Religious School
At Temple Bat Yam we utilize both informal and formal experiences in the religious school to promote the following:
- To develop within our children love and understanding of Judaism.
- To utilize one’s Judaic knowledge and its insights to cope with contemporary pressures, problems and issues.
- To prepare our children for participation as Jews in preserving the world, Jewish community and enriching the communities of others.
- To practice Judaic values and mitzvot in the light of historical development and liberal thought.
If we are to implement the goals above, teaching cannot be relegated to talking, feeling, or even training. At TBY, teaching is a process that includes the following special strategies:
- Problem solving activities
- Role playing
- Value making decisions
- Interpretation of source materials
- Development of analytic skills
- Use of and expression in multi-media materials
- Creative participation in holidays and cultural Judaic happenings
- Support reinforcement and extension of the teaching process in the home and community
Our educational structure begins with an Early Childhood program (Torah for Tots through Grade 2) meeting on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. These are small, self-contained classes and engender a warm, nurturing atmosphere and individualized learning. The sights, smells and symbols of the holidays are explored through a variety of media; the children develop a repertoire of Jewish music by meeting with the Cantor each Sunday. A Hebrew readiness program is introduced where the student explores the letters and sounds of the Hebrew alphabet.
Our middle school (Grades 3 through 7) has a departmental system. The students have two teachers, each of them a specialist either in Hebrew or Judaica. No longer is the student locked into a single class for the entire two hours with one instructor. Having a two-period structure is more appropriate to the optimum span of attention at pre-adolescence and adolescent stages.
Grades 3 through 7 meet Tuesdays 4:15 to 6:15 p.m. and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Pre- Bar/Bat Mitzvah students study directly with the Rabbi and Cantor in preparation for their first milestone event. Religious education does not cease with Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Our 8th, 9th and 10th grades meet Sunday mornings from 10 a.m. to 12 noon culminating in a creative Confirmation service in grade 10.
Our teenagers need to see and feel a continued connection between the Judaic curriculum they encounter and their own issues and concerns that are part of the contemporary milieu. Thus the course ranges from Comparative Religion, Developing a Jewish Sexual Ethic, Bioethics, Why Be Different, Modern Israel and much more.
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