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Children
We are involved in creating a Renewal of Judaism at Beyt Tikkun, and our approach to educating children reflects our spiritual goals for the community as a whole.
Central Values:
Awe and wonder at the grandeur of creation
Gratitude
Generosity and Hopefulness
Love and Caring
Commitment to the Jewish People and to Humanity
A Sense of Community: Being a "We" and Not Just an "I"
Coming to Know YHVH and Know Ourselves in Relationship to YHVH
Developing an Inner Spiritual Life
Learning the prayers, rituals and mitzvot of Jewish life
Learning Torah and the Torah tradition
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Joyfulness
Solidarity with each other
These central values are the basis of our curriculum and are taught in an "Age Appropriate Way." Judaism has used the Bible and its stories as a way to communicate a deep reality of the universe to our children. We will teach those stories, and re-interpret them in ever more complex and sophisticated ways as children grow older and more capable of fully understanding.
Also, parents and home are key to religious education. Nothing important is likely to happen in class or study unless it is part of a religious life taking place at home and reflected in the lives of parents. It is an illusion to believe that you can send children to learn something important about values or God while the children are not finding those values or that connection to God reflected in the lives of parents We ask families to not make this the arena in which you fight out your own ambivalence about God and Judaism else your children will respond in kind.
At Beyt Tikkun our highest goal is to foster in each child a deep sense of the sacred. We want to nurture in our children their capacity to see the world filled with wonder and to help each child express this wonder. We also hope to help our children connect to the language of the Jewish people as it has sought to express joy and beauty and awe. We do this through play, song, dance, prayer, meditation, study of Torah and other spiritual texts, and caring for each other and our world.
As our program grows so do our children. It is an exciting time as we all help in creating a Renewal of Judaism at Beyt Tikkun. We welcome children of Beyt Tikkun members to participate in any one or all of our various children's activities. We are interested in providing our children with a joyful, loving experience of Judaism while emphasizing the centrality of Tikkun Olam. Please join us in helping to make a better, more spiritually alive, world for our children.