Religious School Blog

     וְשִׁנַּנְת לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִברְתָּ בָּם 
Teach them repeatedly to your children, speaking of them when you sit at home and when you travel on the way.

The Shema prayer tells us that, as parents, we are our children’s most important teachers.  It is our role to teach our children and to model for them through our own actions, a connection and a love of Judaism. From early in our Jewish history, knowledgeable and talented rabbis/teachers have been essential figures helping us teach Jewish traditions, practices, history, morals and ethics. Today, those who commit themselves to be teachers in Jewish schools understand that they are not simply asked to share knowledge but also to share of themselves on a deeper level. We know that teachers who feel a passion and love of what they teach can spark this same passion and love in their students.

 This passion and commitment is what I see in our Religious School every Sunday and Wednesday.  Our teachers not only teach the curriculum, but they care deeply about the students in their care. They work hard to create lessons that are engaging, even after their students have had a long day of learning in public or private school and even when there are other places their students would rather be on Sunday mornings.  Our teachers show up.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us an even deeper level of our RS teachers’ commitment to our students and our synagogue.  Despite masks and social distancing, despite concerns for their own health, they show up.  This is not their career, this is an additional responsibility they have taken on, and they show up.  They know that finding teachers and finding substitutes this year has been nearly impossible, so they show up.  We are so lucky to have these individuals in our synagogue and this Shabbat we are taking the opportunity to recognize them for their love of Judaism and commitment to our children.

I hope you will join us this Shabbat morning, Feb. 12, when we will honor the teachers who work hard on behalf of our children, families and Jewish community.  They have taken on a difficult job, and we need to make certain they know how much we appreciate their commitment.

You can attend services in person, or on zoom. The zoom link is as follows: 

• http://bethemeth.org/cbe-services-zoom (or https://zoom.us/j/8466061804 or http://zoom.us, Meeting ID 846 606 1804)
• For audio on telephone, call +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) and use the above Meeting ID.