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September 10, 2004/Elul 24 5765, Vol. 57, No. 1
New Hebrew school aims for fun Jewish experience
STEPHANIE N. HENSCHEL
Staff Writer
It is a generally known fact that most children do not enjoy school - let alone Sunday school.
But the Phoenix Community Kollel and Aish Hatorah Scottsdale are planning to change that.
On Sunday, the Kollel will debut a new Hebrew School program, ToTal. ToTal, short for "Torah, Talmud," is part of a nationwide network of Hebrew schools that provide a fun, hands-on approach to Jewish education.
In its first year, the program is a project of the Afikim Foundation. The program tries to make the experience one for the family, not just the kids.
"What we're trying to do is create a Sunday school that's a family experience," says Rabbi Shlomie Gelber, director of the school. "So it won't be like, 'My parents drop me off and I go to Sunday school.'"
Gelber says the program will try to "reach out to kids who don't have exposure during their regular week to Jewish education."
"We're trying to challenge the kids," Gelber says. "They're not just being taught something, they're actually doing something," he says of the interactive approach. "So they don't just feel like they're in school. No kid wants to be in school on Sunday."
"We want to teach them not to be embarrassed to be Jewish, to respect their past," Gelber says. "It should become part of who they are. The biggest success we could have is a child who wants to learn more about Judaism."
Rabbi Leibel Karmel, director of the ToTal Network, said the program is based on a desire to enhance the education process.
"We wanted to empower our franchises for a bigger, more potent Jewish experience for our children," Karmel says.
"The motivation really was that, unfortunately, kids go to Hebrew school until their bar mitzvah because they're forced to. And then it's over," Karmel says. "Our goal is to totally change the notion that a parent has to force a child out of bed on Sunday."
And Karmel thinks the Kollel teachers will do just that.
"We found in the Phoenix Kollel the teachers that would perfectly define what we stand for," Karmel says. He said their warmth and sensitivity to all Jewish communities made them great role models.
Many have shown interest in the program, though some concerns over levels of development were raised, Gelber says.
Different ages are probably at different levels, he explained, but even within an age group there may be some discrepancy. But there will be more individual attention given to each student.
"We're not just giving them stuff to do," he says. "We're trying to be very accommodating."
About 10 students have already registered for the school, and many are pending, according to Gelber. The school will continuously accept students.
No affiliation or synagogue membership is required, a very attractive trait to a lot of parents, according to Karmel.
"They don't want to make the commitment," Karmel says. "This way, they don't have to pay the membership."
But Karmel hopes that, with the classes running simultaneously for the parents, the school might feed into the area synagogues.
The program will run from September to June, much like the regular school year. Though classes are scheduled for Sunday, special events during the week may take place.
"This is all in its initial stages," Gelber notes. "This is the guinea pig year."
"It's going to be really nice," Karmel says. "We're really looking forward to it."
The Phoenix Community Kollel is located at Aish Hatorah Scottsdale, 14435 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 100. Call Gelber at 602-433-0300 ext. 308.
Contact the writer here
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