Youth Education Programs
Congregation Beth David’s Religious School is committed to experiential education, instilling students with a strong and joyful Jewish identity. We serve children and their families from Pre-K through 7th grade with a teen program for older students.
Meet Our Teachers
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL REGISTRATION FOR 2020-2021 IS NOW OPEN
Click here for registration forms
Read Rabbi Roller’s Ani Ma’amin/Credo
View 5781 Religious School Calendar
Shimon the Righteous teaches us that the world stands on three things: Torah, Avodah (prayer), and G’millut Hasadim (acts of Loving kindness) (Pirkei Avot 1:2). These three principles are the foundation of our Religious School program. By focusing on these three things, our students will connect deeply with our sacred texts (Torah), understand they are part of a larger spiritual community with sacred practices and rituals (Avodah), and will be inspired to learn and live our values (G’millut Hasadim).
Torah/Sacred Text
Our goal is to give our students the tools to become Torah literate Jews. They will acquire familiarity with the various types of Jewish sacred literature, develop the skills necessary to study it, reflect on the ways it is personally relevant to their lives, and build the confidence to add their voice as the most recent link in our chain.
Avodah/Prayer
Our goal is to help our students create a personal prayer life. They will develop familiarity with the traditional Jewish liturgy, able to confidently sing and read the prayers in Hebrew, as well as reflect on the meaning of the prayers and how they relate to them. Students will feel at home and comfortable in synagogue. Students will be empowered to create and express their own prayers. Students will become familiar with the cycle of the Jewish year and its holy days as well as the lifecycle events that celebrate key moments in a Jewish life.
G’millut Hasadim/ Acts of Lovingkindness
Our goal is to ensure that our students become mensches. They will internalize Jewish values and the mission of the Jewish people to be a light to the nations. Our students will understand that their actions have an impact on their family and friends, and their community, and will see the need to take personal responsibility to make the world a better place.
Click here for a more detailed overview of our program.
Themes for Each Year
Click on any year for an overview of that year’s curriculum.
- Pre-Gan/Gan: The Journey of the Jewish Year
Note: As long as we are meeting remotely we will not be having weekly Pre-Gan/Gan classes. Rabbi Roller will be leading monthly learning for 3-5 year olds and their families on Sundays. Email Rabbi Roller for more details. - Aleph: The Journey into the Jewish Story
- Bet: Mitzvot u’Middot: Responsibility and Values as Guideposts on the Journey
- Gimmel: Holidays and Values
- Dalet: Jewish Lifecycle/ My Personal Jewish Journey
- Hey: History and Community: Jewish Journeys in Time and Space
- Vav: My Jewish Journey: My Torah, My Avodah, and My Gemilut Hasadim
- Zayin: Hineini Here I Am, The Journey to Jewish Adulthood
- Teen Learning: Post Bnei-Mitzvah students will join Rabbi Roller Wednesday evenings (6pm to 7pm) to discuss topics that they have identified as important to them. Students will look at traditional texts and see how they might inform these contemporary issues and current events.
Note some classes may be combined and therefore alternate themes every other year.
Also, Wednesday has been our traditional time to meet during the week. As long as classes are being held remotely, students will be able to do assignments that are posted online at their own pace and time.