Children Leading Friday Night Services

The curriculum also includes a sequential program for reading, writing, and speaking Hebrew. Through a combination of study and fun, Beth Shalom Religious School strives to instill in our children a sense of wonder, achievement, and a life-long love of Jewish learning.

What We Want This School To Do

What is it that we want for our children?
What is it that we want their Judaism to mean to them?

We want them to be at home in their Judaism, We want them to be not spectators, but participants, Whenever they walk into a synagogue, Be it here or anywhere in the world.

We want their Judaism to be neither a burden nor a badge. We want their Judaism to be as natural to them as breathing.

We want our children to have a religious attitude toward life. We want them to have reverence for all that enhances life.

We want them to have a sense of awe and wonder Towards the known as well as the unknown dimensions of life.

We want them to be open to new ideas. We want them to have a feeling for beauty. We want them to feel that life is a joy.

We want our children to appreciate the beauty and the wisdom of the Jewish way of life. We want them to live it, Not out of fear or guilt, Not out of a belief in its magical powers, Not just to please us or our ancestors, But as an expression of their own values, As their way of saying thanks for the privilege of being alive. We want them to understand

That religion is concerned with all of life, That it can only flourish when the mind is free. We want them to be able to welcome all truth… From wherever it may come.

We want our children to learn how to love in this school, How to love themselves, How to love one another, How to love humanity, For the world needs love so much.

We want them to be fitting links In the great saga that began with Abraham and Sarah And that will continue through us and through them Till the end of time.

If the school can help us to raise children Who will have this spirit, How blessed will we be And how fortunate will our children be.

To these high hopes and heartfelt prayers, we ask you to say, “Amen,” both in words and by your deeds.