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Sunday School on Saturday?!

on Thursday, 14 July 2016.

By Rabbi Micah Streiffer
rabbistreiffer@kolami.ca

The first time I heard of it, I was a little bit taken aback. You can have Religious School on Saturday??

Everybody knows Sunday school is on Sunday. But Kol Ami’s choice is a different one – a choice that expresses our Jewish values and our understanding of what 21st century families’ lives are really like.

Our school is held on Shabbat. Every Saturday morning, Kol Ami’s classrooms and sanctuary are filled with kids reading Hebrew, learning about holidays, studying Jewish history, music, Torah, and prayer, becoming Bar and Bat Mitzvah and more.

How can you have Sunday school on Saturday? Simple. We believe that Shabbat is Jewish learning time. If we’re going to spend a morning engaged in study and prayer, shouldn’t it be Shabbat morning? By holding school on Shabbat mornings, we model for our children the importance of making Shabbat a regular part of Jewish life.

What I love about it as a parent. If families choose, they can “go to shul together.” While the kids are busy in their classes, parents can stick around for breakfast, study, services, or schmooze time. OR NOT – parents can also take the morning off to read, see friends, or spend time together. And either way, Sunday is free for other activities.

But can you write and do art on Shabbat? We believe in making meaningful and informed choices about Jewish practice, including about Shabbat. Art projects, games, watching movies, and playing instruments are all creative ways for us to teach kids about Judaism, and to do it in the context of an active Shabbat morning congregation.

 

There is no better place to be on a Saturday morning!

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