It’s music to a mother’s ear, especially if she’s a rabbi, too, when she hears her young child sing “Shema Yisrael …”
That’s why Rabbi Vered Harris is happy about the resurgence of Tot Shabbat in the community. Congregation Beth Torah’s education rabbi, along with Judy Jacks Berman of Congregation Beth Shalom and Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, have arranged for Tot Shabbats to be held at each of these congregations once each month beginning in November. Any member of the Jewish community, affiliated or not, is welcome to attend any and all of these services for young children.
B’nai Jehudah will host its Tot Shabbat, led by Rabbi Shuval-Weiner, on the first Friday of every month. Rabbi Harris will lead services at Congregation Beth Torah on the second Friday of the month. Congregation Beth Shalom will take charge on the third Saturday of the month. Berman, who is the director of Beth Shalom’s Rose Family Early Childhood Education Center, explained that Beth Shalom’s services are being coordinated by a group of volunteers.
Over the past year or so many of the congregations have discussed, and in some cases even started, collaborating on programs. So it wasn’t surprising last year when Rabbi Adam Stein, who at that time was Beth Shalom’s assistant rabbi, approached Rabbi Harris to learn more about the Tot Shabbat program she was organizing. As the idea was being discussed following a Rabbinical Association meeting, Rabbi Shuval-Weiner joined the conversation as well.
Less than a year later the three congregational representatives, with Berman taking over when Rabbi Stein left the city, designed the rotating schedule which, Berman said, is a win-win for everyone.
“We want to have as many opportunities as possible for young Jewish families in our community to celebrate Shabbat. Rather than competing with each other by scheduling activities at the same time, we wanted to give families different opportunities in the month.
That’s how we came up with each taking a week in the month,” Berman said.
Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said the idea of partnering with other congregations for Tot Shabbat was wonderful.
“In addition to what we provide for our families, now we are able to say that there are more opportunities for your little ones as well,” Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said.
She noted that Jewish preschools, such as the ones at B’nai Jehudah and Beth Shalom, always tell children that Shabbat comes every week.
“But when it comes to Tot Shabbat that’s not what they are experiencing. So for families to have the opportunity to have something that is age-appropriate for their little ones, where they can be part of community, where they can be making Jewish friends not just in their own congregational home but within the community at large, it is a wonderful opportunity for young families to bond and strengthen their connection to Judaism, to their community and to Shabbos,” Rabbi Shuval-Weiner continued.
In addition to the service itself, Berman is excited that Beth Shalom’s Tot Shabbat has been created by three women — Shira Goldenberg Zigler, Rebekah Merrill Calloway and Samara Minkin — who all moved here from other communities. They’ve taken successful models from their former communities and created a model they feel will work well at Beth Shalom. Zigler and Calloway are each originally from Kansas City and moved back “home” recently to be closer to family.
Rabbi Harris said they all hope that these Tot Shabbat opportunities will help raise a generation that is enthusiastic about celebrating Shabbat.
“We want these children to know that when they go to synagogue they are going to see their friends there, even if it’s not their synagogue. Jewish people come together on Shabbat and celebrate. When you think about Friday night or Saturday, you think about being together with your friends in synagogue. The more opportunities we can give our families to do that, the better. “The reality is that our children, whether they go to the B’nai Jehudah preschool, or Beth Shalom or the CDC at the Jewish Community Center, are in preschool with friends from all over the community. We want to expand the feeling that when you come to Shabbat you are coming to celebrate with your friends,” Rabbi Harris said.
As the mother of a tot, Rabbi Harris said taking her child to these services is fun.
“At a Tot Shabbat there is no expectation that the children are going to sit there quietly. So as a mom I can relax … it’s OK if there is a little bit of chaos at this service,” Rabbi Harris said.
The rabbis and Jewish educator agree that the decision to have three services at three different congregations and open them to everyone is simply about being Jewish in a Jewish community.
“We can all play together,” Rabbi Harris said.
At the same time, these families can add a little Judaism to their lives.
“I think if we don’t do Judaism in our lives, there’s really very little hope that the next generation is going to just randomly pick it up. So the Tot Shabbat opportunities are a way to bring Judaism into our lives on an age-appropriate level that hopefully will build into more mature observances,” Rabbi Harris said.