New Monday Night School
Collaboration
Diversity
By Mike Fishbein, Director of Teen Education
Monday Night School (MNS), our weekly Jewish education program for 8-12th grade teens, is the hub of Temple Israel’s teen education program. MNS is the home of a vibrant community of teens, and is a place of wonderful Jewish living, relationship building, learning, and fun. This year, the tent posts of this vibrant teen community are spreading out in an innovative way.
Brookline. The clergy and educators of those synagogues will encourage Monday Night School has been reWe believe that hearing an their teens to enroll in MNS, just as launched as a community program. enhanced diversity of Jewish we do. Members of our partners’ We are anchored at Temple Israel, but clergy – KI’s Rabbi Rachel Silverman open to any teen in our area who is voices will only serve to and TBZ’s Rabbi Claudia Kreiman and seeking Jewish learning and connection. strengthen all of our students Cantor Becky Khitrik – will teach as While we expect that the weekly part of the MNS staff, just as Temple experience of our students this year as learners, as thinkers, and Israel clergy have always done. will not be very different from that of Incorporating these teachers will as young American Jews. recent MNS years, we know that this both bring a new group of excellent new approach to MNS is indeed different educators to our school, and will in some ways that are significant and allow students from partner communities to see their own synagogues important. represented in the MNS staff. The hallmark of MNS is the ownership TI Central to our new vision for MNS is our belief teens have of the program’s direction. Now, MNS belongs to the teens of that diversity of perspective enriches our KI and TBZ as well. learning, and we are thrilled to think of the Our goal is to be welcoming of Jewish teens in our neighborhood myriad ways in which the Jewish lives and (broadly defined), including those of other streams of Judaism. We identities of all our students will be enhanced have received a small but meaningful grant from CJP with which we when they become connected to a broader will create promotional materials and conduct outreach. Throughout representation of the Jewish life of their this year, we will work to inform other local synagogues, as well as community. We set the foundation of this unaffiliated families of teens in the area, about MNS, and we will vision by entering into partnership with two of invite them to enroll. We are embracing the practice of “audacious our close neighbors, Temple Beth Zion (TBZ) hospitality,” championed by URJ President Rick Jacobs. We have and Congregation Kehillath Israel (KI), both of a wonderful story to tell about our school, and about our teen community. We are sharing our story beyond our walls, and we are embracing partners who want to join our continuing work – helping our teens to build an ever more vibrant Jewish community for themselves. We believe that hearing an enhanced diversity of Jewish voices will only serve to strengthen all of our students as learners, as thinkers, and as young American Jews.
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INSIGHT Vol. 15, No. 3, Winter 2015-16/5776
