Cultural School Program Overview

Kol Haverim's Jewish Cultural School begins its tenth year in 2010. We welcome children from 5 years old and up, offering education in

• Jewish Culture
• Jewish History
• Jewish Literature
• Traditional music (songs in Hebrew, Yiddish and English)
• Israeli folk dance
• Ethics
• Critical thinking

Philosophy

As Humanistic Jews, we want our children to understand and appreciate the values and traditions of their forebears without feeling compelled to agree with all the beliefs and practices of past generations. Instead, we want our children to develop their own convictions on the basis of knowledge, ethical values, and compassion for others. Most importantly, we want to give our children a form of Judaism that will sustain them and grow with them throughout their lives.

Twice a month (8 times per semester), Kol Haverim offers Sunday School classes to provide our children with an understanding of Jewish history, traditions, ethics, art, and music without teaching prayers or the existence of God. Holidays are celebrated throughout the year in the congregation and the children are prepared for and participate in each. Love of learning, social responsibility and ethics are just some of the traditional Jewish values that are stressed in our non-traditional school.

Overall, our goal is familiarize our children with the Jewish past and to explain the development of many traditional rituals while providing them with alternative interpretations and reasons for remembering and participating in them.