Religious School Wrap-Up

From the pages of Kadima, the Newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

Religious School News 

     from


Cantor Sandy Horowitz

Religious School Director

There is a tradition called “counting the omer” which involves blessing and counting each of the 49 days between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot. On Passover our ancestors were freed from slavery, on Shavuot they received the Ten Commandments.

As another religious school year comes to a close, we will have counted 31 school days since we began last September. 31 days of parents making sure your children made it to Adas Emuno on a Sunday morning; 31 days of coming together as a learning community; 31 days of endeavoring to inspire the hearts and minds of our next Jewish generation.

A special thank you goes out to the religious school parents for all the ways you have volunteered this year–as “parent in charge”, helping with holiday celebrations, class pot-luck dinners and more. Gratitude abounds especially to the school committee for their constant leadership and support.

We are grateful to each of our teachers for their commitment and creativity. Ably assisted by the madrichim, we owe thanks to them as well for helping out in the classroom and acting as role models for the younger students. A special shout-out goes to seniors Steven Chartoff, Julian Pecht and Ollie Racciatti who are heading off to college in the fall. We will miss you!

Lastly, we acknowledge the rebirth of our teen Youth Group this past spring; appreciation goes out to Rabbi Schwartz for leading this effort, and to the group leaders Sabina Albirt and Samantha Rosenbloom for making it happen each month.

We want to keep this good thing going, and growing: Please spread the word about our wonderful Religious School! If you know of families with children from preschool age through seventh grade who might be interested in a dynamic Jewish education, please reach out to them and encourage them to contact us at adasschool at gmail.com.



DATES TO REMEMBER:

Saturday May 6
7:30 PM School Committee Meeting

Friday, January 20
10:00 AM Bat Mitzvah of Lily Futeran

Friday May 19
7:30 PM Shabbat Family Service
Confirmation Ceremony

Saturday June 24
10:00 AM Bar Mitzvah of Jack Schuller

Confirmation Class Schedule:
Sunday May 7
Sunday May 14
Thursday May 18 (rehearsal)

from the pages of Kadima, the newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

From the desk of …                    

 Rabbi Barry Schwartz

    

SPRING AWAKENING

The signs of spring are everywhere. I never cease to marvel at the rebirth of the Earth, from the flowers and trees to the profusion of new life. We tidy up the garden, move out the plants, and hang up the hummingbird feeders. The hibernating species shake awake and the migratory types wing their way back. And as Jews we celebrate our spring holidays.

By the time you read this, our great spring festival of Pesach will have passed over. Pesach celebrates not only spring awakening (in a nice coincidence it corresponded with Earth Day this year), but the rebirth of our people to freedom. If our biblical ancestors were to drop by they would recognize our holiday celebration with little problem. While the fifteen steps of the seder and the Haggadah have evolved over time, the essential story and symbols have remained unchanged. Passover, as essentially a home holiday, is the most widely observed of the Jewish holidays, by a long shot.

The same cannot be said of the biblical festival that follows “a week of weeks” later-Shavuot. Though it celebrates the first harvest and the momentous giving of the Torah at Sinai on the fiftieth day after the Exodus (and like Pesach was the object of a national pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem) today Shavuot is not well marked in the non-Orthodox community. Yet it is when we read the Ten Commandments and the beautiful Book of Ruth. Our Confirmation Class will uphold that tradition at our service on June 10 (7:30 pm). Celebrate the holiday and support our wonderful teens who dedicate three years after bar/bat mitzvah to this accomplishment.

Our biblical forbears would certainly not recognize two other special days that mark spring in the Jewish calendar, because they commemorate two epochal events of the 20th century-the Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel. Yom HaShoah falls this on May 5 (there is a community ceremony in Fair Lawn that evening) and we will include appropriate music and words at our Shabbat evening service on May 6. One week later is Yom Ha’Atzmaut-we gladly celebrate the 68th birthday of modern Israel at our Shabbat evening service on May 13.

