“Teach them Faithfully to your Children”

You might be surprised when I tell you about one of my favorite moments of the High Holy Days. No, it's not singing "Avinu Malkeinu" or the exuberant Shofar Service. It's not chanting the Binding of Isaac from the Torah or even Kol Nidrei. Rather, it comes on Rosh Hashanah afternoon during the Family Service for preschoolers. (No, it's definitely not dressing up for the annual “Never-Will-Be-Ready-For-Prime time Players” skit!) One of my favorite moments comes during the brief liturgy when we walk through the congregation carrying the Torahs.

As I walk with the Torah in my arms, parents and children approach the scrolls together. The eyes of the children are filled with excitement or wonder or apprehension. And then their parents encourage them to reach out and touch the Torah with their hand, or show them how to touch it with their prayerbook and then kiss it. It is a poignant moment for all.

We usually think of the start of Jewish education as Consecration or the first day of Hebrew School in third grade. But I would suggest that the most significant event in early Jewish education comes when the parents begin the process of teaching their own children.

The complementary goals of family education and lifelong learning continue to be a priority for us at Temple Beth El. Programs for parents have been and continue to be a key component at all levels of our Religious School. The regular 6:00 p.m. Shabbat services have provided a new venue for families to usher in the Sabbath together, since many children have difficulty sitting through longer services which begin at a later hour. And this year we took advantage of the need to offer two morning High Holy Day services by writing a special machzor - holiday prayerbook - for the earlier service.

This new liturgy was geared for families with Hebrew-School-aged children worshipping together. It was not a juvenile service, but rather a thoughtful and sophistocated liturgy that spoke to adults and children alike. And we have just begun a new program at our Monday and Wednesday Hebrew School which invites everyone in the community to worship with our students at 5:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary on each of those afternoons - an opportunity for those saying Kaddish, and an even more significant opportunity for children and adults to serve as Jewish role models for each other.

New and important worship and educational opportunities begin this month. Wednesday, October 2nd is the kickoff for a year-long educational program called Beit Midrash - House of Study. Following the community worship service at 5:30pm there will be an informal dinner in the Silverman Social Hall where families can gather for an evening meal together. Then at 7:00 p.m., 8th through 10th graders will attend Hebrew High School. The evening Anshei Mitzvah class (the adult bar/bat mitzvah program) will meet, and the rabbinic staff will offer in-depth text study. At 8:00 p.m., there will be a program looking at a variety of pertinent topics from a Jewish perspective. The Pathways brochure available at the Temple gives an overview of this new program, and the details for each month's events is published here in the VOICE.

The 6:00 p.m. Shabbat services on October 11th, 18th and 25th will be followed by a congregational dinner, and a challenging and thought-provoking program designed for all of us trying to live Jewishly in a difficult world. Everyone is encouraged to participate in part or all of these Friday evenings. On Saturday, November 2nd is the first of a wonderful, new Shabbat morning program here at Temple Beth El entitled Sharing Shabbat: an opportunity for parents and children to worship and study together.

All of these programs are designed for family education and lifelong learning. How are these connected? The parents of those preschoolers on Rosh Hashanah afternoon were able to teach their children about the ritual of carrying the Torah through the congregation because someone had once passed that teaching on to them. But many parents have told me directly or indirectly that once their children begin their formal Jewish education at Temple, they feel that they either don't know enough or no longer need to provide a Jewish education to their children. When parents are involved in lifelong learning, they become the model for their children. And as the children move through their formal Jewish education, family members can continue to learn together and to teach each other.

Through learning and worshipping together at Temple Beth El, the hearts of the children will surely be turned toward the hearts of their parents, and the hearts of the parents will be turned toward their children. May all of our families be so blessed during this coming year.

B’shalom,
Andrew Bernard
Cantor