Religious School

FEB 27 @ 6:30 Purim Megillah Reading & Costume Parade
MAR 5 @ 7:00 p.m. Dedication of Grades 9 & 10 Stained Glass Panels, followed by Shabbat service at 7:30
MAR 13 @10:00 a.m. Family Shabbat Service: Bagels, Yoga, and Prayer

Stained Glass Art: Alix, Brandon, Gillian, Miles, Darian, Robert

NFTY Kallah: Evan, Ethan, Adele, Melinda, Ben

Creating Jewish Memories

The Religious School at Temple Beth El is fun, warm, and welcoming to students and families and offers a creative and interactive curriculum for students in K through 10th grade. Our hands-on approach to education incorporates music, Israeli dancing, Judaic art, Hebrew, and the celebration of Shabbat and holidays for students and their families. Youth Groups and after school activities offer opportunities for children to socialize with their peers as they create unique friendships and share in community service projects.

Temple Beth El Religious School strives to provide a meaningful, engaging, formal, experiential, and family education program for our children within a safe, warm, and caring environment. Our goal is to develop and inspire a community of educated and menschlich (people of integrity and honor) Jewish children. They will be knowledgeable about and committed to the philosophy and practices of Judaism.

Our approach is not simply to teach about Judaism, but to create a stimulating, interactive program to enable our students and their families to experience the joys of Jewish living. The study of Jewish rituals, Hebrew, Israel, the holiday cycle, Torah, prayer, ethics, and music are key components of their education. This curriculum prepares our children to understand and live by the Jewish values of Torah, Avodah (Worship) and Gemilut Chasadim (Social Justice).

The following lines from the Babylonian Talmud (Avoda Zara: 19A) reflect my philosophy of our religious school: "A person does not learn Torah unless from a place where her/his heart desires ... a person does not learn Torah unless in a place where her/his heart is touched. I believe that we DO learn Torah and Judaism individually, familially, and communally. I hope that our children feel that Temple Beth El is a place that touches their hearts and minds.

Thoughts on Pesach

As we approach the first Pesach Seder on March 29, I’ve been thinking about children (as usual!). Specifically, I am contemplating the four different types of children identified in the Haggadah. We are told repeatedly that it is imperative to teach our children about the Exodus from Egypt, and that we must explain the story differently to each child. The Haggadah describes: (1) the “wise” child, (2) the “rebellious or wicked” child, (3) the “simple” child, and (4) the child “who does not know how to ask a question.” Each child asks a different question about Pesach. The “wise” child asks about the laws, the “rebellious” child asks what the service means to him, the “simple” child asks what this is, and finally there’s the child who doesn’t ask anything. So, the Haggadah describes four different responses to explain the meaning of Pesach.

Why four children? Rabbi Miriam Spitzer explains: “Perhaps the Haggadah deliberately provides caricatures of four types of children to teach us something about the care we must take when we answer questions. Each person at our Seder is coming from a different place.” Or, perhaps each of us possesses characteristics of all four personalities and we all benefit from a variety of approaches.

This concept from the Haggadah informs our practice as parents and Religious School teachers. Each child is unique and we must listen carefully to his/her questions and respond appropriately. As educators, we continually strive to address the different learning styles of each child. One child may benefit from auditory input, another from visual cues, and another from kinesthetic activities. Our mission is not simply to impart knowledge or skills; it is to identify how to reach our children emotionally as well. Judaism nourishes our hearts, our souls, our minds, and our actions.

About Our Director

Our Religious School Director, Melinda Ruben, comes to Temple Beth El with enthusiasm, experience, and passion for Jewish Education. As a young adult, Melinda was valedictorian at Hebrew College’s Prozdor High School in Boston, Massachusetts. Then, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and American Literature at Harvard University. As an adult, she completed a Master’s Degree in Education at Lesley University. Melinda has taken advance course work in supervision, curriculum development, and special needs at Hebrew College and Brandeis University in Boston. She actively believes in life-long Jewish learning, and strives to transmit Jewish values to students of all ages.

Melinda has worked in a variety of Jewish settings for over twenty-five years. She began as a part-time classroom teacher at Temple Israel in Sharon, MA. Then, she taught full-time at the South Area Solomon Schechter Day School in Stoughton, MA, where she implemented an integrated Hebrew and Judaic curriculum. Melinda became the Assistant Director of the Religious School at Temple Israel, Boston, MA. Following her tenure there, Melinda became the Director of Education at Temple Chayai Shalom in Easton, MA where she served for seven years, and grew the school from 150 to 260 students.

Melinda is justifiably proud of her three beautiful children: Michael, Andrew, and Abigail. Michael is a graduate of the University of Miami and works as a Financial Advisor. Andrew earned two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania: one in Systems Engineering and and one in Finance at the Wharton School. He works for Deutsche Bank in Manhattan. Abigail is a Junior majoring in Psychology at the University of Tampa. Melinda is also blessed with two wonderful parents who spend the winters in south Florida.

Philosophically, Melinda subscribes to the thinking articulated by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan; that teaching Judaism without family involvement is like heating a house with the windows open. As Religious School Director at Temple Beth El, she strives to bring the joys of Judaism into the life of every child, youth, and family. She explains: “We strive to create a warm, safe environment in which our children will be introduced to the beauty and richness of our heritage, rituals, and sacred texts. Our plan is to challenge and stimulate our students and parents both in the classroom and outside in the community. To accomplish these goals, we create a variety of learning experiences and utilize the most modern textbooks, materials and techniques. Whether reading from the Bible or discussing ethical issues, children are encouraged and motivated to ask questions and analyze stories. When we teach about the holidays, we want the students not only to have the knowledge of the rituals and ceremonies, but also to experience the holiday fully. When we teach Hebrew, we want our students not only to read and chant fluently, but to understand the meaning and history of the prayers.” Melinda is confident that these goals can be accomplished with the partnership of home, school, and community.