End of 2007-08 school year message

It has been a wonderful and interesting experience serving Temple Beth El as the Education Director over the past two years. I enjoyed working with students and teachers, planning educational programming and developing successful activities and events. I am especially proud of the academic achievements of our students. Their Hebrew reading improved tremendously to the point that 85% of them successfully passed the last Hebrew assessment with excellence. Our youth programming is thriving and our local USY and Kadima chapters are the most active in the region. Moreover, last year we received the top 4 esteemed awards including best membership increase, most improved chapter, and chapter of excellence (which we received again a month ago). During the past 2 years I noticed an increase in parental involvement in the school’s programs, as the lowest rate of participation at a family education day was 92% (23 out of 25 4th grade families).

However, Jewish education is not measured by superlatives, grades or scores. Jewish education is based on the acquiring of knowledge, skills and values. These three components can’t be quantified. Our major goal is to fortify our students’ Jewish identity by providing both the understanding of our traditions and heritage and experiencing Judaism. The Torah says: “Na’ase Ve’Nishma” – we will do and listen. In Judaism knowledge and actions are always tied together. One can learn about the ritual of Havadalah and its meaning, but if he/she won’t practice it, the learning will be in vain. A child might learn about the Mitzvah of Bikur Cholim (visiting the sick) but if he/she won’t apply it when a friend or a relative lying sick in bed, no learning has been done. Therefore, the greatest value of Jewish education is that it leads to action.

Our students at Temple Beth El Hebrew School have the opportunity to transform the knowledge that they gained in class into action. Each class had at least one mitzvah project: The 6th graders made food that was served during Christmas Eve in a local homeless shelter; Our kindergarten, 1st and 2nd graders sang Chanukah songs to the residents of an assistance living home; And the 5th graders collected dozens of toys and donated them to the pediatric department at Stamford hospital. Moreover, TBE students collected hundred of dollars and contributed the funds to different Social Justice programs. Besides implementing Jewish values, our school’s curricula are based on experiential learning; We celebrate Shabbat and observe it during our annual Shabbaton; The 7th grade class met with a Mohel, buried Holy Scripture in the cemetery and performed a mock wedding as part of their Jewish Life Cycle curriculum; And our 4th grade class learned about Israel in depth by creating PowerPoint presentations and presenting them to their parents.

These programs could not have succeeded without strong parental support and a wonderful and talented faculty and TBE staff. I was blessed to have worked with skilled teachers who understood my vision and helped to put it into practice. I would like to thank the Temple’s professional staff – Rabbi Hammerman, Cantor Littman and Steve Lander who contributed tremendously to any educational endeavor. I owe enormous gratitude to TBE office staff – Linda, Mindy, Ellen and maintenance – Alberto, Louis, and Juan, and of course my loyal and proficient assistants – Elvira, Joanna and Lori. Last but not least, I would like to thank TBE’s Board of Education – a wonderful group of parents who are extremely devoted to the educational programming and spent much time and energy in helping the TBE education program to prosper. Special thanks to Sheryl Young, Carl Weinberg (BOE chairs), and Carl Shapiro (Youth Commission chair) who extraordinarily supported all of the educational programming at TBE.

Temple Beth El has a remarkable legacy, and I am happy to have been a part of it.

Have a wonderful summer and a future filled with love for Judaism and its heritage.

Be’Shalom,

Eran Vaisben