The Message, Volume 11, Number 36, May 1984 Page: 2 of 4
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LET US SHARE WITH YOU
by Rochelle Skibell
LIBRARY
B’NOT MITZVAH
Brenna Topped
Lisa Goodgame
Myrna Rudolph
Editor
DAY SCHOOL KEREN AMI COUNCIL
APPROPRIATES FUNDS
education in its simplest form, religion at its purest. And my one
simple objective for my child, to provide in his busy and complicated
world a peaceful and comfortable opportunity to continue and enjoy
learning the rituals and teachings of our people, has been achieved.
We wanted to share this with you.
THE MESSAGE of Congregation Beth Yeshurun (USPS 968-500)
is published weekly. Sept - May. three times in June
and twice monthly in July & August by Congregation
Beth Yeshurun, 4525 Beechnut, Houston, Texas 77096
Second Class Postage Paid at Houston, Texas.
Postmaster send address changes to Congregation Beth Yeshurun.
4525 Beechnut, Houston, Texas 77096
1
■
Last summer as I was enrolling my children in religious school
for the forthcoming year, my mind was filled with thoughts and
feelings that stretched back as far as my own Sunday School days
when Beth Yeshurun religious training paralleled too closely to
academic studies. How often Sunday School report cards arrived in
the mail, and the rivalry between my children began. How many
A’s? Any B’s? Etc. I looked at the lives of my children during the
academic school year. Mondays through Fridays were filled with
scholastic regiment, and who can deny the challenges and pressures
that come with being a youngster today, 1984? Therefore, I found it
hard to accept that when the weekend would come, Judaism was but
another academic subject. I felt very strongly that religious studies
could be taught aside and apart from standard educational principles
(I am not referring to a secular day school program.) Therefore, as I
was seeking the place to enroll my 7th Grade son (who had completed
his Bar Mitzvah training,) the concept of a “Family Sunday School
Class” came to my mind.
With the full support of Rabbi Segal and Dr. Korman, plans com-
menced! Letters were sent to all 7th Grade families; ten responded
favorably. That was a comfortable number for our beginning of a
new (or maybe old) approach to religious studies; our success has
been unequivocal. May we share it with you?
We began as a class of ten families, admittedly experimenting with
a vague dream, but reiterating “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
The format of our class was the direct antithesis of what our children
experienced during the week. We took a 180 degree turn from the
religious school mode. There was no one teacher. Never was attend-
ance taken. There were no tests. There were no report cards or grades.
Instead, my one simple objective for my child was that in this bustling
city and in the complexities of his world, he may have the chance in a
peaceful setting to study Judaism, and that as we as a family grew
and learned together, he would not look for the report card in the mail
but to the true meaning of our religion, and to develop a feeling for
the moral teachings that he in turn, may pass on.
Our sessions were taught by a different family each week. Robin,
Sue and Phil Perlo taught us about the calendar, specifically the
inception and development of the Jewish calendar, the Lunar
calendar and our familiar Gregorian calendar. Marc, Jim and Laura
Lempert presented the session on Bar and Bat Mitzvah; perhaps it
was then for the first time that many of us as parents heard the
children’s true conceptualization of this occasion. Did they feel the
way they felt they should? David, Ivan and Enid Knobler taught us
the religious meaning of the common and not so common non-Jewish
holidays. We discussed Christmas, Easter, Valentines Day, St.
Patricks Day, etc., how they affect our lives and the way we feel. The
day Brent, Maxine and Bubba Silberstein presented the lesson on
Conservative Judaism, our discussion became so lengthy we had to
consider it again as a future topic. Charles, Charlotte and Arnold
Cohn discussed Communication Between aTeenager and His Parents.
The real teachers that day were the youngsters themselves. All we
parents had to do was listen. “I don’t hear the good things I do enough;
but when I do something wrong that’s all I hear!” Josh, Steve and
Jo King led a session on Purim and Chanukah. Heather, Helena and
Barry Horwitz made an entertaining video on famous Jewish people.
We discussed Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Armand Hammer
(President of Occidental Petroleum), and Sandy Koufax. We look
forward to Sam, Howard and Diane Kaplan presenting a class on
Jewish Humor, as they have indeed brought humor into our program.
Aleeza, Dan and Rosette Strubel plan a session on Jewish Literature
and a Lag B’Omer picnic. Rosette has been a helpful co-ordinator
to us all. My husband, David, our son Bentley and I led a program on
the teachings of Maimonides. As we studied his Commentary on the
Mishnah, we listened to his description of the “good life, moderation
in everything.” Amazing, 800 years have passed and it is still
applicable.
For me, the most meaningful time was when my family studied
Pirke Avot, the small tractate of six chapters found in the Mishnah,
a part of the Talmud. Here, in my opinion, lies the secret to success,
not just for this fleeting “Family Sunday School Class,” but for the
betterment of our massive and splendid Congregation. Here lie our
principles of moral behavior . .. the way we treat one another. I feel
the wisest and most revered person can stand next to anyone, and
neither have to look up to him, or look down to him, but can look him
straight in the eye as an equal. Thus I feel our family class has been
In order for the Library staff to take the annual end of
year inventory of all materials, no more books will circulate
overnight after May 13, 1984. From May 14 - May 27, 1984
the Library will remain on its regular schedule, but materials
may be used on a daily basis only.
No fines will be collected during the month of May.
Books may even be returned when the Library is closed
through the book drop in the Library door.
The Library will be closed from May 28 - June 8,1984
at which time inventory will proceed behind locked doors with
the exception of 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The Library will reopen June 11, 1984 on its reduced
summer schedule: Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. - Noon; Satur-
day and Sunday closed.
Tzedakah education is an on-going goal in the schools,
and the Keren Ami Council is especially important. The
students bring tzedakah all year and there are many different
ways their contributions can help others.
The Keren Ami Council has decided to distribute its
funds to four projects which were researched by the boys
and girls on the Council and chosen for their diversity of
purpose.
1. The U.J.A. Project Renewal - Yoseftal
2. AKIM - an Israeli organization for the mentally handi-
capped
3. The National Jewish Children’s Hospital and Research
Foundation which conducts research for curing lung
diseases in children
4. Danny Siegel’s Ziv Tzedakah Fund which distributes to
small, often overlooked, organizations in the United
States and Israel such as youth centers and old age homes.
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Congregation Beth Yeshurun (Houston, Tex.). The Message, Volume 11, Number 36, May 1984, periodical, May 18, 1984; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1298417/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.