TEMPLE SHALOM RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
SEPTEMBER 7TH COMMUNITY KICKOFF
Location / Session 19:30 to 10:15 a.m. / Session 2
10:25 to 11:10 a.m. / Session 3
11:20 a.m. to 12 noon
Upstairs Lobby / Community Kickoff Questions and Session Leader Sign-In
(All) (Religious Education Committee)
Sanctuary / TSYouth and Teen Choirs
(3rd-12th grade) (Cantor Lisalevine) / Yoga Shalom
(3rd grade and up) (Cantor Lisa Levine) / Jewish Summer Camp Q&A
(adults) (Greg Kellner: Director URJ 6-Points Sci-Tech, Shane Carr: Associate Director URJ 6-Points Sports Academy, URJ Camp Harlam)
Sanctuary Quiet Room / Good-to-Great Congregational Conversation
(Adults) (Good-to-Great Taskforce) / Good-to-Great Congregational Conversation
(Adults) (Good-to-Great Taskforce) / Good-to-Great Congregational Conversation
(Adults) (Good-to-Great Taskforce)
Social Hall / Israeli Dance
(3rd-7th grade) (AlexFertig) / Israeli Dance
(2nd grade and younger w/adult) (AlexFertig) / Israeli Dance
(8th grade and up) (AlexFertig)
Kitchen / Rosh HaShanah Apple Cooking
(3rd-7th grade) (Liz Dayan) / Rosh HaShanah Apple Cooking
(3rd-7th grade) (Liz Dayan) / Rosh HaShanah Apple Cooking
(8th grade and up) (Liz Dayan)
Room 1 / Tentative Camp Style Program (2nd-8th Grade) (URJ Camp Harlam Rep) / Thoughtful Treasures
(3rd-7th grade) (Jeannette Gordon) / Thoughtful Treasures
(pre-k-2nd grade w/adult) (Jeannette Gordon)
Room 2 / Introduction to Hebrew
(Adults) (Deborah Ayala Srabstein) / Intermediate Hebrew
(adults) (Deborah Ayala Srabstein) / Intermediate+ Hebrew
(adults) (Deborah Ayala Srabstein)
Room 3 / Shofar Blowing Workshop
(7th grade and younger, 2nd grade & younger w/adult) (Elliot Zenick) / Interactive Games and Explosive Fun!
(3rd-7th Grade) (Greg Kellner, Director URJ 6-Points Sci Tech) / Shofar Blowing Workshop
(8th grade and up) (Elliot Zenick)
Room 4 / Kids’ Time
(Infant-3 yrs w/adult)(Jennifer MacAdam Miller) / Tot Sing-a-Long
(Infant-Kindergarten w/adult) (Emily Meyer) / PJ Library Story Time
(Infant-Kindergarten w/Adult) (Sarah Rabin Spira, PJ Library Outreach Associate and Xani Pollakoff)
Room 5 / Brachot: Going Deeper
(8th grade and up) (Jerry Silverman) / Challah Making
(All Ages) (Megan Smith) / Challah Making
(All Ages) (Megan Smith)
Room 6 / Social Media for Kids
(children and parents ages 3-yrs-old-6th grade) (Allison Druin) / Social Media for Kids
(children and parents 7th grade and older) (Allison Druin) / Middle East Policy
(7th grade and up)(Peter Howard)
Room 8 / Beit Din
(Kindergarten-7th Grade, K-2nd grade w/adult) (Pamela Wilcox) / TaSTY Junior Gathering
(6th-8th grade) (Pamela Wilcox) / TaSTY Senior Gathering
(8th-12th grade)(Pamela Wilcox)
Room 9 / New and Prospective Members Meet-and Greet
(All) (Leslie Rubin) / New and Prospective Members Meet-and Greet
(All) (Leslie Rubin) / Lay Leadership: Our Temple’s Future
(Adults) (David Windt)
Room 10 / Mandatory Post-Con
(11th/12thgrade)(Rabbi Michael Feshbach) / High Holy Day Crash Course
(7th grade and up) (Rabbi Michael Feshbach) / Apocalypse Then
(7th grade and up)(Rabbi Michael Feshbach)
Room 11/12 / Stand Up for Israel
(7th-12th Grade) (Alexis Schwartz, JCRC Israel Action Center Program Associate) / Stand Up for Israel
(adults) (Alexis Schwartz, JCRC Israel Action Center Program Associate) / Drumming Circle
(all)(Cantor Lisa Levine andCantorial Soloist Emily Meyer)
Chapel Front / Songs of Our Youth: Adult Camp Song Session
(Adults) (Cantorial Soloist Emily Meyer) / Unmasking Domestic Abuse
(Adults) (Elissa Schwartz, JCADA Executive Director) / Grassroots Advocacy with AJWS (7th Grade & Up) (Mike Salamon, Senior Organizer AJWS)
Chapel Back / Life as an Orthodox Jewish Clergy Woman
(7th Grade and Up) (Maharat Ruth Balinsky Friedman) / Mandatory Chai School
(8th and 9th grade)(Roberta Hockstein, Xani Pollakoff, Miranda Chadwick, Rabbi Rachel) / Temple Shalom Running Club
(3rd grade-adult) (Rabbi Rachel and Amit Nathan)
Parents’ Lounge / Sisterhood Meet-and-Greet (Adult Women)(Sisterhood Members) / Adoptive Families Meet-and-Greet
(adults)(Richard Udell and Sandra Roland) / Conversion Conversation (adults) (Linda Aldoory & Deborah Ager)
Library / What Do Jews Believe and Not Believe About God?
