The Shabbat Chai Program Temple Beth El of South Orange County

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2. The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County Alan Fenning Rabbi Peter Levi Rabbi Rachel Kort

3. A Little Shabbat Chai Magic: Simchat Torah Temple Beth El of South Orange County

4. TBE is in the OC Temple Beth El of South Orange County

5. Two minute TBE history Temple Beth El of South Orange County • Founded in early 1980s with nomadic existence • Purchased land and built modular facility in early 1990sUshered in period of rapid growth (from 125-150 M.U.s to 500+) • Purchased larger site and renovated existing building 2000Continued growth to around 650 M.U.s in 2005; then leveled off • Recognized for excellent education programNATE accreditation; family track; madrikhim

6. Eruvin 53b-54a wvhc vaycwvahjkc xhrd te vuvs tshnk, tuvvk vh,jfat vhrurcot wvrnau kfc vfurg (d"f 'c ktuna) cu,f lf tk :vhk vrnt/,rn,an vbht - utk otu w,rn,an - lka ohrct j"nrc vfurgBeruriah came across a student who was reciting traditions in a whisper. She kicked him and said to him, "Is it not written (2 Samuel 23:5): an everlasting covenant, recounted in all things, and preserved? If it is recounted in all your 248 limbs it is preserved in memory, and if not – it is not preserved.”

7. Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai Why would anyone think of moving Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai ?

8. Will Your Grandchildren Be Jewish? Based on the current intermarriage rates and the average number of children per family, the chances of young, contemporary Jews having Jewish grandchildren and great-grandchildren, with the exception of the Orthodox, are increasingly remote.

9. Responses to the statement: “I have a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people.” 72% for those 65+ 62% for those 55-64 58% for those 45-54 52% for those 35-44 47% for adults under 35 (Cohen and Wertheimer, 2006) In just ten years, between 1990 and 2000, the number of Jews who reported that most of their close friends were Jewish fell from 43% to 33%!

10. Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai Kids today live in a different world today such that we cannot rely on generations old models of building Jewish identity. “I grew up in Skokie...we didn’t do Shabbat.” --Mother at Temple Beth El, 2011

14. JEW American Sunday Religious Schoolto Shabbat Chai • Studies have shown that the tradition model of Jewish supplementary education is not enough to create an enduring Jewish identity for adults.

15. Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai “Only one form of Jewish education actually generates more intermarriage: Sunday school (or, in general, one-day-a-week supplementary school, generally associated with Reform congregations). All other things being equal, those who report going to a Jewish school only once a week (e.g., “Sunday School”) for 1-6 years experienced an increased likelihood of marrying non-Jews by 8 percentage points, as contrasted with those who never went to a Jewish school.” “A Tale of Two Jewries: The ‘Inconvenient’ Truth for American Jews” Steven M. Cohen, 2006

16. Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai • Jewish educational activities that have been shown to have the greatest positive impact on Jewish identity are • Day Schools • Jewish Summer Camp • Organized Trips to Israel. • What are the qualities of day school, camp and Israel that make these experiences so impactful? The kids get to LIVE in Jewish time.

17. Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai • Instead of learning about Judaism on Sundays, learn by doing. • Transform classroom learning into hands-on authentic Jewish experiences.

18. Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai • This is the experience we seek to offer through Shabbat Chai. • Instead of focusing on teaching facts and skills, we focus on creating authentic Jewish experience for our children; we want to give our kids an opportunity to live Jewish. If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea. —Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–1944)

19. Sunday Religious School to Shabbat Chai • Shabbat Chai isn’t just about a group of Jews coming together on Fridays and Saturdays instead of Sundays. • Shabbat Chai is about living Shabbat: community, joy, Torah, prayer, dancing, singing, a break from work and school. • Shabbat Chai isn’t just about a group of Jews coming together on Fridays and Saturdays instead of Sundays. • Shabbat Chai is about living Shabbat: community, joy, Torah, prayer, dancing, singing, a break from work and school. • We are working to infuse these diverse qualities of Shabbat into the program. • Shabbat Chai isn’t just about a group of Jews coming together on Fridays and Saturdays instead of Sundays.

