for Kids
One Friday a month (Starting in September), 6:00pm
Ages: for children up to the age of 5 with their grownups
In the Oneg Room adjacent to the main sanctuary at our Chelsea Location
Cantor David Berger, Children’s Educator Melissa Simon, and everyone’s favorite dinosaur want to have Shabbat with you! Welcome Shabbat with other CBST families with children. This informal and spirited program, followed by shmoozing and kid-friendly snacks, immediately precedes our main Friday night service. Additional Friday night programs will be scheduled during the Chanukah and Pride Friday night services. Please contact Melissa Simon for more information.
If you do not see your child’s age group listed here, please let us know. We may be able to expand our program if there are enough children in your age group.
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