(7th grade and up) (Rabbi Bruce E. Kahn) / Did the Exodus from Egypt Really Happen?
(7th grade and up) (Rabbi Bruce E. Kahn) / If You are A Jewish Astronaut on the International Space Station Orbiting the Earth Every 92 Minutes, When Does Shabbat Begin?—And More Of The Somewhat Odd
(7th grade and up) (Rabbi Bruce E. Kahn)
Backyard Next to Playground / Torah Boot Camp
(4rd-8th Grade) (Shane Carr, Associate Director URJ 6-Points Sports Academy) / Torah Boot Camp
(4th grade and younger, 2nd grade and younger w/adult) (Shane Carr, Associate Director URJ 6-Points Sports Academy)
Backyard Next to Parking Lot / Sukkah Building Workshop(adults)(Brotherhood Members)
Gaga Pit / Gaga Tournament: Israeli Dodgeball
(Pre-k-2nd grade w/adult)(TaSTYTeens) / Gaga Tournament: Israeli Dodgeball
(3rd-6th grade)(TaSTYTeens) / Gaga Tournament: Israeli Dodgeball
(7th grade-Adult)(TaSTYTeens)
Main Office / Religious School Registration
(adults) (Lynn Kanowith)
ADOPTIVE FAMILIES MEET-AND-GREET: Temple Shalom is an incredibly diverse congregation and one of the contributing factors to the diversity amongst our students is that many of them are adopted. Are you an adoptive family or are you considering adoption? Come meet with other adoptive families at Temple Shalom to network, share stories, and ask questions. (Richard Udell and Sandra Roland)
APOCOLYPSE THEN: COMPETING VISIONS OF THE END OF TIME IN ISAIAH AND EZEKIEL AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR ISRAELI POLITICS AND JEWISH IDENTITY: Our Biblical texts have various images for the end of times. Come for a discussion on several of those visions and what they mean for us today. (Rabbi Michael Feshbach)
BEIT DIN (Community Service): Are you already a member of Beit Din? Have you been thinking about joining? This is a great time to learn about some projects you can do on Sundays from 10:45-11:15 a.m. to help support the local community through collection drives—and even earn some SSL hours. (Pamela Wilcox)
BRACHOT: GOING DEEPER: Making the prayers we routinely say come spiritually alive, we’ll look at some deeper meanings of the words and letters of the six words beginning most blessings:Baruchhatah Adonai EloheinuMelechHa’Olam.The discussion will be based on a book by Rabbi Marcia Prager, The Path of Blessing.(Jerry Silverman)
COMMUNITY KICKOFF QUESTIONS AND SESSION LEADER SIGN-IN: Don’t know where to go? Have a question about a session? Running a session and need directions to your room? We are here to answer all your questions!
