By Adam Lowy, Lifelong Learning Moreh Derech at Congregation Beth Sholom of San Francisco, and 2024 Ruby Award recipient
Last fall I was thrilled to receive the announcement of Jewish LearningWorks’ new microgrant opportunity for staff development, and was ecstatic to be awarded funds! I applied for the grant because it was an opportunity to invest in the educators professionally, personally and spiritually. The grant would allow my staff and I to learn together with incredible teachers, growing ourselves with the intention of growing our teaching practices, as well as growing the depth and breadth of the learning experiences that our students and their families receive.
Tzedakah, tikkun olam and social justice are important to the youth educators at Congregation Beth Sholom. I wanted to tap into their passions, so they could feel even more inspired to teach their students about these big Jewish ideas. To accomplish this, Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan and Rabbi Dorothy Richman led wonderful, spiritual and thought provoking learning sessions for our staff. These learning sessions provided us with concrete and fresh concepts that we could bring in age-appropriate ways to the children in our care.
The teachers taught the children about being tzadikkim, about our Jewish responsibility to bring the world back into balance, about all the sparks that exist throughout the world, and as we do acts of tzedakah and tikkun olam, we are gathering these sparks and illuminating our planet and the people in it.
We are still using the grant funds and continuing the learning and action experiences around tzedakah and tikkun olam. At this time, our Pre-K class, our Moadon Beth Sholom students, and the K – 3rd Grade children in our Shabbat School are considering ways that they can teach the greater Beth Sholom community about tzedakah and tikkun olam.
Before the end of the school year, our goal is to create a community-wide event where the children will teach our multi-generational community members about these Jewish ideas. Ideally this event will include a hands-on project that will have a real impact on homelessness, the environment and the wellness of animals (these are the issues that are important to the children with whom we are working). We know that after this event, the educators, the children and their families will know that they have the ability to make change, to bring justice to our neighbors, near and far, and that regardless of your age, all Jews and their loved ones can fulfill the mitzvot that ask us to care for the needy and to make the world a better place, from generation to generation, l’dor v’dor.