The Holocaust and the rebirth of Israel happened within the lifetime of older members of our community. But the passage of decades dims the memory for the generations that follow. There is no substitute for directly hearing from and seeing the eyewitnesses to the tragedy and the triumph. In the same way that I feel sorry that my children did not know my immigrant grandparents, and learn first-hand what it took to leave Eastern Europe and rebuild their lives in America, so we will face the challenge of the Holocaust and Israel’s founding moving from living history for us to “ancient” history for our youth.

As the most successful example of keeping memory alive, perhaps we can take a clue from the Passover seder. What new rituals can we create for the spring holidays that will enlighten and endure? The genius of the Jewish holidays is how they link the cycle of the seasons to the cycle of our history. In this age of environmentalism and globalism, as world citizens, but as bearers of ancient wisdom, there is much to ponder and to celebrate.

End of Religious School Year Updates

From the pages of Kadima, the Newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

Religious School News 

     from


Cantor Sandy Horowitz

Religious School Director

As we come to the end of the school year, we bid farewell to our teacher, Aliza Neuer, who has done such a wonderful job teaching Judaics to grades K-1 and 2-3 this year. We thank her for her hard work and her enthusiasm, as she brought exciting projects and lots of fun learning to her classes every single week. She will be truly missed.

As we say goodbye, the school committee has already begun thinking about finding a new teacher for next year–if you know of anyone who might be interested and available to teach our youngest students on Sunday mornings, please be in touch with me or with one of the co-chairs of the Religious School Committee, Michael Raskin or Elka Oliver.

We also say “thank you” to all of our teachers who have continued to enrich the Jewish lives of our students this year. Thank you also to the madrichim who help out in so many ways, and to our various substitute teachers who have stepped in during the year.

Most especially, thank you to all the Religious School parents for making the commitment to bring your children to school each Sunday, and to the students themselves who come with their creativity, their insights and their enthusiasm.

The school year may be ending, but there are still several exciting events coming up during May and June. We will be celebrating the bar mitzvah of Dylan Priblo, David Goldstein and Zach Arnold–please see below for exact date information. Also, on June 10, we will have our annual (and very special) Confirmation service, as we give a Confirmation send-off to 10th graders, Ava Fisher and Emma Schuller, and honor all the post-b'nei mitzvah teens who have been studying with the Rabbi all year long. It promises to be a great evening!

 
DATES TO REMEMBER:

Saturday, May 7
10:00 AM: Bar Mitzvah of Dylan Priblo

Saturday, May 21
10:00 AM: Bar Mitzvah of David Goldstein

Sunday, May 22
9:00 AM Final Session of Religious School

Saturday, June 4
10:00 AM: Bar Mitzvah of Zachary Arnold

Thursday, June 9
7:00 PM: Religious School Committee Meeting

Friday, June 10
7:30 PM Shabbat Service with Confirmation Ceremony

Confirmation Class Sessions:
May 1, 8, 15

from the pages of Kadima, the newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

From the desk of …                    

 Rabbi Barry Schwartz

    

What is Confirmation?

When I work with each bar and bat mitzvah student here at the congregation, I urge them to continue through Confirmation.

Some students and parents know exactly what I am talking about, others have a vague idea, and some are mystified. So a few words of explanation are in order; after all, as I ask our students: if you dropped out of regular school at age 13, would you consider yourself to be an educated citizen? The same applies to your Jewish education, I emphasize. At 13 you are only beginning to gain a mature grasp of your heritage.

Confirmation has its origins in the mid-19th century when the early Reformers in Germany and later America actually tried to do away with bar mitzvah altogether. They claimed that at age 13 a child was too young to meaningfully take on real responsibility. Instead they advocated for a ceremony at age 16 as more appropriate for a teen to “confirm” their faith. It became apparent that bar mitzvah held too much popular appeal to be abolished, so Confirmation was added as a communal, rather than individual ritual. The holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Torah, was chosen as the most appropriate time for this ceremony. Confirmation students were asked to read the Ten Commandments and the Book of Ruth, both traditionally recited on the holiday, to offer a commentary on their portion, and to publicly affirm their commitment to Judaism.

