A child’s Jewish education should begin even before preschool or tot Shabbat.
How can that be?
Ask Linda Feldman, who has developed the extremely successful Jewish Baby University offered through the Bureau of Jewish Education in Scottsdale. During the 15 years she has been leading this program, more than 500 expectant couples have taken the classes. She shows her pride when she adds, “So many of them and their children are still friends with each other today.”
In the six-week class, taken during the second or third trimester of the pregnancy, couples learn about physical and emotional aspects of pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum. But what really sets these classes apart from those offered by hospitals or other groups is that there is a significant Jewish component included from the first meeting. Couples learn about the brit milah, choosing and bestowing Hebrew names, and other customs, traditions and mitzvot associated with adding a new member to the family. The sessions, offered three times a year, average 10 couples and nearly all of them have reunions once the babies are born. “There’s one group who still meet for a monthly Shabbat with couples they met over 12 years ago!” Linda gleefully adds.
Jewish Baby University is just one program provided through the Family Education component of the Bureau. Originally funded by a donation made by Steven Spielberg, the programs cover most of the life-cycle stages. Linda hopes to get couples involved first with Marriage University and then move them through a variety of classes.
Jewish Marriage University is held two Sundays, twice a year – in fall and spring. “It’s hard to get busy couples to commit to an ongoing class, especially when so many think that ‘all you need is love’ to make a good marriage!” Linda encourages couples to “make an investment in their future” and take the classes. By condensing the classes into two days, Linda has succeeded in getting the message out to many who are beginning their Jewish journey as a couple. She brings in speakers on diverse topics ranging from Creating a Jewish Home to How to Budget and Plan. She tries to schedule classes in coordination with Jewish Genetic Diseases’ testing programs to make the testing accessible to couples at this important time in their lives. An additional third Sunday class is offered for interfaith couples.
Linda Feldman’s official title is family education coordinator. But she’s more than that. She is the personal and very personable face behind the programs and their success. As is true of many dedicated Jewish communal workers, Linda’s own story gets lost in the work she does. An Arizona resident since 1986, she moved here from the Washington, DC, area where she taught in elementary and preschools. Here she taught at Congregation Beth El’s preschool and was the director
of Temple Solel’s first preschool. She joined BJE in 1997 and has developed a variety of programs to engage families in incorporating Judaism into their everyday family life.
Linda has the innate ability to charm folks with her sincerity and humility. This ability enables her to bring in a plethora of experts to help inform her classes. And they all donate their services. “Collaboration” seems to be her middle name, as she reaches out to synagogues and organizations to be as inclusive as possible.
Another program Linda organized 10 years ago is Baby and Me Shabbat, held the first Friday of every month at the Valley of the Sun JCC. Parents, grandparents and siblings up to age 6 are all welcome at this free event.
As the children grow, they can attend Training Wheels, a class for 3-to 6-year-olds and their parents. This monthly get-together for parents and toddlers reinforces Jewish values. The program is co-sponsored by Hadassah-Valley of the Sun and is currently offered at Temple Beth Shalom in Sun City. Additional family programs, which are offered in conjunction with PJ Library, provide opportunities to hear and explore the world of Jewish books.
Linda is also happy to offer a program for non-Jewish mothers who are raising Jewish children, called The Mothers Circle (TheMothersCircle.org). This free educational program introduces Jewish rituals and ethics as well as hands-on tips for creating a Jewish home. It was developed by the Jewish Outreach Institute and sponsored by the Marcus Foundation.
BJE offers limited programming for school-age children. Let’s Make Matzah and Olive Oil for Hanukkah are both hands-on experiences that start from scratch. Limud (or limmud) means studying, learning or acquiring knowledge, and BJE’s Limud for Kids works with Valley religious schools to bring children from various congregations to gather in one location for a day of experiential learning. In Pieces of Our Past, elders teach children about their
Jewish life experiences. By the time a Jewish child reaches
eighth grade, he/she has often already had a bar or bat mitzvah and is ready to move on to another level of Jewish learning and camaraderie. Too often this “rite of passage” to adulthood in Judaism has served as a stopping point. But Hebrew High helps keep Jewish teens involved and learning. Hebrew High became part of BJE in the early 1980s. This auxiliary, evening high school is housed at the Valley of the Sun JCC, with satellite programs in the West and East Valleys.