20. The Process: Precursors Temple Beth El of South Orange County • Rabbinic Transition [2006-2008] – commitment to a more Shabbat-oriented community • Institutional Culture – Strong education program; Innovations/ Purposeful experimentation • Economic /Financial Issues – loss of church tenant; onset of recession

21. The Process: Board Process Temple Beth El of South Orange County • Discussions of “big picture”; synagogue transformation • Steps to address deficit • Decision to examine feasibility of Shabbat learning July 2009 Triggering event: financial factors • Feasibility report September 2009 • Decision to proceed with Shabbat learning for Fall ’10 Nov 2009 Top down process Potential loss of members/students

22. Congregational Involvement in Planning Temple Beth El of South Orange County Letter to Congregation December 2009 • Announcement of working concept • Emphasis on values/Jewish identity formation • Brief mention of economics • Open sessions to discuss plans and get membership input on working concept • Professional staff changes: -- Director of Education phased retirement -- Assistant Rabbi

23. Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education Financial situation (Temple President) • Level of deficit not sustainable • Steps to reduce deficit and achieve balanced budget in 2 years1. Shift to Shabbat learning so facility can be rented Sunday mornings and afternoons2. Re-align professional staff roles with impending retirement of educator3. As economy recovers, encourage return to prior dues/giving levels4. Also, planned giving and capital campaign to address longer-term finances

24. Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education • Emphasis on relationships • Increasingly organize communal life around Shabbat • Identity formation and experiential learning goals Synagogue Transformation (Senior Rabbi)

25. Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education Shabbat Learning Working Concept(Director of Education) • Shift from Sunday mornings to Saturday mornings at same hours • Outline of activities/schedule with and without bar/bat mitzvah Classroom learning; tefillah and shira/song sessions Adult learning Older grades attend some/all of bnai mitzvah service • Mid-week alternative for those with serious Saturday morning conflicts

26. Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education Member Reactions/Discussions • Conflict with sports; dance; other activities • Mid-week alternative would separate classmates • Altering essentially private service aspect of b’nai mitzvah • Possible fundraising in lieu of shifting to Shabbat learning • Potential to have religious school of Friday afternoons; mix of Fridays/Saturdays • Overall, some adamantly opposed, some strongly in favor, most had mixed feelings

27. Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education Response to Congregational Discussions • Evolution of the Working Concept – for last open sessiona. Two Saturday mornings and one Friday evening per month (average) Similar to current family education scheduleb. Monday alternative before/after Hebrew school • Follow-up letter to open session attendees – early Februarya. Exploratory meeting on setting up fundraising task forceb. Invitation to join implementation task force--Make recommendations to Board--Scheduling scenarios for Shabbat learning and weekday alternative--How to integrate Shabbat morning learning with b’nai mitzvah service

28. Open Sessions (x4) Dec, 2009; Jan, 2010Led by Temple President with Senior Rabbi and Director of Education Implementation Task Force Results • 2 Fridays, 1 Saturday or Sunday Mitzvah Day each month • All Holy Days • Mid-week “hebrew”school add 1/2 hour • No mid-week religious education alternative

29. The Shabbat Chai Program Temple Beth El of South Orange County

30. The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County • Shared Language: Transformational institutional change through education • Shared Shared Vision: Building vs. Fixing • Shared Values: Learning Jewish by Living JewishLiving in Jewish Time

31. The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County • Religious Education on Shabbat isn’t just Sunday School on Friday Implementation

32. The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County Typical Day

33. The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County • How do you teach belonging? Create opportunities for community building • Parent Task Force: Families feeling welcomed by families, not just professional staff • Team Building as part of the curriculum • Reinvigorating Junior Youth Group • On going opportunities for families to connect • Celebrating Shabbat as One Temple Community

34. The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County • Aligning our curriculum to embrace the Learning by Doing philosophy • Our goal is simple: learn through authentic experience • Experiential Education • Project Based Learning: Preparing a project while at the same time engaging in Jewish learning in an informal setting Mitzvah Mall Prophetic Text Messages: What message would you send to change the world? Live your life because you don’t get another one. Stop wasting earth’s resources! Don’t abuse yourself or others! Stop fighting! Just dance!

35. The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County • Faculty buy-in • Learning together • Working together • Highlighting success

36. The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County 2011-12 Shabbat Chai Calendar

37. The Shabbat Chai ProgramTemple Beth El of South Orange County

38. His students asked Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, "A red cow – in what priestly garments is this rite performed?"He said to them, "In golden garments of the high priest."They said to him, "You have taught us, 'In white garments'."He said to them, "You have you spoken well. A deed which I did with my own hands and saw with my own eyes – and nonetheless I forgot the rule/ All the more am I likely to forget it when only my ears hear the rule."It is not that he did not know, rather he wanted to prod the students.  . . .  For Rabbi Yehoshua says, "He who only reviews by heart but does not toil [does not act] is like a man who sows and does not harvest. One who learns Torah and forgets because one does not follow it is like a woman who gives birth and buries."   --Tosefta Parah 4:7

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