Our school's namesake Bobbi Bridge told me once that not a day goes by when she is not able to find at least one thing for which she can feel blessed. As my first year as a Rabbi and the Director of Congregational learning at Temple De Hirsch Sinai come to a close I cannot help but feel so immensely blessed. I feel blessed by this community which has welcomed me and my family with open arms. I feel blessed by the wonderful staff and teachers I have the privilege of working with.  And I feel blessed by the amazing Religion school I get to oversee.  

There is a lot to be proud of this year.  We revamped our 7th grade program by making Rabbi's club smaller and more intimate and by giving our students the opportunity to learn together with our madrichim.  As for our madrichim, we had 64 this year between the two campuses. Where other congregations are struggling to keep their teens involved our teen programs are thriving. From Livnot Chai to TDSY our 9-12th grade youth group we have teens engaged at level that should make us proud.  

This year we are also sending over 140 of our kids to Camp Kalsman, the highest number of campers sent from one congregation in the nation. Lastly, we continue to work on and improve our elementary school curriculum and will have some exciting innovations for our students in the fall.

As 5775 draws to a close and 5776 arrives in a few months I look forward to the great challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for us.  If you are around over the summer please let me know. I would love to go out for coffee and get to know you better.

As we close this year I would like to offer a variation of the traditional blessing that one recites when one finishing a course of study:  We will return to you, and you will return to us; our mind is on you, and your mind is on us; we will not forget you, and you will not forget us - not in this world and not in the world to come.

In honor of Yom Hazikaron (Israeli Memorial Day) and Yom Ha'atzma'ut (Israeli Independence Day), our fifth graders "traveled" to Israel to learn a little more about this complex country. Through three different locales, students learned about different Jewish values and ideals that will help them be more connected to the Jewish people.

At the Kotel (Western Wall) station, students actually learned about how social media and the news can help keep us informed about what is happening in Israel, and it also provides us with ways about communicating our thoughts and feelings about Israel. This station also teaches that with great power (of words) comes great responsibility.

At the Israeli Army station, students were encouraged to explore their own leadership qualities through a discussion about the Israeli army

By reading a story about a young commander in the IDF, students were able to reflect on their own capabilities to be a leader in their communities by discovering similarities between their own leadership qualities and the value of leadership found in the IDF.

by Toby Harris,  

Temple Librarian

I just read a book about a delightful, talented woman named Alice Herz-Sommer. Ms. Herz-Sommer lived to be 110 years old and maintained a positive outlook despite her background as a Holocaust survivor.  

She imparts many pearls of wisdom about how to stay happy and have a successful life. At the end of the book, the author has compiled a list of these gems, great advice for raising happy children too! Teens could easily read the book themselves. It's called A Century of Wisdom: lessons from the life of Alice Herz-Sommer, the world's oldest living Holocaust survivor, by Caroline Stoessinger.

The last month of religious school means it's almost summer  reading time! Visit our library catalog for summer reading recommendations. Click on "Pathfinders" and scroll down for the Summer list. Your children and teens can rate and review books! Click on the book if we have it and select "submit a comment or rating."  It's that simple and anyone can do it. The librarian sees them before they are posted and only first names are used.

Please look around your homes and return Temple library books before the last day of class! Unreturned books may be considered lost and billed to your accounts. Check the website for summer hours.