Meets weekly on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

As our students’ world is expanding beyond their family and synagogue community, into the wider Jewish community, we expand our exploration of Jewish life to include our ancestors and stories from the Torah. Students will also gain more Jewish literacy, learning common Hebrew phrases related to this year’s curriculum, centered around holidays, Torah, and mitzvot.

Introduction to Torah and Book of Genesis:

The class is guided by these questions: Who are the members of our Torah family? What do we learn from our Torah family about how to treat each other and the world? The Torah curriculum includes connections to Hebrew, prayers, holidays, mitzvot (sacred acts), and middot (values). Torah is learned and experienced through children’s literature, art, music, and drama.

Students will continue to deepen their understanding of the calendar year, celebrating and learning new aspects of each holiday, while also learning the Hebrew months, creating their own Hebrew calendars, and gaining more understanding of the Jewish yearly cycle.

Hebrew and Prayers

Students will continue learning Hebrew vocabulary through playing in our Hebrew Through Movement program.

In fitting with our community and Torah themes, students will master the following “prayers of community” this year:

Mah Tovu

Bar’chu

B’racha (Blessing formula)

Meets weekly on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

As students are starting to gain interest in the world around them beyond their family and home, kindergartners will go on a journey through Jewish life in their synagogue community. The focus of the year is to develop our appreciation for the earth and all God’s creations within it, while learning our place in the world as helpers. This overarching theme will be explored through learning about three main areas.

Students will be using the “Let’s Discover” curriculum materials to actively practice building a Jewish life. Each unit (synagogue life, mitzvot, and God) will often connect to and overlap with the other topics. Continued learning of the holidays will be explored through these three themes as well.

In Let’s Discover The Synagogue: Students will explore who and what special ritual objects we find in the synagogue, all the different types of things we do in a synagogue, and how we are a part of it and make it a special place.

In Let’s Discover Mitzvot: Students will develop an understanding of some of the most significant Jewish values and work their muscles of doing mitzvot that are age appropriate and empowering to their emerging sense as an independent self who has the power to create and help others.

In Let’s Discover God: Without limiting or trying to define God, students will begin to develop a language for exploring what a Divine presence can be. Students will explore concepts such as developing gratitude for all God’s creations, our special uniqueness being made in God’s image, and being partners with God to care for the earth.

Prayers

Through our God-discovery, prayer will emerge as a way of expressing thanks, awe, and gratitude, as well as a way to talk about or ask for the things we need.

We will master the first of our “gratitude prayers”:

Modeh Ani

Shema

Hebrew

In addition to learning all about those 2 prayers, students will continue to engage in meaningful input of the Hebrew language through our Hebrew Through Movement program, which utilizes games and movement to internalize and learn basic common Hebrew words and phrases. This sets the foundation in a fun and active way for later Hebrew decoding and prayer skills.

Kesher Center for Jewish Learning

Kesher / קֶשֶׁר = Connection

Welcome to Congregation Beth Israel’s Kesher Center for Jewish Learning!
Our Religious School is experiential and values-driven, and serves students ages 0-16 and their families

2024/2025 Kesher Calendar

Registration for Kesher  2024/2025 is open! 

Returning students will receive an email link to update registration; new students can fill out registration online:

NEW STUDENTS REGISTER HERE

Our goals are to:

1. Help students and families discover the ways Judaism is relevant to their own lives.
2. Build a solid foundation of Jewish knowledge and experiences, and to develop a strong and positive sense of Jewish identity.
3. Instill Jewish values in a way that students can apply to their contemporary lives.
4. Engage entire families in their Jewish journey.
5. Create a Kehillah Kedoshah – a Holy Community, whose culture celebrates each person’s unique Jewish expression and contributions.
6. Inspire our community to add richness and meaning to their lives by passing on the wisdom and tools our Jewish heritage offers us.
7. Prepare our students to be confident prayer leaders and teachers of Torah for their b’nei mitzvah service.

Our doors are always open and you are welcome!     ! ברוכים הבאים

— Co-Directors Leah Bordman and Victoria Mayers

For any questions and for registration information, email kesher@bethisraelbellingham.org or call 360.733.8890