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"Who among us is so busy that he cannot spend 10 minutes a day in the study of a Jewish text? Just 10 minutes? Such a commitment would enable us to meet our Jewish obligation to make Jewish study a fixed occurrence. If we make time to answer our cell phones a dozen times a day and to check our email five times an hour, surely we can find 10 minutes to contemplate sacred words that nourish the soul." Click here for more information on ten minutes of Torah a day.

 

There's more than one way to be Jewish" is the slogan of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. The Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) is Israel's liberal Jewish religious movement, and a constituent member of the World Union of Progressive Judaism. Click here for more information on the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism.

ONEG

Ongoing Education and Growth for our Teens

Everyone looks forward to the oneg at the end of Shabbat services! Whether it is the wonderful choices of food, the good conversation with friends, or the opportunity to be with the community, our experience at services would not be complete if we did not experience oneg, the joy of our Shabbat observances. We want our eighth through twelfth grade students to find that same joy in their ongoing Jewish education and development. We want to offer them the best environment for learning about their religious tradition and finding direction for the challenges that face them daily and in the years ahead. We know that they learn best in informal settings, with their peers, and with teachers who invite honest discussion. Therefore we have intentionally named our teen program, Oneg. It is our hope and expectation that every student who participates in Oneg will similarly enjoy the learning process as well as share in our social community.

ONEG Documents

• Oneg Program 2008 as pdf document

Description of our Program

For our Eighth Graders, we have combined the ideals of service and learning into a group experience that builds relationships and Jewish leadership. Our eighth grade will meet on Sunday mornings, 9:15 am – 12:00 pm as a self contained unit separate from the K-Seventh grade Religious School program. Half of their Sunday morning sessions will include service to the congregation. We want these students to feel a sense of membership in the congregational community and develop their new status as young adults who can assist in projects for younger students. Since we see these students in an “internship” status, we will pay them a stipend for the sessions that they attend. We will devote the other half of each morning session to a study of the application of the Jewish ethics to everyday living and to Jewish current events. Texts will include the popular series, “You Be the Judge.” The eighth grade year will also include a fall Shabbaton and a spring weekend retreat.

In order for an eighth grader to be recommended for a fully paid madrich/ah position in the religious school as a ninth grader, the student must attend at least 80% of the sessions and at least one of the overnight experiences.

Our Ninth Graders and Confirmation (tenth grade) Students will continue to meet on Monday evenings at Temple Emanu-El. We are committed to using their time respectfully and efficiently. We know that it is a difficult challenge to balance high school activities and studies with one’s continuing responsibility to Jewish learning. We want our students to feel a close bond to our synagogue, to their peer community here, and to the Reform movement of Judaism. Our focus is on providing them with the “Jewish Tool Box” that they will need to attain competence and confidence as adult Jews. We are especially committed to their Jewish moral development as they face a world which offers them increasingly complex decisions. Our program will be held from 6:45 pm – 8:30. Ninth graders and Confirmation students will have one period of classes during which they meet as separate grades and one period of classes during which there will be mixed grade grouping and a variety of classes from which to choose. There will be a fifteen minute break which will include snacks and socializing.

More Information

Confirmation students will have their own special requirements leading to the service of Confirmation in the late spring. The class trip “L’taken” to Washington DC continues to be a highlight of this educational experience.

Monthly, our Post Confirmation students in grades 11 and 12 will be invited to join the Monday evening ONEG program. On these occasions, special speakers and events will become part of the evening. We intend to use our oldest teens as peer mentors as well as give them a chance to grow their Jewish identities.

Faculty

The clergy of Temple Emanu-El have made a personal commitment to the success of ONEG and will be the core faculty for our teen students. In addition we will add teachers for the eighth grade who are specially prepared to work with this age group.
 
For more information contact Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser at her email address.