B’Nei Mitzvah
Dear Parents,
From the very bottom of my heart, I want to begin by simply saying thank you for making Temple Adas Israel your family’s spiritual home! At Temple Adas Israel, each student is honored and treasured for who they are. After years of working with children of all ages and backgrounds, we feel it is essential to help each of our students connect to Judaism in a way that is authentic and substantial, but also personal. Our task as educators is not to cram knowledge into our student’s heads, or to check items off a list. Our mission is to help each child and each family explore, wrestle with, and ultimately appreciate the depth and breadth of what Judaism has to offer. For us it is essential that both you and your children understand that becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah is not a one-off experience; it marks the beginning of a journey, not its end.
In Pirkei Avot (The Ethics of our Ancestors), the great Rabbi Shimon HaTzadik teaches: “There are three things on which the world stands: Torah, prayer, and acts of human kindness.” These three pillars are also the foundation of our B’nei Mitzvah program. Each student will engage in both the study and teaching of Torah. They will also explore, consider and ultimately learn to lead some of the central prayers of our tradition. Lastly, they will be guided in living Jewish values through acts of Tikkun Olam (social justice work). Through this process of learning and engagement, our hope is that each student will fill their minds with knowledge, their souls with spirituality, and their hearts with love.
Truly, one of the great joys of being a rabbi is having the opportunity to guide students on their own Jewish journeys. Along with our Hebrew School Director Shelley Lichtenstein, our Director of Community Engagement Lu Geffen and the rest of our amazing Hebrew School faculty, I promise the experience of preparing to become B’nei Mitzvah will be a meaningful and beautiful experience not just for your children, but for you as well.
Let me be the first to wish all of you a Mazel Tov on reaching this special moment in your lives and once again to the thank you for entrusting your most treasured possessions, your children, to us.
L’Shalom
Rabbi Dan
For further info: email Rabbi Dan