“Growing, Growing....”
One of my favorite things to do during my workday is to walk the hallways of the JCC during Hebrew School. On those days when I’m not presenting a lesson to a particular class, I love to slip quietly into a classroom and watch children and teachers interact.

In the early days of the fall, students are gauging their teachers while teachers are determining the best ways to engage their students. I had to laugh when a group of third graders, just starting their Hebrew studies, vehemently insisted to their teacher that they did not need to review the previous lesson, but were quite ready to go directly to whatever comes next. When I wander into classrooms, I often do an impromptu ask-the-cantor session with the kids. I can’t wait to find out what those third graders want to know!

I love to wander into the break time at Hebrew High. It’s fun to watch the chaos, the animated conversations, the joking around. Often the students are patiently trying to educate me in the ways of teenagers by sharing something of their lives with me - although I confess I don’t get a lot of it. I figure its enough that they want to try to explain - and I guess it’s enough that I at least try to understand.

I love to wander the halls on Sunday mornings as children hurry to Religious School classes. Some hold tightly to their parents’ hands while others run headlong down the hallway. Some are loudly horsing around with classmates, while others are solitary, wide-eyed and shy. A wonderful ten minutes of total bedlam is followed by an almost eerie quiet. I often leave wondering if I should have been wearing shin guards.

B’nei Mitzvah tutoring takes place in our Chapel. Six students study for an hour at a time with as many as five teachers. Sometimes I have to run back to my office to retrieve something, and I love the sound as I return down the hall - the buzz of prayers and chanting the Torah.

When I look at class lists, b’nei mitzvah date assignments, or the proliferation of choirs, I am overwhelmed with the sheer numbers. The task seems daunting; the responsibility so weighty. As our Temple continues to grow, I sometimes wonder how we will meet the ever-increasing demands.
But then there are the kids.

A first grader drags me down the hall by the arm to hurry and start the Youth Choir rehearsal. I look up from a lesson to discover three seventh graders standing over me, all with pressing questions about their Torah portions. I worry that a couple of desperate Hebrew School students will dislocate their shoulders or fall out of their chairs if I don’t quickly call on them in the latest round of ask-the-cantor. And the teens...looking perpetually disappointed at me that I still don’t quite get it - whatever “it” is.

It’s a daunting task. And it is pure joy.

B’shalom,
Andrew Bernard
Cantor