CONVERSION CONVERSATION: We are Temple Shalom members who converted to Judaism, and recently found so many new topics and issues to discuss with each other! We invite all "new" Jews (even if you have been Jewish for decades!), to join us for a coffee, and to share thoughts or ask questions about: Judaism for you, family changes, struggles, pleasant surprises, dealing with children.If you are interested in converting, this may also be a great time to find out more about the process and experiences of others.(Linda Aldoory and Deborah Ager)
CHALLAH MAKING: What more do we need to say? (Megan Smith)
Did the Exodus from Egypt Really Happen?: The Exodus story is the cornerstone to most Jewish holiday and ritual observances, but did the Israelites really leave Egypt? Did the 10 Plagues actually occur? Did the sea split and did the Israelites wander in the desert for 40 years? Come discuss the Exodus with Rabbi Kahn. (Rabbi Bruce Kahn)
DRUMMING CIRCLE:Come in, grab a drum, and let's see where the rhythm takes us. (Cantor Lisa Levine and Cantorial Soloist Emily Meyer)
INTERACTIVE GAMES AND EXPLOSIVE FUN!:A new Jewish camp opened last summer and it’s all about science and technology! Come make something bubble up or explode with dry ice and play some interactive games! What’s the connection between Judaism and science and technology? Come find out and have some fun! (Greg Kellner, Director URJ 6-Points Sci-Tech)
GAGA TOURNAMENT: "ISRAELI" DODGEBALL: Come play a camp favorite as TaSTY teens lead us in a fun-filled Gaga Tournament. (TaSTY Teens)
GOOD-TO-GREAT CONGREGATIONAL CONVERSATIONS: The Good-to-Great Committee has been working for more than a year on thinking about what youth education can look like at Temple Shalom. Come learn about prospective models of youth education that they have developed and offer your input about what the future of our education program can look like. (Members of the Good-to-Great Taskforce)
GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY WITH AJWS:Come for a crash course in grassroots advocacy and learn about the American Jewish World Service’s We Believe Campaign which is working to realize rights of the LGBT community and end gender-based violence in the developing world. (Michael Salamon, AJWS Senior Organizer)
HIGH HOLIDAY CRASH COURSE:Feeling not quite ready for the holidays to come around? Do you sit at Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur services and wish you knew more about why you were there? Come for an overview of the High Holiday season. (Rabbi Michael Feshbach)
IF YOU ARE A JEWISH ASTRONAUT ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ORBITING THE EARTH EVERY 92 MINUTES, WHEN DOES SHABBAT BEGIN?—AND MORE OF THE SOMEWHAT ODD: Come discuss the questions you never knew you had about Jewish ritual and holiday observance! (Rabbi Bruce Kahn)
INTERMEDIATE HEBREW: Can you read Hebrew slowly but would like to pick up the pace? Come to the first session of our Intermediate Hebrew class where we will become more familiar with reading through the prayerbook and Haggadah. If you like it and haven't enrolled, join us for the year! (Deborah Ayala Srabstein)
INTERMEDIATE+ HEBREW: Getting comfortable reading Hebrew, but want to increase your prayerbook familiarity and begin learning Hebrew and grammar concepts? Come to the first session of our Intermediate+Hebrew class where we will delve into our prayerbook as well as Biblical passages. If you like it and haven't enrolled, join us for the year! (Deborah Ayala Srabstein)
INTRODUCTION TO HEBREW: Thought about learning Hebrew but haven't had the opportunity yet? Come to the first session of our Introduction to Decoding class. We're starting from the Alef-Bet. If you like it and haven't enrolled, join us for the year! (Deborah Ayala Srabstein)
ISRAELI DANCE: Come in for new and old dances! Alex Fertig is back this year to continue teaching us how to connect with Israel through folk and modern dancing. (Alex Fertig)
LIFE AS AN ORTHODOX JEWISH CLERGY WOMAN:It was not until recent decades that women began to hold roles in synagogues as members of the clergy and for many streams of Judaism having a woman and cantor has become mainstream. Did you know that there are a few, but growing, number of Orthodox women members of the clergy and one of them serves at Ohev Shalom, the congregation just around the corner?! Come meet and learn from Maharat Ruth! Find out what maharat is and why she chose to pursue this career and journey.(Maharat Ruth Balinsky Friedman, Ohev Shalom: The National Synagogue)
JEWISH SUMMER CAMP Q&A:Is my child ready for sleepaway camp? I wish I could send my kid to camp, but it’s too expensive. I hear there is a Jewish sports camp and a Jewish science and technology camp, but I hardly know anything about them. If you have been considering Jewish summer camp for your child, come to meet with some of our camp directors for a special opportunity to learn about the various camps the Union for Reform Judaism has to offer and how to become more involved. (Greg Kellner: Director URJ 6-Points Sci-Tech, Shane Carr: Associate Director URJ 6-Points Sports Academy, Beryl: URJ Camp Harlam)
KIDS' TIME AT TEMPLE SHALOM: Come to our first Kids' Time session of the school year where we will sing, dance, tell stories, and do crafts as related to Jewish culture, rituals, and holidays suited for 3-years-old and younger with an adult. (Jennifer MacAdam-Miller)
LAY LEADERSHIP: OUR TEMPLE’S FUTURE: Come meet Temple Shalom lay leaders and learn about opportunities for your increased involvement at Temple Shalom. You are our synagogue’s future! (David Windt)
MANDATORY CHAI SCHOOL: Mandatory Chai School opening session meeting. Come learn about this year’s theme of Avodahand sign up for electives! (Xani Pollakoff, Miranda Chadwick, Roberta Hockstein, Rabbi Rachel)
MANDATORY POST-CON: Mandatory Post-Confirmation Meeting with Rabbi Feshbach.
