Adath Jeshurun Congregation — B’Yachad Sunday School
10500 Hillside Ln. W.
Minnetonka, MN 55305
adathjeshurun.org/byachad
Director of Youth Engagement: Rachel Sher
B’yachad Sunday School is a friendly, fun Jewish learning experience for children in kindergarten and first grade. Creative teaching approaches encourage Hebrew skills, holiday celebration, mitzvot/good deeds and love of Jewish traditions. Registration required. All families, regardless of affiliation, are welcome to register online.
Adath Jeshurun Congregation — Junior Congregation
10500 Hillside Ln. W.
Minnetonka, MN 55305
Director of Youth Engagement: Rachel Sher, rachels@adath.net
Kids in kindergarten through fourth grade join us on Shabbat mornings in the Chapel during the school year. Parents are welcome to attend, too. We meet 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Adath Jeshurun Congregation — Shabbat Morning Program
952-215-3925
B’nai Mitzva and Torah Reading Coordinator: Risa Kessler, risak@adath.net
Director of Youth Engagement: Rachel Sher
Shabbat Morning Program (SMP) is the cornerstone of educating Adath Jeshurun’s young congregants for full participation in synagogue life. Children in fifth, sixth and seventh grades learn to chant Torah, lead Shabbat morning prayers, and study topics in ethics and the meaning of prayers as they prepare for their B’nai Mitzva. Risa Kessler collaborates with students, staff and clergy, and coordinates weekly prayer and Torah reading practice opportunities. The rabbis and hazzan participate in our Taste of Tefillah on a regular basis. Our eighth-grade program starts students on the road to becoming staff in SMP. The curriculum includes leadership skills and tzedaka that inform their role as mentors of younger students; and a review of their prayer and Torah skills.
Adath Jeshurun Congregation — Tumbling Tot Shabbat
952-545-2424
adathjeshurun.org
annetter@adath.net
All families with newborns to pre-K are welcome to come play together and celebrate Shabbat. At 10:00 a.m. enjoy Shabbat music with a music leader and a Torah Parsha Puppet play, then oneg, followed by free play in the large muscle room with parent supervision. No registration required. Upcoming dates: Dec. 12, Jan. 23, March 5, April 9 and May 7.
Bet Shalom Congregation — Religious School
13613 Orchard Rd.
Minnetonka, MN 55305
952-933-4757
Fax: 952-933-3238
religiousschool@betshalom.org
betshalom.org
Associate Rabbi: Jill Crimmings
Religious School Assistant Director: Ali King
At Bet Shalom we strive to create an inviting, interactive environment for all our students to learn about the history, heritage and customs of Jewish tradition, and to grow to become skilled in living a Jewish life. We have classes for students in prekindergarten through post-confirmation.
Bet Shalom Congregation — Tot Shabbat
Preschool Director: Amber Brumbaugh
For children up to age five and their families. This program, which takes place at 6 p.m. on the last Friday of each month and 9 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month, includes a short service, arts and crafts (Fridays only), and a potluck. Open to members and nonmembers. Call 952-933-8525 for more information and ask for Amber Brumbaugh.
Beth El Synagogue — Ben & Bernice Fiterman Bar/Bat Mitzvah Training Program
5225 Barry St. W.
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
952-873-7316
B’nai Mitzvah Program & Ritual Director: Cantor Wendi Fried, wfried@bethelsynagogue.org
The Ben & Bernice Fiterman Bar/Bat Mitzvah Training Program begins in the fifth-grade year with our Shabbat morning TaRBuT program. TaRBuT is an acronym for Tefillot (prayers), Ruach (spirit), B’rakhot (blessings) and Torah. Registered students begin learning prayer skills, starting with Shacharit. They move at their own pace and can advance to other skills, such as Kabbalat Shabbat, Torah service and Musaf. Students also explore themes and content of the prayers they learn, and study or learn to chant their Haftarah. Please call for more information.
Beth El Synagogue — BESTY Religious School
952-873-7300
Director: Avi Aharoni, aaharoni@bethelsynagogue.org
BESTY is a FREE Shabbat morning immersive experience for ALL kindergarten to fourth-grade students. This Shabbat program supplements the curriculum from Talmud Torah and Heilicher. Children from schools throughout the Twin Cities can come together on Shabbat morning and know that they belong with their BESTYs.