Confirmation remains a three year course of study (grades 8-9-10) that culminates in a beautiful service that takes place at our synagogue on the Shabbat closest to Shavuot. Students study with me on a bi-weekly basis on Sunday mornings. Bible, history, ethics, theology, current events… all these topics are discussed and debated. All three grades participate in the year-end service; the chanting, speeches, and class song always make us truly proud of our committed teens.

This year Confirmation takes place on Shabbat evening, May 22 (7:30 pm). I invite you to support our youth and see for yourself why we take such pride in them. The involvement of some of our youth as teaching assistants in our school is another positive thing we do. That being said, I will not hide my regret that too many of our b’nai mitzvah choose not to continue with Confirmation, and that we do not have a youth group. We share a common goal of keeping our youth connected through the end of high school. Let’s challenge ourselves to be more creative and committed so that all our graduates can affirm their connection to community and continuity.

Gabi Capote's Confirmation Speech

On June 6th, Congregation Adas Emuno celebrated the Festival on Shavuot with a Confirmation ceremony featuring this year's confirmands, Gabi Capote, Ethan Irby, and Rianna Rosenberg, who read from the Ten Commandments and the Book of Ruth, along with the other members of our religious school's confirmation class.

Gabi Capote was kind enough to share her confirmation speech with us, and we are pleased in turn to share it with you here on our congregational blog:

Confirmation

I can’t believe we finally completing our Hebrew school career. I remember kindergarten class with Rianna and Ethan like it was just last Sunday. We have learned so much throughout our years in Hebrew school, from the Hebrew alphabet, all the way up to learning the right thing to do in a situation. I am proud of all the hard work that my classmates and I have completed.

One major accomplishment that we have all made was our Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. Each of us was able to become a son or daughter of God in our own special way. We were not forced to do it, or at least I know I wasn’t, but we chose to make the commitment and exceed our expectations as a Hebrew school student.

Each year we were able to learn more, think more, and sing more. As our singing of the Hebrew prayers progressed, we were able to help the younger kids learn them as well, which is all a part of being a Jew; helping others, and helping the community.

Being a Jew is not only about helping others when people are looking, but also helping when no one else is around. I can safely say that growing up in this Jewish community, all of us, my classmates and I, have learned that factor of life, and much more.

Eager to learn more, after becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, my classmates and I all chose to take confirmation class. Each year was a little different, from when we talked about different topics, and spoke our mind, to debating about juicy events. Each class was a new experience that we will cherish in our memories.

We all make up part of that class, and we are each a piece of the whole. Although our formal education in Judaism is complete, it does not mean that the religious part of our lives is over. There is always more to learn, and the spiritual part will always be present in us as we grow.

Thank you to all of our teachers throughout the years and the best of luck to all my classmates as we move on to encounter our journey as young Jewish citizens.

And with that, we offer our congratulations, once again, to Gabi, Ethan, and Rianna, on their confirmation last month!

Looking Forward to Shavuot!

The Festival of Shavuot begins on the evening of Tuesday, June 3rd, and Congregation Adas Emuno will be joining together with Temple Emeth of Teaneck and Temple Sinai of Tenafly in a collaborative service hosted by Temple Sinai, at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, June 4th.

It is customary to celebrate Shavuot by eating dairy, so here are some tips on cooking up some blintzes:





And be sure to join us on Friday night, June 6th, as we celebrate Shavuot on Shabbat with this year's Confirmation class.

Our Confirmands

In our previous two posts, we brought you Hannah Weinstein's Confirmation Speech and Sydney Labombarda's Confirmation Speech, both delivered this past Shavuot, June 7th.  Here now are two lovely photographs, courtesy of Robyn Labombarda, with (from left to right) Cantor Shapiro, Hannah Weinstein, Sydney Labombarda, and our Religious School Director, Jennifer Katz-Goldstein.

And yes, that is our beautiful new Ark that they are posing in front of!  The Ark, a gift from our Conservative cousins in Leonia, Congregation Sons of Israel, will be featured in a future post here on our congregational blog, so keep an eye out for it!  And one more time, congratulations Hannah and Sydney!