Classes are one evening a week or two if a student is taking Hebrew for high school foreign language credit. Topics range from feel-good Israeli dancing and Jewish cooking to more serious Jewish ethics or Turmoil in the Middle East. To graduate, a student needs to take two classes each semester. Students from several congregations can complete their confirmation requirements through Hebrew High.
While Hebrew High has been around for about 40 years, it really began to blossom when Myra Shindler came on board in 1992. Myra has spent her life in Jewish education and her love for both learning and teens is evident. Why else would she spend part of her summer taking nearly 30 teens on a 16-day bus excursion, the Hebrew High Care-a-Van, for the 12th year?
The trip is available to all incoming 9th-to 12th-grade Jewish youths who
want to make a difference through tikkun olam (repairing the world) projects in needy areas. Over the years the teens have helped to clean up New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, painted fences at a rescue haven for abused animals
in southern California, served food to hundreds of homeless at soup kitchens along their route, organized Olympic- style games for homeless children on the beach, and celebrated 4th of July with a Dance and Casino Day for elderly residents of Jewish homes in San Francisco, Houston and Denver. This year’s trip from June 18 to July 3 included communities up and down the west coast as well as inland through Colorado. The cost is about $2,000 per person, with each student responsible for his/her own fare. BJE has limited scholarships available, but those funds have decreased during the past five years’ tough economic times. “We work with families to make the
trip affordable,” Myra says. The Bureau’s mantra is: No one is ever turned away from a BJE activity because of an inability to pay.
Knowing that eighth grade is often a pivotal point in a young person’s Jewish education, Hebrew High has expanded to offer Eighth Grade Hebrew High. The program is open to all, affiliated or not, and offers classes independent of the high school program. Students are offered a variety of courses, speakers and social events to keep them engaged with Jewish studies.
Adult learners are also an important component of the BJE. Year-round and summer classes at the VOSJCC through the Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning have a good following. Most classes meet weekday mornings. Back to Basics is geared to Jews looking to renew their connections
and to non-Jews who want to learn more about the religion. Historical classes include History of Zionism, while lighter fare features Jewish Women of the Silver Screen. Lunch and Learning classes are available and an evening Parenting Class will be offered this fall. Jewish Life and Learning Courses are put together by Elaine Hirsch, who
is starting her 26th year with the Bureau as head of the Jewish Library and Resource Center, also housed at the JCC.
Elaine, who holds a master’s degree in Jewish communal services from Brandeis, and her husband, David, came to Arizona from Cincinnati in 1979. They have two sons and three granddaughters in the Valley. “Our son Nathan is a chef at Whole Foods, so we were able put together a terrific Jewish cooking series with Har Zion synagogue and Whole Foods last year,” she shares. Partnering with other agencies comes naturally to Elaine. “We have six partners for our Women’s Symposium on Nov. 2,” she says. “It’s a wonderful way to help with marketing and other resources. We want to be here for everyone.”
The Library and Resource Center is open to the Jewish and non-Jewish communities. “We provide services to teachers, havurot, non-Jews, interfaith couples and to individuals from unaffiliated to traditional,” Elaine continues. She’s particularly proud of their connection with the PJ Library and programs with parents and grandparents reading to their children. “There’s nothing like cuddling with a child while you turn the pages together,” she says with a smile. Elaine also enjoys educating families on how to start home Jewish libraries.
Elaine is also in charge of an annual Jewish preschool teachers’ learning day, a full-day workshop for religious school teachers and a statewide conference on the Holocaust for public school teachers. “In addition to having physical resources here in the learning center, I also have knowledge of and access to many national and international resources,” Elaine states. “I’m here to help.”
Overseeing the Bureau is Executive Director Aaron Scholar, who has lived in the Valley since 1960 and has been with BJE since 1984. In addition to teaching a number of the classes, Aaron puts together the Passages Lecture Series BJE has sponsored for 35 years. “Last year we held all seven programs at the VOSJCC,” Aaron says, “but we’re going to go back out into the community this year to make sure we’re accessible to all. We will have our trio concert at the J and the other speakers at various synagogues throughout the Valley.”
Passages begins Jan. 12 and runs seven Sundays between January and March. Top scholars, speakers and programs from around the country provide insight into everything from politics to entertainment in the Jewish world.
The Bureau of Jewish Education works hard to provide something for everyone in the greater Phoenix area. The small but mighty staff of devoted Jewish communal workers strives to educate and enlighten the community in the ways of all things Jewish.