Beth Jacob Congregation — Kehillat Shabbat
1179 Victoria Curve
Mendota Heights, MN 55118
Rabbi: Adam Rubin
Rabbi Educator: Tamar Magill-Grimm, rabbitamar@beth-jacob.org
Beth Jacob community is a place where amazing learning happens for all our young people. Children in fourth through sixth grade meet on Shabbat mornings for an amazing curriculum that begins with verses from Torah and follows these texts through commentary, Midrash, stories, prayer and modern thought. Together, kids learn about the deep history of our Jewish story, understanding that it is constantly reinterpreted by each generation, while sharing together their perspectives on text and Jewish life. Hebrew and prayer skills are emphasized as well, building for each child skills as well as a community in which to share them. Middle school kids deepen their understanding of Jewish ethics through discussion, learning how they can apply their Jewish values and skills to their lives individually and as a community. Shabbat morning is also a time when high school students continue their community building through rich discussion with our youth director and acting as teaching assistants and leading tefilla for younger grades.
Congregation Darchei Noam — Children’s Shabbat Programs
2950 Joppa Ave. S.
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
952-452-8476
info@darcheinoammn.org
darcheiyouth@gmail.com
darcheirabbi@gmail.com
darcheinoammn.org
facebook.com/darcheinoammn
Darchei Noam welcomes your children to participate in our warm and friendly Shabbat and Yom Tov programming. This includes our parent-led Tot Shabbat program (ages 0 through pre-K) and our pre-K through first-grade and second- through fourth-grade groups featuring basic prayers and holiday/parsha activities led by our engaging group leaders, and intellectually stimulating learning/discussion sessions for grades five and up. We also have a youth-led minyan for Shabbat Mincha every other month as well as other non-Shabbat educational programs for our youth from second grade through high school. Consult our website or call us for the most current information, and please feel free to join us.
Mount Zion Temple — Religious School and Youth Programs
1300 Summit Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105
651-698-3881
mzion.org
Congregational Engagement Director: Shai Avny, savny@mzion.org
Religious School Director: Sue Summit, ssummit@mzion.org
Mount Zion’s nationally recognized religious school provides Hebrew and Judaic studies for students of members in prekindergarten through 12th grade. Studies are enhanced with spiritual, social and cultural activities. Our youth groups — SPORTY (grades 9-12), Gesher JYG (grades 7-8) and Noar Tzion (grades 4-6) — engage Jewish youth in fun and celebration while building community.
Mount Zion Temple — Tot Shabbat
Chair: Hannah Riederer
The Parents and Tots program at Mount Zion Temple is designed for families with children from birth through six years old. Tot Shabbat includes an age-appropriate half-hour service, potluck lunch and craft activity for kids, and a relaxed chance for connection among families with young children. Tot Shabbat is held at 10:30 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month.
Or Emet Once-a-Month Jewish Cultural Sunday School (JCSS)
Located in the building of the Talmud Torah of St. Paul
763 Hamline Ave. S.
St. Paul, MN 55116
612-787-7812
oremet.org
School Director: Arty Dorman, 612-385-5483, school@oremet.org
At JCSS’ once-a-month Humanistic Sunday School, children ages three to B Mitzva (“B Mitzva” is a gender-neutral, nonbinary term for “Bar Mitzva” and/or “Bat Mitzva”) learn about Jewish arts, holidays, history and traditions. Teens practice tikkun olam by engaging in community service projects. Jewish history is taught as a human saga, and Jewish leadership in movements for peace and justice is celebrated as a testament to the significance of human power and responsibility. Students also learn beginning Hebrew. JCSS helps children seek truth and meaning based on knowledge, reason, science and ethical values, and to begin to develop their own convictions. Visitors are always welcome; please provide the school director with at least a week of advance notice so that we can best accommodate your child(ren) in the classroom. During COVID, some programs may be on Zoom only. In-person events will require masks for everyone and proof of vaccination for all ages 5+.
