Last week a study came out noting that a growing proportion of Jews are unlikely to raise their children Jewish or connect with Jewish institutions. Congregation Beth Shalom, with a series of classes provided by the Jewish Outreach Institute, hopes to change that, at least a little.
The JOI mini courses are called Mother’s Circle and will be offered on Sunday afternoons from 1 to 3 p.m. three times this fall — Oct. 20, Nov .3 and Nov. 17. They will be taught by Annie Glickman, the regional director for The Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, A Project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This Jewish mother of three also happens to be the wife of Beth Shalom Rabbi David Glickman.
“Mother’s Circle provides the curriculum. I’m acting as the facilitator because it’s really a curriculum that lays out suggestions for questions, suggestions for study, suggestions for conversation and of course there is this ritual component where in any given class we’re bringing in ritual objects that you might see or experience in the home or in the synagogue. There’s a tactile component as well,” Glickman explained.
JOI’s Mothers Circle was originally established as an umbrella of free educational programs and resources for women of other religious backgrounds raising Jewish children within the context of intermarriage or a committed relationship. However the mini courses at Beth Shalom are open to any woman — non-Jewish, Jew by choice or born Jewish — who wants to become empowered and learn more about raising Jewish children.
The free mini courses provide an overview and guide to Jewish parenting. Through experiential education and a supportive environment, JOI explains participants will gain confidence through knowledge and establish key goals by addressing topics such as creating a Jewish home and Jewish life-cycle events.
Judy Jacks Berman, Beth Shalom’s director of early childhood education, said the Conservative congregation is offering the courses free to any woman in the community — members or non-members, affiliated and non-affiliated.
“We have an anonymous donor who believes in supporting us in outreach efforts to bring in interfaith families as well as families of all different backgrounds who are raising Jewish kids and want to be a part of the Jewish community,” said Berman, who serves as the program’s coordinator.
Beth Shalom offered a taste of Mother’s Circle just before the High Holidays.
“The women who came were very, very positive and interested in continuing to learn more together and now we want to get the word out that we will be having more classes and anyone is welcome to join in,” Glickman said.
Berman noted the target audience is early childhood parents.
“You don’t have to be an early childhood parent, you can be raising older children, too. But it seems that when people have children, that’s the age they start thinking about how they are going to raise them,” she noted.
Glickman and Berman made it clear that the mini courses will be taught in a non-judgmental manner.
“It’s very open. We certainly talk about ritual and practice but there is no obligation. There’s no pressure. It’s really just education, for women to be able to make choices and have more background so they can decide what they want to bring into their home and what they want to talk to their children about,” Glickman said.
“It’s a very non-judgmental environment, very open and any question is welcome. It’s an opportunity for women to fill in the gaps if they have heard about things or if they have questions about things,” she continued.
They expect to offer a hands-on learning component as well.
“Most likely we’ll have a cooking or baking component, so it won’t just be a discussion. It will be an opportunity to learn and dialogue together,” Glickman explained.
This is not the first time JOI’s Mother’s Circle classes have been offered here. They were offered in some combination by the Jewish Community Center and CAJE, the educational arm of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, from about 2003 to 2008 and taught by Tamara Schuster. It was funded by a variety of funds, foundations and individuals.
Glickman said when Mother’s Circle classes were offered here then, they were exclusively offered to women who were not Jewish.
“We’re still seeing a priority in reaching out to women who do not identify as Jewish and we are also seeing women who may have grown up Jewish or who may affiliate Jewish but need the same kind of outreach in order to strengthen their understanding of Judaism when they are faced with how they are going to raise their children. We’re just trying to find where women are and give them the tools to empower them in a non-judgmental and non-threatening way. Mother’s Circle has been terrific in providing the resources to do that and meet the needs of these parents,” Glickman said.
The first session on Oct. 20 will be about creating a Jewish home. Glickman said they will discuss such common vocabulary as mensch and mitzvah, learn a little about ritual objects found in a Jewish home such as a mezuzah, and talk about other things, including bedtime and Shabbat prayers.
The second session, set for Nov. 3, will focus on life-cycle events as well as Jewish education.
The theme of the third session Nov. 17 is Chanukah and the December dilemma.
“This highlights the December dilemma and juxtaposing Chanukah versus Christmas and how to balance that. We’ll discuss the challenges and some of the conversations we can have with our kids about what we see and what we experience,” Glickman said.
If the demand is there, more courses will be offered in the spring. As a woman with 30 years of experience as an educator in the Conservative movement, Berman is thrilled that Beth Shalom is making this opportunity available.
“In the old days the interfaith family only felt welcome at a Reform congregation. Times have really changed and the truth is that the Conservative movement and Conservative synagogues are reaching out to interfaith families because so many of the Jewish spouses grew up in a Conservative or an Orthodox home and they are much more comfortable in a Conservative synagogue,” she said.
“We want people to know that we are open and accepting and welcoming with wide-open arms the interfaith family and the family that is really searching for more meaning in their life.”
Berman added that Rabbi David Glickman, who came to Beth Shalom as its senior rabbi in the summer of 2012, “is very, very, very accepting at welcoming people wherever they are and helping them find meaning in the family life.”
Childcare will be available with advance reservations. To learn more or to sign-up, contact Berman at 913-647-7287 or .