Temple Shalom Religious News      

            I am delighted to report that we have begun the school year with enthusiasm and creativity.  A meaningful Tashlich service was held on the Bridge adjacent to the B.D.I.   The students participated by sharing personal thoughts about the upcoming holiday, sang songs and emptied their pockets of naughty deeds by throwing bread crumbs into the river below.  We were thrilled to have student Rabbi Uri join us for the morning.  His knowledge and insights were well received by the students.  The students also assisted in decorating the sukkah for Sukkot.

            On October 21st we were asked to participate in the Sukkot Shabbat service.  We spent time in class preparing for the service.  Cantor Len taught the students holiday related songs to be sung at the service.  It was terribly disappointing that there were no children in attendance that night.  To provide the best education possible, we must all work together and increase our commitment to Temple Shalom sponsored services.  I look forward to increasing our presence and participation at these events.

Jennifer Curtis,   Religious School Director

            With the completion of the High Holidays, the new session of the Temple Shalom Religious School is now in full swing. As in the past, there are classes on Sunday morning. These classes, as always, will continue to emphasize small enrollment and individualized instruction. New students, both from members and nonmembers of Temple Shalom , are always welcome.

            The philosophy of the Religious School reflects the time in which we live. We are now in the third generation of Canadians who have lived in a wonderful country which, compared with earlier times, is almost completely devoid of anti-Semitism. We are now welcome in all aspects of Canadian life. In order to keep our Jewish traditions strong in this environment, we must demonstrate that the values of a Jewish life are also relevant to modern Canadian life. This necessity is the cornerstone of our Religious School .  Our curriculum is based on the Chai Learning for Jewish Life program. It is widely used in North America and has been developed by the Union for Reform Judaism (the primary educational director is from Toronto ). It allows our students to go beyond our specific classroom assignments and activities, and provides a more meaningful understanding, which will be a benefit for future Jewish learning and living.  Each core level provides 27 one-hour lessons in Torah, avodah and g'milut chasadim.  Torah studies provide skills to study torah and integrating torah in our daily lives. Students will learn some of the 613 laws and rules found in the torah. Avodah studies provides students with the understanding of how one can make their life more holy by exploring individual and communal roles. G'milut chasadim allows our students to understand their responsibility to make the world a better place, to make the world more Kadosh (holy), and to have a responsibility to perform acts of kindness on a daily basis.

            In addition to Sunday classes, the students at our school take part in Friday night Shabbat services on a regular basis. Each student helps, and eventually the classes have the ability to run a complete service on their own.  By the time a student is ready for Bar or Bat Mitzvah, the service itself is second nature.

            There is also instruction in the Hebrew language. Students come with varied backgrounds: some are already quite skillful with their Hebrew, while others need extra instruction during the week. If numbers are sufficient, we have classes with one of our teachers on Wednesday. Otherwise we can direct students towards tutors who can provide the extra contact hours in Hebrew instruction that are necessary to develop basic reading and writing skills.

            The Temple Shalom Religious School is committed to having small classes with individualized instruction. We welcome special needs students (support from the Jewish Foundation is gratefully acknowledged). We recognize that with the number of available contact hours we can only provide the grounding that will allow our students to continue their Jewish learning outside the school, and we encourage input from and activity by parents to help in this endeavour.  

            Our school reflects the philosophy of Temple Shalom itself. It has been the leading Winnipeg synagogue in reflecting modern values: it was the first to have women treated with complete equality, the first to have a female rabbi, the first to have instrumental music, both modern and traditional, during the service, the first to actively welcome intermarried couples, the first to welcome couples with different sexual orientation and the first to use gender-neutral prayer books. We expect that our next forty years will be as productive and interesting.