Shoresh

Shoresh (Root) – Grades K & 1

We are a community committed to nurturing an active, Jewish environment that engages, cultivates and inspires learners of all ages.

What is it we hope our children and their families will gain from the Religious School experience? How will it influence our community, both now and in the future? Our Eitz Chaim Sunday Program will offer our Shoresh (root) students in grades Kindergarten and First the information and skills to begin to realize Reform Jewish ideals and values in their daily lives. Our project based curriculum will enable our students’ entree into the continuing study of Jewish texts, history, holidays, life cycle, culture and values. Engaging our children and families through hands-on, experiential learning is a fundamental tenet of our Eitz Chayim philosophy. Our learners will be involved in a curriculum which emphasizes GOD, TORAH, G’MILUT HASADIM, ISRAEL and HEBREW and will empower them to lovingly embrace Judaism.

Shoresh (Root) 2019-2020/5780

Sundays – 8:30 am – 11:30 am

Consecration - December 6, 2019
Shabbat Rishon Dinner 6:00 PM
Service Including Consecration 6:45

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word consecration literally means “association with the sacred”. Persons, places, or things can be consecrated. Here at Congregation B’nai Shalom we see the education of a Jewish child is a joint venture, shared by both family and the Jewish community. Children begin to build their Jewish identity by what they experience at home. Certainly, for the very young, the most effective teacher of Torah is the parent. One’s basic values and attitudes towards life are acquired in the home. In addition, most children receive their formal Jewish education in a synagogue religious school, attending after school and/or weekend classes. In these classes, children study Hebrew, Bible, and Jewish history. They celebrate Jewish holidays and reinforce Jewish values. Students experience Jewish culture via art, music, dance, drama and literature.

Every religion has ceremonies to mark rites of passage. Ceremonies mark important learning milestones; Consecration marks the beginning of formal Jewish study, bar/bat mitzvah the entry into adolescence, and Confirmation the approach to adulthood. Consecration, in most Reform congregations, takes place at the beginning of religious school, usually kindergarten, or whenever a child begins his or her Jewish education. The ceremony is sometimes held as part of the Simchat Torah celebration, but we hold it as part of our Shabbat Rishon service in December.  This allows our kindergarten students to become accustomed to our building, their teachers and their rabbis. Consecration in December will be a lovely and meaningful ceremony for children and families alike.