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Barbara Segal

Fall 24'/Winter '25

I’ve been thinking a lot about food lately…more importantly, the relationship that exists between Jewish Holidays and food.  I always look forward to eating a brisket, latkes or even gefilte fish throughout the year but what about teaching holidays and Jewish concepts through food? 

With over 32 years’ experience of teaching in religious schools, I never made the connection of teaching with food until very recently.  Quite honestly, it was when I had a tiny human of my own that I learned how meaningful and impactful it was to teach using food. 

At our Jewish Learning Center, we celebrated Sukkot by making our own edible sukkahs with graham crackers and pretzels, and Simchat Torah by making Torahs with fruit roll-ups and pretzel rods.  We learned about the significance of the Sukkah and Torah—all while enjoying tasty treats too.  In fact, our children enjoy making hamantaschen during Purim and sharing delicious Hanukkah latkes with our older friends, at Five Star Residences.  It was just now that I realized that we use food to teach many of our symbolic lessons in Judaism. 

These last few years have forced us to think outside the box and reinvent our careers, relationships, and ways of thinking.  Most days, I find it daunting and slightly annoying as I have never worked so hard in my life, but once in a while, there is a ray of sunshine that pokes through the clouds—like my “a-ha” moment with food and learning.  It is these little wins that we occasionally experience that propels us to the next day.

So, I encourage you to search for fun and innovative ways to teach with food.  You’ll find a wealth of information that can enhance your child’s learning for any subject they are facing challenges with, as well as compete in parenting wins like the parents on Bluey.

Summer 2024

What we create at JLC is nothing short of magic. Our children gain a deep love and appreciation for their Judaism, make deep connections with their peers, teen assistants, and teachers, and find their place in our Jewish community.

This past year, we ventured into the community and warmed the hearts of our neighbors at Five Star Retirement Community. Next year, we hope that we can not only return to Five Star, but also perform much needed Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and social action elsewhere, as well.

Our 2024-2025 school year will focus on kavod – respect. Throughout our school year, our whole group programming will focus on all aspects of respect. Whether it be respect for oneself or respect for others, we will show kavod and intention for everything we do. We are also adding an elective feature, chugim. At three different points throughout the school year, our children will have the opportunity to spend the last 25 minutes of our mornings together, exploring different activities such as Jewish cooking, gardening, song writing and band, sports, and more.

This coming year, our JLC kehilah kedosha (holy community) will expand to include new friends – LEV, an alternative religious school geared toward our neuro diverse friends, as well as Keshet, an Israeli American religious school experience. These programs will be running parallel to our JLC and help us to foster new relationships. Once again, this will foster mutual kavod and help our children to become even more well-rounded!

As I reflect on my childhood, I can say that the relationships I have been able to make and keep stemmed from my religious school experience. I encourage each and every one of you to speak to your friends and your children’s friends and tell them about the JLC at Temple Beth El. Our kids can share this very special experience with their friends and we can continue to grow.

I have said this before and will say it again. Temple Beth El is a very special community, and we are blessed to have such wonderful people. It is this village where I want to see my child grow and forge lasting friendships and memories.

Barb

Spring 2024

Celebrate Being Jewish.

As a child/teen/young adult, I spent my summers at URJ Camp Coleman.  I loved my summers—celebrating Shabbat in an open air sanctuary, praying while overlooking Lake Shalom, with hundreds of other young people.  In retrospect, those times at camp were when I felt “most Jewish.”  I wonder why?

Without even knowing it, we were learning Jewish values through all of the amazing programming that was offered, as well as spending quality time in a microcosm of Jews.  We were allowed to explore our Jewish identity in a safe space where questions could be answered with judgment or prejudice.  T’filah was age appropriate and D’var Torah/sermons were relevant to us.  To me, it was the Jewish Utopia…Jewtopia.

I am not hiding my ulterior motive:  get children to love Judaism and subsequently come to TBE ALL THE TIME!!!  It’s no secret that I am a product of a loving and nurturing family and URJ synagogue, URJ Camp Coleman, and NFTY.  It’s because of all these wonderful institutions that I have connected my synagogue life to the real world. 

There is a direct correlation with our children’s experience during Hebrew School and the level of commitment they demonstrate in their post Bar/bat mitzvah years.  By ratio, our retention rate is higher than most synagogues.  I believe this happens because we focus our area of study on making connections—both to the Jewish community and to each other.  Our teen assistants want to be with us on Sundays, because they fondly remember their Sunday school experience when the teenagers drove their programming.

It doesn’t end here though. All participants benefit from our Kehilah Kedosha (holy community) we have created.  All of our teaching practices and learning methods compliment our students’ learning in secular life, and we utilize all different kinds of strategies to cater to all the different kinds of learners out there.  It is my observation that our participants become better readers and learners because of the methodologies we employ.

I walk around with my fond memories from Coleman as a standard to which I hold true to our Jewish Learning Center, but our standards have surpassed that!  We have a created a space where our children want to learn and connect with our rich and vibrant history.  My biggest fear is that our kids don’t want to come to Temple, or to celebrate being Jewish.  We have overcome that fear by making the JLC a place where kids enjoy attending.  So far, it has worked.  In previous years, I remember leading the children to the carpool line 5 minutes before school ended, and now we have reached a place where kids don’t want to leave at the 12:30 prescribed time, so we hang out some more at youth group.  On several occasions, I have witnessed our children whimper and whine that they have to leave and trust me, it is a good feeling!

B'ruach, 

Barb

Fri, February 14 2025 16 Sh'vat 5785