Thursdays in The Gan

Thursday Evening Schedule:

5-5:20 PM: Hebrew

5:20-5:40 PM: Pizza Dinner

5:40-6:00 PM: T’fillah

6:00-6:30 PM: Chevrah Tracks

Hebrew: Students will receive small group learning and instruction to further support their liturgical Hebrew. Thursday night focuses on reviewing the Hebrew skills that were taught the previous Sunday, which allows students to re-engage with material supporting the repetition and frequent practice necessary for service leadership learning success.

Communal Dinner: Pizza dinner together is an opportunity for students to “break bread” with one another and experience the values of gratitude, friendship, community and responsibility through sharing a meal, practicing meal-time prayers, and helping one another to clean up the space at the conclusion of the meal.  

T’fillah: Students will engage with one of the Temple Beth Am clergy team to connect to the spiritual side of Judaism. This is a time to be in the sanctuary, practice prayer and song, and engage in spiritual reflection. The intention for Thursday t’fillah is Shabbat service readiness and will focus on different elements of both Kabbalat and Saturday morning Shabbat services. 

Chevrah Tracks: Chevrah tracks provide students with the opportunity to find an elective that aligns with their interests and to connect with each other, engage with their Jewish identities, and dive into rich Jewish values, traditions and history. This is a time for students to enjoy being together at temple and building lasting bonds with friends. Chevrah roughly translates to “a close knit group” and in order to help facilitate the building of lasting friendships, the chevrah tracks will last six to eight weeks before students will be given an opportunity to switch and try something new. In the past, tracks have included drama (the students performed the Purim Shpiel!), stop-motion animation, Jewish book club, lego bonim, game club, sports and movement, and artistic expression.