Rabbi's Messages

on Wednesday, 07 August 2013.

RABBI'S MESSAGE FOR AUGUST 2013

Note: This month’s article is especially for Religious School parents, but all are welcome to read it!

There’s something special happening at Kol Ami. And to see it, all you have to do is walk in the door on a Saturday morning: people of all ages gathered together in the synagogue, learning and praying and building community together.

When our congregation was created, it was with the purpose of building a community that is focused on serious, active, Jewish learning for all ages. That value is reflected in much of what we do: in our adult education, in our creative Religious School, in our new Kol Katan nursery program. And perhaps most of all, it is reflected in “SFT.”

SFT is “Shabbat Family T’fillah.” (T’fillah = “prayer” in Hebrew.) For 30 minutes a week we gather - parents and children - to pray together. We sing songs; we pray prayers; we have discussions and hear stories and talk about values. SFT is also the time when classes can show off what they’ve been working on, when we can celebrate our children’s Hebrew achievements, when relationships can be built between families. It is, in all ways, the hub of our school community.

There are many good reasons why we, as parents, should be at SFT. Here are two:

1. We should attend SFT because our children need to see us there. By modeling the importance of prayer, we teach them that Judaism matters to us; that we are not just paying lip service, but actively participating in Jewish life.

2. We should attend SFT because WE need it. It gives us the opportunity to build a prayer life together with our families, to learn new tunes and prayers, and to have important discussions with our children.

So parents, please, take this opportunity to mark your calendar for Saturdays at 12:00 pm. And please plan to join us for Shabbat Family T’fillah on a weekly basis once the school year starts. I am looking forward to seeing you there!

L’shalom,

Rabbi Micah Streiffer