From The President

As you read this, Purim is over and Passover is just a few weeks away. Every year I look for a new Jewish or Passover cookbook so I can experiment with new recipes to make new exciting Pesadic foods. This is truly my favorite Jewish holiday! (Am I sick or what?)

This year, our Religious School will once again conduct a model seder for our students, and then 2 nights later we will have our congregational seder. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate with our friends and family as we remember how we were slaves in Egypt and were set free by Hashem. It is a story that we are commanded to tell year after year so that every generation will know about the Exodus. I hope that you all will attend the seder this year when we can eat matzah, drink 4 glasses of wine, and hear yet another interpretation of the four sons.

Speaking of our Religious School, we recently had a Religious School committee meeting. Our enrollment is up from the beginning of the year and we now have 29 students enrolled, between Confirmation, Sunday School, and Hebrew school. This is great news.

On the other hand, we were told by the principal and teachers that the attendance at Sunday school is really poor. We have only 2 classes on Sundays, K-4 and 5-7. On some days we only have 2 children show up for a class. This happens consistently throughout the year, even though classes are cancelled for both Jewish and secular holidays that fall on the weekends.

The absenteeism is very detrimental not only to the children that don't show up, but also to the kids that do because the teacher must slow the class down so that the child who missed can catch up with the rest of the class. One solution may be for parents to ask the teacher for homework when they know their child cannot attend or is going to be sick.

Maybe transportation issues are contributing to the attendance. If so, the staff can help you create carpools so that parents who may be out of town can call on another parent to pick up their children or so you can sleep in every other week. Your children are very committed to Religious School--they really want to attend, and enjoy coming to class. The problem is our kids don't drive, and--without your commitment--they don't get to come learn with their friends.

I believe that most parents enroll their children in our Religious School program because they see value in giving their child a Jewish education. However, they cannot get that education if they're not here. Your child suffers when he or she cannot have their Bat/Bar mitzvah on time, because they need to spend extra time learning what they missed and you end up spending unnecessary money for a tutor.

We really need to find solutions for getting our children to religious school. I am here to help, as is the staff of the religious school. We are all committed to the school, and will teach whether there are 2 or 29 students in attendance. The question is, will you make religious school YOUR priority so that your children can learn about our Jewish heritage and be able to participate in events like our seders, being able to recite the Mah Nishtana along with their classmates?

I welcome any comments or solutions to this problem. My line is always open.

Wishing you all a happy Passover (and moist macaroons).

Religious School News

The Value of Participation

It is not uncommon for us to place the value of our life's efforts on our children's success. As a result, we send them to school, sports, dance, Hebrew School, science camp, and much more. We all spend a great deal of time helping them to achieve what their potential is. Yet, do we provide them with a shining example of how to live their lives?

For the third time in as many months, I was fortunate to attend a memorial service recently. Sadly, it was again for one of our members at CBS. But I walked away feeling so warm and fuzzy about "knowing" Pauline Israels that I could not be saddened by her loss. You see, Pauline was a shining example of how we could live our lives. Pauline participated in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren on a regular basis. She did not just "send" them to Hebrew School, she participated, joined committees, attended services, and gave of herself physically and financially to the success of the CBS we've all come to know and love.

Once again, we have a great void to fill at CBS, but we should not be sad. We should be motivated to participate and display to our children that participation is not just showing up and dropping off our kids on Thursday and Sunday. Like Pauline, we should make the effort to help in every way we can to enrich the environment for our kids at CBS.

For some, that may be teaching kids to sing, for others it may be joining enthusiastically the Cafe Shalom committee that is our primary fundraiser, and for others it may be helping at Purim, Tu B'Shvat, Chanukah, Model Seder or just bringing snacks for the kids to enjoy. We can become enthusiastic participants in the Kulanu program and learn more about how we can bring Shabbat into our family lives at home on a weekly basis. There is so much available for anyone to participate that we could use two pages with a list.

The bottom line is, like Pauline, we can take an active role in the livelihood of CBS and the Religious School as a shining example to our kids as to "why" Hebrew School is important. Hebrew School is not just a "drop off" opportunity. It is an opportunity to enrich our children and help them understand the value we place on a thriving Jewish community.

So, come by and join us for the Kulanu program starting this month, join the Religious Education Committee, or stop in on Sunday to read Bible stories to the little ones. No matter what you do, please stay involved, so the students see all of us value our home away from home at CBS.

See you soon....

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