Have you ever wondered where we got the idea of having a Religious School? Let me tell you about one of my heroes - Yehoshua ben Gamla, who was the High Priest in Jerusalem almost 2,100 years ago. Back then, children would learn Torah from their dads. (This was thousands of years ago. Sorry moms.) If there was no father, or dads were not up to the task, the kids didn’t learn Torah. The rabbis then had the idea to have the dads bring all of the kids to Jerusalem – which for some was a journey of many days. As you can imagine, that was not very effective either.
They tried regional schools for teenagers and apparently that was a HUGE failure – as these kids had no formal learning when they were younger. Finally, Yehoshua ben Gamla ruled that teachers of children should be established in each and every community and kids should start learning around the age we start today. Skip a bit and that is how we come to have a Religious School at TBT!
I share this story to demonstrate how our very-modern-striving-to-be-cutting-edge-TBT-Religious-School is deeply rooted in the traditions of the Jewish people. We take Gamla’s instruction to have teachers where the children are, and we take it further. We had a number of new teachers this past year, and I am grateful that we have found so many that have connected deeply with our children. This connection is further demonstrated by the fact that nearly all of our teachers are returning to us this fall!
Ben Gamla’s advice is not only about putting teachers where the kids are physically. It is about teachers understanding where each child is intellectually, socially, emotionally and spiritually. Each child brings a distinct set of strengths, struggles, and ways of learning. One student may come bursting with questions— we need to make space for their curiosity and, at times, help them find paths to keep exploring. Another may feel hesitant with Hebrew or even English reading. Our job is to help them move forward at a pace that feels possible, building confidence step by step.
Another student may arrive carrying frustration from other parts of their life; they need patience, consistency, and the sense that they truly matter. This is what our teachers do every day—meeting students where they are while guiding them into meaningful engagement with Jewish values. It’s why students feel comfortable here, and their parents tell us so.
Many of our wonderful teachers are undergraduate students at Yale. This is a coin with two sides. On one side, they are young, energetic and full of ideas. The kids bond easily with them for all of those reasons. On the other side of the coin, they will only be with us for a short period – at most three more years. I have always believed that having members of the congregation serve as teachers is critical.
You bring something the undergrads cannot. You are part of the fabric of the congregation and the communities in which our students live. It makes a tremendous difference to the kids to see their teachers on a Friday night at temple or at Stop and Shop. And it is the only way one of our students might say to another “It is so cool that your dad/mom/grandma/grampy/aunt or uncle is our teacher.” I invite you to think about becoming a teacher. Talk with me. Let’s have a cup of coffee or tea chat about teaching and maybe try subbing on a Sunday or a Wednesday. You can make a difference!
L’shalom,
Ira J. Wise, D.J.R.E.
Temple Educator