Sydney Labombarda's Confirmation Speech

Another of our religious school students participating in our June 7th Confirmation ceremony, in conjunction with the festival of Shavuot, was Sydney Labombarda.  Here now is Sydney's Confirmation speech:

On March 8, 2008, many of you sitting here thought that I was ending my Jewish education when I was called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah.  In fact, on that date, I decided to continue my studies in order to become a responsible adult in the Jewish Community.  In order to do so, for the past three years, I have been attending confirmation class.  In confirmation class, we studied how issues that the youth of today are facing are viewed by the Jewish community based on the Talmud as well as Rabbinic texts. We also learned how our faith and our personal beliefs influence the choices we make when faced with tough decisions. By applying what we learned in confirmation class, we can become more responsible teenagers. Confirmation class gave all the students attending a safe-haven to discuss our views on topics that varied from cross-dressing and tattoos and piercing, to controversial and eye-opening discussions such as online harassment and life after death. By attending confirmation class, I was able to think freely as a Jewish adult and make better decisions in my life.  

On Shavuot, students who have completed confirmation class become confirmed members of the Jewish community.  This ceremony is held on this holiday, because Shavuot is when   G-d gave the Ten Commandments, his rules for society, to the Jewish community.  It is also when Jews around the world, read from the Book of Ruth, from the sacred scrolls.  What makes confirmation important to me is, unlike my Bat Mitzvah, when I, as an individual, became a daughter of the Torah, the completion of confirmation affirms my beliefs and faith in my Jewish community.  Unlike my Bat Mitzvah, where I was up here alone, as an individual, I am up here today, with Hannah.  We stand before you, as part of the community, like Ruth was part of her community when she stood by Naomi, like the Israelites stood at the foot of Mount Sinai when they received G-d’s Commandments.  We stand here now able to fully apply all that we have learned in class, all that we have learned from the Commandments, and all that we have learned from our families to our lives so that we can continue to be responsible, respectable and productive members of both our Jewish community as well as our home community.  

Amen, Sydney, Amen!  And on behalf of Congregation Adas Emuno, a hearty congratulations to you and your family!

Hannah Weinstein's Confirmation Speech

Hannah Weinstein was one of our religious school students who participated in the Confirmation ceremony this past Shavuot, which took place on June 7.  Hannah was kind enough to share her Confirmation speech with us:

Before I became a member of Adas Emuno, I did not know there was such a thing as a Confirmation after a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. I chose to continue my Jewish studies and to become Confirmed. Confirmation with Jennifer was very different than other classes because we got to talk about horoscopes, cyber-bullying, cross-dressing, Sydney’s favorite, piercing, life after death, and much more. Confirmation helped me take a stand on these topics by relating them to everyday life and by talking about Rabbis’ points of views. Confirmation class was a place where we could voice our opinions without the fear of being judged. I would like to thank Jennifer Katz Goldstein for guiding me further in my Jewish studies. Jennifer has always made Confirmation class interesting, fun, and I have always looked forward to them. I am so glad that I got to spend time with you in my last years of official learning at Adas Emuno. I would also like to thank my two wonderful parents for supporting me in everything I do. I made the choice to go to Hebrew School, to become a Bat Mitzvah, and to go on to being confirmed, and my Mom and Dad never hesitated or questioned me in my decisions. And a very special THANK YOU to my wonderful, amazing, extraordinary, one and only Dad, David Weinstein, who is the best dad on the face of the Earth. Lastly, I would like to thank our amazing Cantor Shapiro for all that she has done for this congregation and me. Cantor has made this congregation very special and I will miss her very much.

This night is not only about celebrating Confirmation, but also is Shavuot. This Torah portion is about the Ten Commandments. It is said that G-d asked all of the different people of the Earth if they would accept the Ten Commandments but only the Jewish people said yes. The Jewish people vowed to follow the Ten Commandments as their law and practice. And just like the Jewish people many years ago, I promise to continue following Judaism for the rest of my life, and to pass it on for generations to come.
Thank You.

