Journey

A Note from Rabbi Scott - September 17, 2024

Dear Journey Parents and Guides,

Overview

I’m so very excited to see how Journey has gotten off to such a great start this year. Journey now has 33 enrolled students, mostly evenly divided amongst our four Journey groups:

“Yeladim” (4K – 1st) led by Journey Guides Noah Klein and Walker Jones
“Giborim” (2nd-3rd) led by Journey Guides Ann Pinchak, Carol Pock and Marina Dupuy

“Mechinah” (4th – 5th) led by Journey Guides Kellie Jones and Jill MacGregor

“B’nai Mitzvah” (6th-7th) led by Journey Guides Alison Weisman, Cappy Selig, and Jay Goldberg

Every Journey morning includes Hebrew, Prayer, Stories, Arts and Crafts, and Hands on Jewish Learning!  This month continues to be very focused on the lessons and meaning behind the Jewish High Holy Days: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Schedule

Please keep in mind that due to the holiday schedule, Journey will meet this Sunday, September 22nd** and then we will resume classes on Sunday, October 20. But never fear, you’ll still have the ability to keep yourselves and your kids close to the Jewish heart, as CSK’s Rosh Hashanah (Oct 2-3) and Yom Kippur (October 11-12) services and programs are open to everyone. If you haven’t registered yet to join us for the High Holy Days, especially the family services on October 3rd and 12th at 9 am – 10 am, please click HERE.  Our family services led by me and Hannah Madeline Goodman and Kelly Dean are fun and meaningful and a wonderful way of experiencing these holy days as a family.

** while we had discussed the possibility of a Journey event at the zoo on September 21st, we have decided to maintain the regular Sunday morning schedule, thus meeting this Sunday on the 22nd.

A Very Important Security Request

Starting this Sunday, September 22nd, we are requesting that your children be checked in and out, in the lower lobby of the JCC where Journey meets.  We understand that some of your children are very familiar with the JCC and that they are used to meeting you in front, however, to be assured of their safety and security, please escort them downstairs and pick them up in person. You will be able to check them in and out with Nancy Sheiman, our volunteer Journey “savta” (grandma in Hebrew).  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

And One More Important Request

As you know, we like to provide a little nosh for the students and Guides upon arrival at Journey.  The official time for this is 9:45 AM to 10 AM. To be able to effectively begin Journey at 10 am, we really need the kids to be done with their snack by that point.  With our very limited time of two hours on a Sunday morning, we need to be as efficient as possible. Please do your best to ensure that your children arrive by 9:45 if they plan to share in the nosh. And if you haven’t signed up to bring the nosh, you can do so by clicking HERE. (Its just bagels, cream cheese and fruit. Savta Nancy now takes care of the coffee!)

What Makes Journey Work

We are very proud of the program we have created in Journey.  For 11 years, Congregation Shma Koleinu, our volunteer Journey Guides, and you parents have made it possible for us to provide this engaging and enriching Jewish educational experience for your children.  Each year we are supported by the kinds of kindness and generosity that drives the most important ventures in our world. Journey is innervated with joy, curiosity, love for learning and teaching, and a voluntary spirit that brings it all to life. Thank you for your contribution to help make this all happen. I am honored every day and every week by your trust and faith in this community.

Wishing you an early Shanah Tovah u’metukah (a good and sweet new year)!

Rabbi Scott

Journey: the Jewish Discovery Project at Congregation Shma Koleinu is, even 10+ years later, a new “take” on Hebrew School.

1. Our most important goal is to help Jewish children and their families (Jewish, not Jewish, or secular), connect with Jewish life, Jewish values, and Jewish tradition. We strive for FUN and MEANING! Our 4K – 7^th graders gather on Sunday mornings throughout the year for engaging and meaningful Jewish learning through story, song, art, play, and sometimes even a little bit of performance! 
2. Our teachers, called “Journey Guides,” are almost all volunteers. For 10+ years, their donation of time and talent would have cost CSK well over $700,000.  But what is the true cost of educating the next generation with pride and knowledge and rootedness within Jewish tradition? Priceless.
3. Journey is Congregation Shma Koleinu’s religious education program for children. All are welcome, membership and dues are not required.  While we welcome and encourage volunteer financial support of CSK, it is not required to enroll your children in Journey.  We say and we mean, “Join us, you already belong.”
4. Rabbi Scott Hausman-Weiss, a veteran Rabbi and educator, has 30+ years of experience as a Rabbi, a teacher, and a community organizer.  He is CSK’s chief rabbi, chief educator, and chief B’nai Mitzvah director, amidst quite a few other titles.  Rabbi Scott envisions and creates the curricula, trains Journey Guides, teaches, mentors, and counsels when necessary.
5. As of August, 2024, CSK has celebrated 72 B’nai Mitzvah in more than 30 different locations.  Rabbi Scott works very closely with every child and family as they prepare for their Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration. (For more information about our B’nai Mitzvah program, please click HERE.)

Journey takes place on Sunday Mornings from 9:45 am – 12 pm at the ERJCC on the lower floor adjacent to the outdoor playground.  We welcome all Jewish children and those being raised in Jewish homes from 4 years old through 7^th grade. We also strongly encourage and welcome 8^th graders and older to volunteer as Madrichim, for which we provide volunteer hours (as many as 78 over the course of a year!)

Journey kicks off this year with a pool party on Sunday, August 25, 10 am – 12 pm at the home of one of our Journey families. The rest of the year gets going on September 8^th.   Our curriculum is built upon Torah stories, lessons, and meaning, Jewish values, and Hebrew. 

A Basic Journey Morning Looks Something Like This:

9:45 am          Arrive for a small nosh

10:00 am        Kehillah for our Yeladim (4K – 1^st), Giborim (2^nd – 3^rd), and Mechinah (4^th – 5^th). (Kehillah = songs, prayers, and stories that teach and assimilate our children into Jewish spirituality and observance).

10:00 am        B’nai Mitzvah (6^th – 7^th) work with our instructor in developing Hebrew prayer fluency in preparation for their upcoming B'nai Mitzvah celebrations.

10:30 am        For Yeladim, Giborim, and Mechinah: Round robin of “Tarbut” (Jewish Culture), “Ivrit” (Hebrew language), and a little bit of “Hafsakah” (recess on the playground).

11:00 am        For B’nai Mitzvah, a short break and then Tarbut (Jewish Culture).

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact Rabbi Scott. 

Journey 2024 - 2025 Registration is now open!

• Journey Pre-K – 2^nd grades - $350
• Journey 3^rd – 6^th grades - $700
• Journey 7^th grade + B’nai Mitzvah Fee - $1300                                                   

 As a reminder, full payment isn’t required to sign up.