EDUCATION
LIFELONG LEARNING
The Beth Chai Sunday School, Pre-K To 8th Grade
The school is led by Rabbi Cohen with an eager and committed faculty. A parents’ council advises Rabbi Cohen, and all parents are encouraged to participate through volunteer opportunities and celebrations.
Each school day begins with a half-hour congregation-wide music and song assembly, followed by a two-hour class session during which music, literature, art, dance, film, writing, and discussion may be used to engage children in activities that help them relate curriculum content to their lives in meaningful ways. Students learn Hebrew vocabulary words as well. A short bagel break is shared with parents and others participating in adult education programs, which run concurrently.
New students are always welcome. For more information, contact Rabbi Cohen via email at education@bethchai.org. Congregational membership is required to participate. Please visit our Membership page for more information.
B'NAI MITZVAH PROGRAM
At Beth Chai, we prepare our students for Bar and Bat Mitzvah by engaging their intellect and fostering maturity in their thinking and feeling. This work culminates in a coming-of-age ceremony that is put together by families working with our rabbi. Each student chooses an original research project, connecting their own personal interests with their Jewish background to explore an aspect of Jewish life. It might be centered in the United States or elsewhere. It could relate to a historical event or a modern problem, or the student might delve into how an ancient commandment is expressed in modern days.
ADULT EDUCATION
At Beth Chai, education isn’t just for kids. Adult education programming, or Adult Ed, is available almost every Sunday that school is in session, and runs concurrently with youth classes. Programming includes both Jewish and secular subjects and typically consists of our rabbi, a congregant or a guest speaker presenting on a topic, followed by discussion and questions and answers. Sometimes we break into small groups for more intimate conversations.
Past topics and themes have included what it means to be a humanist Jew, the refugee crisis, the conflict in the Middle East, race relations, the role of the media, Yiddish, Jewish-Muslim relations, and antisemitism in Europe and elsewhere.