Well said, Hannah, and congratulations, on behalf of the entire Adas Emuno community, to you and your family!

A Song for Shavuot

In celebration of the Festival of Shavuot, here is a song about the Ten Commandments, courtesy of YouTube.  Here's the write-up:

Join Naomi Less for a rockin trip through the Ten Commandments. We've brought the decalogue to life with the amusing exploits of some villagers and their mischievous ways. Created in honor of Shavuot, the holiday when the Jewish people commemorate receiving the Torah (Law) at Mount Sinai.

Wishing everyone a chag sameach, and a special congratulations and mazel tov to our confirmands for tonight!

Benjamin Strate's Confirmation Speech

Benjamin Strate was another of our four religious school students who participated in the Confirmation ceremony this past Shavuot Festival, which took place on May 18th (see our previous posts, Preparing for Shavuot and Confirmation 2010).

Benjamin has also been good enough to share with us his confirmation speech:

Confirmation Speech

Benjamin Strate

    Good evening friends, family and fellow congregants. My fellow Confirmands and I have been asked to say a few words to the Jewish community. I would like to talk about us as a community being the chosen people.
    When you first hear chosen people, many think God chose us. I personally thought the same until, I started going to confirmation class. I have learned many things there, but none as interesting as the truth behind "the Jews as a chosen people."
    The statement itself is a little misleading. The story goes that, God went around among the many nations of the ancient world, offering the Torah and its 613 laws. No nation wanted to accept the responsibility that came with those laws until God met Moses on Mount Sinai, and at that time we accepted all 613 laws and commandments. We are not called the chosen people because God chose us to receive the commandments, but because WE CHOSE to receive the commandments. 
By choosing the commandments we chose to accept responsibility. As a people, we chose to be responsible for keeping a safe and civilized community, for upholding justice and mercy, compassion and respect. Without laws we might live in chaos and anarchy.  With laws, we also understand that everyone will be judged equally, that every person is equally important, that we believe in equality.  We also accepted the responsibility for interpreting the laws, for studying their meaning and interpretation, and for reinterpreting them for each new situation and era.
And by accepting responsibility for all 613 laws, we  did not promise perfect obedience.  We accepted that we are not perfect, that we are human and make mistakes.  Accepting responsibility means that we should know right from wrong, and that we should strive to better ourselves at all times.
    Today my fellow Confirmands and I have been confirmed into the Jewish community. We are adults now, and must accept responsibility for ourselves and for each other, we must strive to be better individuals and to make a better world for all to live in, much as we as a people did, when we accepted God's 613 commandments.

And here we seem Benjamin again, as he prepares for his Torah reading prior to the beginning of the Shavuot service:

  

Mazel Tov to Benjamin and the Strate Family from the entire Adas Emuno Community!

Merrill Steinberg's Confirmation Speech

Merrill Steinberg was another member of our religious school's Confirmation class who took part in our Shavuot ceremony on May 18th (see our previous posts, Preparing for Shavuot and Confirmation 2010).  Below, we see him preparing for the Torah reading prior to the start of our Shavuot service:

And here is his confirmation speech, which he generously made available to us:

Confirmation Speech

Merrill Steinberg

Until I took confirmation I had always regarded Judaism as only a religion. I never really felt very Jewish because I never was very religious. But confirmation changed all this. After 3 years of analyzing how Judaism applies to everyday situations, I realized that Judaism is more than just a religion, it is a set of guidelines and laws describing how to have a peaceful and just society. Without this realization I would never have had the respect for Judaism that I have now and I would have never considered myself Jewish in the way that I do now, not as a follower of the religion, but as a Jewish citizen.

And one more look at Merrill just prior to the start of Shavuot:

Congratulations to Merrill and the Steinberg family from the entire Adas Emuno Community!

Ben Johannesson's Confirmation Speech

Ben Johannesson was one of four students of our Adas Emuno Religious School who took part in our Shavuot celebration and Confirmation ceremony this past May 18th (as noted in our last two posts, Preparing for Shavuot and Confirmation 2010). 