Shir Tikvah Jewish Academy for Moral Imagination
1360 W. Minnehaha Pkwy.
Minneapolis, MN 55419
612-822-1440
office@shirtikvah.net
New website: shirtikvahmn.org/JAMI
Director of Youth & Family Education: Forrest Yesnes, forrest@shirtikvah.net
Our holy task is to cultivate Jewish Moral Imagination and to raise Jewish moral actors in the world. Jewish Moral Imagination is the use of our tradition’s teachings to inspire us to create the world we desire. It is the ability to dream about our world as it should be even while sitting in it as it is today. It is the process of exploring what impact we want to make and learning how to make it. It is fostering hope, building courage and expressing love. It is the relationship between tending the life our own souls, nurturing our communities and growing skills to repair what is broken across the world. Welcome to Shir Tikvah’s Jewish Academy for Moral Imagination. The Jewish Academy for Moral Imagination is our premier learning community for young people of all ages, and their parents/guardians. It comes with a motivating new vision and a program design that responds to the unique interests of all students. It is a moving-on from “Religious School” and a look toward what a 21st century Shir Tikvah family wants of and needs from their synagogue. It is a laboratory that explores questions such as, How do I become more resilient? What does it take to have a brave heart? Where do I express my love in the world? Am I an agent of moral change? The Jewish Academy for Moral Imagination is an ever-evolving project, one a long time in the making. In partnership with students, parents/guardians, teaching faculty and staff, we explore what it means to live as Jews in the world today. It promises to be a meaningful, joyous experience unlike anything we have yet encountered together.
Temple of Aaron — Rabbi Bernard S. Raskas Religious School
616 S. Mississippi River Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55116
651-698-8874
templeofAaron.org
Cantor/Educator: Joshua Fineblum, joshuafineblum@templeofaaron.org
The Rabbi Bernard S. Raskas Religious School is a critical component of our educational program designed to encourage lifelong learning and practice for toddlers-12th graders each Sunday in school year to learn about holidays, Torah and other areas of Judaism through art, music and Hebrew language. We work hard to keep students actively involved after their Bar/Bat Mitzvah in formal and informal educational activities. Our TiKone USY program continues synergizing formal and experiential Jewish education into one fluid program. This program, held on Sundays and Wednesdays, creates opportunities for our teens (eighth to 12th grade) to learn and apply valuable life skills through a Jewish lens. If you would like your child to become a part of the Temple of Aaron educational program, contact Joshua Fineblum for more information.
Temple Israel — Jewish Experiential Whole-Person Learning (JEWL)
2323 Fremont Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55405
templeisrael.com
JEWL Director: Jeri Saad, 612-374-0309, jsaad@templeisrael.com
JEWL inspires a love and passion for Judaism grounded in Jewish values and nourished by art, music and the natural world. Connecting with Jewish heritage, texts, the Hebrew language and Israel instills in our learners a sense of belonging. Exploring the diversity of Jewish tradition, from Shabbat ritual to ethical tenets, allows students to make informed choices about their own Jewish behavior. Wrestling with beliefs about God elevates curiosity to a sense of wonder as our learners develop spiritually. With a strong focus on relational Judaism (making positive memories, creating friendships and gaining a sense of belonging), whole-person learning (addressing the physical, social, emotional, ethical and spiritual aspects of learners’ lives), experiential education (encouraging exploration, playfulness and discovery) and project-based learning (working toward a meaningful outcome), JEWL fosters a sense of love and passion for Jewish learning and growth for all learners in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Temple Israel, Duluth — Religious School and Ida Cook Hebrew School
1602 E. Second St.
Duluth, MN 55812
218-724-8857
jewishduluth.org
Youth Education Director: Andrea Novel Buck
The Temple Israel Religious and Hebrew School strives to promote the continuation of Jewish identity l’dor v’dor, from one generation to the next, by instilling in our children a connection to and love of Judaism, and to equip them to engage in the tradition through the use of Hebrew, our sacred language. Classes meet on Shabbat mornings (all grades) and Wednesday afternoons (third grade and up). Shabbat sessions include integration into the main congregational Shabbat service that meets at the same time, and all gather for a free weekly Shabbat Kiddush luncheon.
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