MIDDLE EAST POLICY: Go beyond the headlines and have your questions answered on the complex and dynamic situation in the Middle East. Join a discussion about U.S. policy in the Middle East and learn about what is going on in this important region of the world. (Peter Howard)
NEW AND PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS MEET-AND-GREET: New and prospective members are invited to come meet and mingle and chat with others. (Leslie Rubin)
PJ LIBRARY STORY TIME: Come hear a PJ Library story and do a project with us. What's PJ Library? If you don't know, come to this program to find out how your child can get FREE Jewish books every month in the mail! (PJ Library Outreach Associate Sarah Rabin Spira andXani Pollakoff)
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL REGISTRATION:Not signed up for religious school yet? Questions about a payment plan? Come to the Main Office to complete your registration and to have all your questions answered! (Lynn Kanowith)
ROSH HASHANAH APPLE COOKING: Come make a delicious apple treat to keep the sweetness from Rosh HaShanah going. (Liz Dayan)
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR KIDS—THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY!:A discussion for kids, parents, and all who are interested. (Allison Druin)
SONGS OF OUR YOUTH: ADULT CAMP SONG SESSION: Missing the songs you used to sing when you were young? Enjoying contemporary Jewish music while still nostalgic for your childhood? Emily will be bringing back some of your favorites, so come sing along! (Cantorial Soloist Emily Meyer)
SHOFAR BLOWING WORKSHOP: Have you always wanted to learn to blow the shofar? Come learn how to blow the shofar for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur! Bring a shofar if you have one! If not, we'll have some to borrow and also to purchase. (Elliot Zenick)
SISTERHOOD MEET-AND-GREET: Have you been looking to network with other Jewish women? Come meet our Women of Reform Judaism’s Temple Shalom Sisterhood, schmooze, grab a nosh, and learn about upcoming programs and events this year! (Sisterhood Members)
STAND UP FOR ISRAEL:There is a broad set of opinions about Israel’s internal politics and there is not one way that Americans have to behave to be pro-Israel (in fact, you can be pro-Israel without supporting everything that Israel does). Come learn about what it means to support Israel as an American citizen and specific steps that you can take to show this support. (Alexis Schwartz, JCRC Israel Outreach Program Associate)
SUKKAHBUILDING WORKSHOP: Thought about building a sukkah but you don't know how? Come join the Brotherhood outside for a crash course in how to build a sukkah. It's easier than it sounds and you can have one in your yard in time for Sukkot! (Brotherhood Members)
TaSTY JUNIOR GATHERING: Join Temple Shalom's junior youth group for a meeting. Whether you have attended every TaSTY Jr. event or none at all, this is a great time to meet some of the people involved and to get to know Pam, our TaSTY Director. (Pamela Wilcox)
TaSTY SENIOR GATHERING: Get to know Temple Shalom's senior youth group. Whether you have attended every TaSTY event or none at all, this is a great time to hang out and get to know Pam, our TaSTY Director. (Pamela Wilcox and TaSTY Board)
TENTATIVE CAMP STYLE PROGRAM: Camp Harlam Rep
TEMPLE SHALOM RUNNING CLUB:Looking for something to do after Sunday School that’s athletic? With only an early session of Sunday School this year, we are very excited about the possibility of offering a running club on Sundays after school. Come join Amit and Rabbi Rachel for some stretches, a light jog outside, and some conversation about what this group can do together! (No experience necessary and don’t forget to wear running clothes and sneakers!) (Rabbi Rachel and Amit Nathan)
THOUGHTFUL TREASURES: Come make special treasures to put in the mailboxes of pediatric patients and their siblings at the NIH Children's Inn. This mailbox program brings many moments of joy to children and their siblings. Upon arrival at The Inn, each child is assigned a mailbox to receive mail and special gifts. Each day, a treasure is placed in the child’s mailbox. These items can be many different things—each one lifting spirits, bringing smiles, laughter, or a friendly surprise. (Jeannette Gordon)