And he was kind enough to share with us the Confirmation Speech he delivered that evening:

Confirmation Speech

Ben Johannesson

After wandering the desert for forty years Moses went to the top of mount Sinai and talked to G-d. G-d chose Moses and the Israelites to give the Ten Commandments to. G-d said to Moses, “For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be His own treasure, out of all peoples that are upon the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6).  G-d chose the Jewish people to follow the Ten Commandments and his word, he said, “(18) And today the LORD has affirmed that you are His special people as He promised you, that you are to keep all His commands, (19) that He will put you far above all the nations He has made in praise, fame, and glory, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God as He promised” (Deut. 26:18-19). The true meaning of  “the chosen people” is not clearly determined, G-d left it for us.  As it is for us to determine in our own personal way, it can have a different meaning to anyone who reads the words of G-d. Throughout Confirmation we have learned about Judaism, Israel, the Torah, and G-d and after being given all this knowledge it is up to us to determine what being chosen means. I would like to thank Jennifer and The Cantor for helping and teaching us through out our years here.

And here's another look at Ben, as he prepares for his Torah reading prior to the Shavuot service.

Congratulations to Ben Johannesson, and his family, from the entire Adas Emuno community!

Confirmation 2010

On Tuesday, May 18th, four members of the Confirmation class from Adas Emuno's religious school took part in the Shavuot Festival celebration, reading from the Torah and from their own prepared speeches.  Here they are, posing with Cantor Shaprio on the right, and Religious School Director Jennifer Katz-Goldstein on the left, prior to the start of the service.

The Confirmands, from left to right, are Benjamin Johannesson, Merrill Steinberg, Deanna Morin, and Benjamin Strate.  We certainly are proud of each and every one of them!

And here now are some snapshots taken during the preparation for the Confirmation ceremony:

And finally, special thanks to our photographer, Barbara Strate! 

Preparing for Shavuot

From the pages of Kadima, the Newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno, here is Cantor Shapiro's column concerning the Festival of Shavuot last month:

Shavuot is almost here. We’ll be celebrating this festival in the synagogue on Tuesday, May 18th, as five of our young people have concluded the Confirmation course and will be Confirmed during this service.


On Shavuot, we remember that the Eternal One gave the Torah to our people. During the service in the synagogue, like Jews all over the world, we will read the Ten Commandments.


As Jews, of course, the ten are not enough, and we are given a whopping 613 commandments. Although we may interpret them differently, the Ten Commandments are shared by the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In this way the Ten Commandments point toward some of our similarities with our sister religions. Another set of rules that we have are called the Noahide laws. These are seven laws that are listed in the Talmud and reflect the principles of the Ten Commandments. But the Noahide laws point toward more universalist concepts in Judaism. The Talmud says that any non-Jew who lives his or her life according to the Noahide laws has a place in the world to come.


The seven laws listed by the Tosefta and the Talmud are: Prohibition of Idolatry: You shall not have any idols before God; Prohibition of Murder: You shall not murder; Prohibition of Theft: You shall not steal; Prohibition of Sexual promiscuity; Prohibition of Blasphemy: You shall not blaspheme God's name; Dietary Law: Do not eat flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive; Requirement to have just Laws: Set up a governing body of law.


These different groups of laws, rules and commandments show that while Judaism acknowledges the chosen nature of the Jewish people, traditional Judaism also recognizes that other peoples and religions have a special place as well. This Shavout, may we recognize the beauty of our own traditions while continuing in the path of our ancestors who found ways to honor and welcome people of other faiths.

 

And here now is a photograph of Cantor Shapiro preparing, prior to the start of our Shavuot service this past May, with several of our Confirmation students in the background.

 

Cantor Shapiro was joined on the bimah by our outstanding Religious School Director, Jennifer Katz-Goldstein, seen here preparing for the Torah reading before our Shavuot service, while surrounded by our glowing, young Confirmands.

Look for more about this year's Confirmation class in future blog posts!