Temple Israel of Great Neck Religious School

Religious School

Rabbi Tracy Klirs, Educational Director

We are an accredited Conservative Religious School, recognized as a School of Excellence by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Temple Israel Religious School is also actively engaged in Project ReImagine, a UJA Federation-sponsored initiative to generate renewal and innovation in synagogue religious schools. (To learn more about Project ReImagine, go to www.eceonline.org.)

 

 

 

GOALS STATEMENT

Temple Israel Religious School seeks to:

 

	Foster in its students a positive attitude towards Jewish learning and Jewish life.
	Help its students develop the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in the life of the Jewish people at home, in the synagogue and in the community at large.
	Instill in its students a strong sense of identification with the Jewish people, Conservative Judaism, and Israel; and
	Help them develop a strong moral compass based on the eternal values of the Torah and of our sacred texts.

 

Since these goals impact the cognitive, affective and moral development of its students, Temple Israel’s program is not limited solely to academics, but also involves Shabbat and holiday worship, experiential programs, art, music and family education. Parents are vital partners with the school in supporting its overall goals, and in fostering an environment in which Jewish education and practice are valued.

Further, Temple Israel Religious School firmly embraces the philosophy and approach of the Conservative movement, including egalitarianism, recognition of the continuing development of halachah, and a critical approach to the interpretation of biblical texts.

 

 

 

 

Our program rests on the three pillars of Jewish living formulated in Pirkei Avot:

Torah

Learning our sacred texts, history, customs, language and traditions.

 

Avodah

Worship, the development of a relationship with God and a spiritual sense; and the acquisition of sufficient Hebrew skills to participate in Jewish prayer.

 

G’milut Chasadim

Deeds of compassion; the cultivation of a sense of responsibility towards others, and an impulse to engage in tikkun ha-olam – the repair of the world.

 

To accomplish these goals, the school must continue to provide a program of significant Jewish learning, which requires attendance and achievement standards. The Religious School offers an eight-year graded curriculum in the following areas:

• Hebrew – the Hebrew program focuses on reading fluency as well as basic comprehension and simple conversational skills. In the intensive classes students are expected to be able to converse more extensively in Hebrew, discuss stories in Hebrew, write simple stories in Hebrew and study some biblical texts in Hebrew.

   

• T’fillah (Prayer) – T’fillah is taught in the classroom and through regular participation in Shabbat and holiday children’s services (e.g. Junior Congregation and Machon). Torah and Haftarah trope (cantillation) are taught in the Vav and Zayin years (6th and 7th grades). Students are expected to become familiar with the key prayers of the Shabbat services, particularly Kabbalat Shabbat, Ma’ariv, Shakharit, Torah Service, and the concluding prayers, as well as prayers and blessings for Shabbat and holiday home rituals. B’nai Mitzvah will be given opportunities to lead portions of the service commensurate with their training.

   

• Holidays and Mitzvot – throughout the grades students learn about the meaning, history, laws and customs pertaining to each of the Jewish holidays. Each year the students’ knowledge of the blessings, prayers, symbols, terminology and concepts associated with each holiday is deepened and expanded. Through classroom learning, special holiday programs in the school, holiday-related art projects, as well as through the synagogue’s holiday services and programs for children, the Religious School seeks to instill in its students a sense of the joy and excitement surrounding the celebration of the holidays. Shabbat receives particular attention through grade-level Shabbat dinners and the featuring of different grades in Junior Congregation and Machon Family services.

   

• History – students are expected to gain a familiarity with major Jewish heroes and events from Biblical to modern times, with an emphasis on character and peoplehood. Ahavat Yisrael – the love of Israel – is inculcated in our students at all levels. The history of Israel and the Shoah (the Holocaust) are taught in depth during the Zayin year.

   

• Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) – Understanding of the major characters and narratives of the Torah is achieved through weekly Parashat Hashavua discussions, as well as in-depth studies of the books of B’reishit (Genesis) and Sh’mot (Exodus) in the Hay and Vav classes. In certain grades the curriculum also includes study of the most important figures and events of the N’vi’im (Prophets). Beginning in the Hay (fifth grade) year, students are expected to be able to read and comprehend selected brief biblical passages in Hebrew. While commentary and Midrash can be helpful in elucidating certain texts, in presenting this material teachers will clearly differentiate between the actual text of the Tanakh and its interpretations.

   

• Jewish Values and Ethics – Through text study, discussion and participation in ongoing Tzedakah and G’milut Chasadim projects by all grades throughout the school year, we endeavor to inculcate in our students the values inherent in Judaism and to help them be actively involved in Tikkun Olam. The Religious School seeks to instill in its students the vocabulary of Jewish values (e.g. knowledge of, and ability to correctly use, the specific traditional Jewish terminology relating to each ethical action) as well as the habit of behaving according to the moral dictates of Judaism. These goals are regularly reinforced through a school-wide program called “Mitzvah of the Month.”

   

Rabbi Tracy G. Klirs

 

Rabbi Tracy Klirs received a bachelor’s degree in Yiddish literature from the University of Chicago and attended the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s rabbinical school in Cincinnati where she was ordained in 1984. Rabbi Klirs was the first woman rabbi to lead a congregation in Canada and served congregations and Jewish educational organizations in Texas, California, Virginia and Maryland. She currently serves as the Director of the Religious School of Temple Israel of Great Neck, New York.

Rabbi Klirs is the primary author of The Merit of Our Mothers: A Bilingual Anthology of Jewish Women’s Prayers and has published a number of articles, primarily on Yiddish literature, including a chapter entitled "Tkhines for Rosh Chodesh: Women’s Prayers of Devotion” in Celebrating the New Moon: A Rosh Chodesh Anthology.

Rabbi Klirs is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Jewish Educators’ Assembly, and the Women’s Rabbinic Network, and is co-president of the Conservative Principals’ Council of Queens and Long Island. She also sings in a local Jewish women’s chorus, Na’aleh and plays ‘cello in an amateur klezmer band called Shoresh.

Rabbi Klirs and her husband, Elisha, have three children: Lior and his wife Ariella, Nashville residents and members of this synagogue; Carni, who lives in Washington, D.C.; and Talya, who lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and new baby.

For more information about the Temple Israel Religious School, contact Rabbi Tracy Klirs at (516)482-7800 x1110 or by email at rabbiklirs@tign.org.

• Download the Religious School 2011-2012 Registration Form
• Download the Religious School 2011-2012 Parent's Handbook
• Download the Religious School 2011-2012 Calendar
• Download the 2011-2012 B'nai Mitzvah Parent Handbook
• Download the 2011-2012 Guide to Mitzvah Project

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