Religious School

Class Leader: Mandi Kirschman
Vice President Education: Frank Brecher
Religious School Office: 631-421-3224, ext. 12

Religious School Happenings

Dear ENJC,

Our Religious School provides students a partnership between the synagogue and the home; between the parent body and those who work to educate your children. It is our overarching goal to nurture the soul of every Jewish child and family.

Family education gives families and individuals the opportunity to celebrate the joys of Judasim in a communal setting, as well integrating ritual, practice and values into their home lives. We concentrate on promoting Jewish values and learning through interactive student-parent workshops for each grade in the Religious School. 

Our school meets once per week for 1 hour.

Jewish education and Jewish identity are inspiring journeys that bring together young people, families, teachers and professionals, as well as community resources and experiences. The journey at ENJC includes learning to read Hebrew, an understanding of Jewish traditions, rituals, prayer, both for the synagogue and the home, Israel, and the challenge of questioning and critical thinking. Through the guidance of Torah, it is our hope that students and families will come to appreciate the legacy of our Jewish heritage and its value in creating a deepened and meaningful life. Through interactive engaging class sessions and experiential programs, students will come to share and value the joys of Judaism.

Kitah Gan/Simcha 1: In Gan, the students begin a musical adventure into the world of Judaism through story and song.  Students focus on a different Hebrew letter and a corresponding vocabulary word each week to build letter recognition. Additionally, they will reinforce the Shabbat brachot with juice and challah. Through music, art, food, storytelling and games, the Gan students start to form their Jewish identity. The Simcha 1 students are thrilled to come to Religious School because of the amazing foundation that they received in Gan. They continue to build on their Hebrew letter and sound recognition and reinforce the brachot, including Havdalah. One highlight of the year is making their own Havdalah candles from scratch and then using them during a Pajama Havdalah program, complete with milk and cookies!

Kitah Simchah II: Students continue to reinforce their Hebrew letters, now adding vowel sounds for basic decoding. Like in Gan and Simcha 1, they celebrate Shabbat each week, further reinforcing Shabbat brachot in a meaningful manner. They focus on what it means to be a mensch (an honorable person) and are excited to learn Shabbat songs that they present during the religious school Shabbat.

Kitah Alef: Students attend two days per week, unless they choose the one day a week Flex option where they attend in-person class only one day per week and are then paired with a Hebrew tutor in lieu of a second day of instruction. During their time in Alef, the students focus on letter and sound recognition at a much more in-depth manner, learning more prayer vocabulary and really beginning to string sounds together. They review Shabbat brachot and add holiday related brachot to their repertoire. The culmination of the Alef year is the consecration service where the students each receive their own siddur and lead an abridged version of the Kabbalat Shabbat service. Additionally, the Alef students focus on the stories early in the Torah and begin a connection to Israel through song, dance, crafts and cooking.

Kitah Bet: The Hebrew instruction builds on the foundations that they learned in Alef, and introduces root words and prefixes, increased vocabulary and an increase in fluency. The Bet students will learn the non-abridged version of the Kabbalat Shabbat psalms as well as parts of the Ma’ariv (evening) service. They add more brachot to their repertoire, start building a greater connection to Israel, and their Torah curriculum takes them beyond the Five Books of Moses. Finally, the students will take part in a brachot workshop where all kinds or brachot are reinforced and celebrated in a hands-on manner.

Kitah Gimmel: Students move beyond basic Hebrew decoding and are now spending more time focusing on prayer and intention, including perfecting the Ma’ariv (evening) service and beginning to focus on the prayers for the Shacharit (morning) service. In Gimel class, the students study the holidays through the lens of middot (Jewish values) and in their Torah study, they are introduced to Midrashim (commentary). With regard to Israel studies, the students focus on famous Israelis and take a look at Israel in the modern age, including its founding.

Kitah Daled: Students are now working on parts of the Shacharit (morning) and Torah services. They even get their feet wet for B’nai Mitzvot by practicing a small snippet of Torah reading during a Shabbat morning service. One highlight of the Dalet class is the Hesed (kindness) program where the students focus on Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) with a year-long focus on mitzvah projects that are relevant, engaging and hands-on. These mitzvah projects can include volunteering at a food pantry, raising money with a charity walk, making sandwiches for a soup kitchen, collecting items for families residing in Homeless shelters or creating a “birthday in a box” for needy children. Additionally, students will learn about the lives of famous Jews and how they exuded Jewish values.

Kitah Hei: The Hei class focuses on the Ma’ariv service as they attend the weeknight service as part of their Religious School curriculum. The Hei class will demonstrate their Tefillah skills when they lead a Ma’ariv (evening) service as part of their graduation program. Additionally, a large focus of the year is spent on a life cycle curriculum, in preparation for the Bar or Bat Mitzvah, as well as the Holocaust, where the students learn about how the Jewish people persevered during such a dark time in our history.  A highlight of the Hei class year is traveling to the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County where the students can hear a first-hand account from a survivor.

"Limudei Kodesh B'ahava-The study of Torah and Judaism with a sense of love and affection" is our motto and a major reason for the continued growth of our religious school. A visit to our school surrounds you with a "heimish" atmosphere as the staff, parents and children share a sense of friendliness and cooperation.

Religious School Schedule of Classes:

Family Services are held most Saturday mornings from 10:30am-11:30am.