Mercaz -- What?

Torah and the Stories of our People

The youngest of our students begin by listening to, acting out, singing about, and retelling the stories of Creation and of our early ancestors- the men women, and children whose words, actions, and behaviors are so much a part of who we are. As they move up in the grades, students learn more about the stories of our Torah in the order we read them. In addition to learning more about the people of our past, they begin to learn about the way the Torah can teach us the ways we should behave with others. As students continue to grow, they are able to learn more age-appropriate lessons that the Torah has to teach us, get to know the characters in a more complex way, and make their own behavioral choices based on what the have learned from Torah. At the highest levels, students examine the ethics and values the Torah lays out before them, and use them to evaluate their behavior and the behaviors they see in history and current events. Across the grades we create a community of Torah scholars.

 

Holidays, Holy Days, and Life Cycle Events

Our youngest students are first introduced to the songs, prayers, and ritual objects that enrich our holidays. They listen to stories that retell what our holidays are about. This experiential approach that blends story and song, movement and cooking, and prayer and sharing, continues through the early grades in a way that brings our holidays and holy days to life. As children grow and are able to make more mature connections, they move into deeper understanding of our feasts, fasts, and festivals. They are provided with activities that help them to share the practices of our special days with each other and with their families. Our older students explore how our traditions and rituals are ways of expressing our history and our values in a living and evolving way, allowing for new traditions and new ways to breathe life into the ancient.

Along with learning about the cycle of the Jewish year, students also learn about the milestone events within the cycle of their lives and the lives of their family members, including birth (brit milah and baby naming), Bar / Bat Mitzvah, and weddings, Students learn about these events and share their own experiences of those life cycle events they have experienced.

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Israel

Some of the earlier experiences students have in learning about Israel come from the Torah stories and stories of our ancestors, and their relationships with the Land. Across the grades, lessons and materials (e.g. books and stories, songs, maps, videos, and interactive programs) are presented that help our students become familiar with the history of Israel, its geography, and its people. Students get to know the Israel of ancient days, as well as the wonders of modern Israel. Virtual tours complement classroom learning to give students a well-rounded appreciation of what Israel has been and what Israel has become.

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Hebrew

Students begin their study of Hebrew with recognition of the letters of the Aleph-Bet, later advancing to the sounds of the consonants and then advancing to vowel recognition and then their sounds. From those foundational skills they begin to work on blending sounds together, on decoding single-syllable words, and moving on to words with more syllables, words with prefixes and suffixes, and words with unique rules for decoding and reading. But Hebrew instruction is not aimed solely at reading fluency. Blended with those skills, students are given opportunities to learn and use basic Hebrew vocabulary to enrich their understanding of our holidays and rituals, of Israel, and of our prayers. The application of their reading and vocabulary skills to our services and our prayers is not only a curriculum goal, but a practical one as our students progress first to Bar and Bat Mitzvah and then forward to being active young adult and adult participants in synagogue life.

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Jewish Values and Ethics

The curricular areas of Torah and our stories, holidays and holy days, life cycle events, Israel, and Hebrew all lead to the exploration of Jewish values and ethics. However, we also bring targeted instruction, discussion, and experiences in this area through our Shalom Learning program. This program provides stimulating interactive hands-on and video activities, songs and vocabulary, and stories and role-playing that spotlight the ethics and values that are at the core of Jewish behavior and identity.

Students from Kindergarten to second grade focus on: Hakarat HaTov/ recognizing the good; Hachnasat Orchim/ welcoming guests; Bikkur Cholim/ visiting the sick; Todah/ thankfulness; Tzedakah/ giving to help others; Eretz Yisrael/ the Land of Israel; Ba’al Tashchit/ to not be wasteful; Ometz Lev/ courage of the heart; Shalom Bayit/ peace in the home; HaShavat Aveidah/ returning lost objects; and B’Tzelem Elokim/ being in Gd’s Image

Students in grades three to seven focus on: Teshuvah/ taking responsibility for your actions; B’Tzelem Elokim/ being in Gd’s Image; Gevurah/ using one’s inner and outer strength; Achrayut/ doing what you can to make the world a better place; Hakarat HaTov/ seeking joy and being grateful; Koach HaDibbur/ understanding the power of words; and Shalom/ helping to create a calmer, more peaceful world.

In addition, Shalom Learning provides resources for our holiday observances, and for related Hebrew vocabulary and concepts.

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Bar / Bat Mitzvah Preparation

Preparation for this milestone life cycle event is a partnership among parents, B’nai Mitzvah candidates, siblings, classmates, tutors, and the synagogue. Working and learning together helps to strengthen Jewish identity and belonging within the Mosaic Law community. There are multiple components that make this process successful: regular attendance at Mercaz, regular attendance at Shabbat services in the Main Sanctuary, regular attendance at lessons with the assigned tutor (additional tutoring may be recommended based on Mercaz Hebrew assessments), and regular daily practice once lessons begin.

Families meet with the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Coordinator in fifth grade to select the date for their simcha, and to go over policies and requirements. They will later receive their binders with the materials needed to begin preparation: blessings, Haftarah, Torah Service, Torah readings, and information about the Torah portion. They also receive the honors sheet template, so they can begin planning out the service together. Going through this two-year process in class and at home forges relationships with family and friends that will make the special day even more special, and that will last well into the future.

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Midrasha and Confirmation

Midrasha is a robust and engaging program for our teens from eighth through twelfth grade. Midrasha provides

Connection: We know that the number one indicator of future connection to Judaism and a strong Jewish identity is having Jewish friends. We know the importance of developing relationships between students and will provide many opportunities for students to strengthen their relationships with one another.

Opportunity to Envision Jewish Life Beyond the Classroom: Our goal is to create life-long learners with a strong sense of self who are ready to go out into the world and live their Jewish lives as young adults, whether in college or career.

Variety: Midrasha students attend classes scheduled in modules that will allow them to  learn and share in multiple themed subjects, including Confirmation, throughout the year. Modules conclude with culmination activities, often off-site, to help with bonding and with bringing what they have learned out into the world.

A Safe Space: Our teens have a lot to process, from local and global events to anti-Semitism to the countless social and peer pressures they face every day. Midrasha will be a place for them to share their feelings, their experiences, and find support to help them as they cope.

Midrasha works hand in hand with New Frontier to provide our teens with rich experiences and learning opportunities.

 

Age-based Services

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Tot Shabbat

Our Tot Shabbat services are held twice monthly. They are an inviting and inclusive way to help our youngest children (our future students, we hope), ages 0-6, along with their parents, grandparents, or other adult companions, to feel a part of the Shabbat experience in their own way. Whether through prayer, song, stories, dance, play, or sharing a snack, this service brings the joy of Shabbat morning to life for our tots. When the service has completed, parents and grandparents are invited bring their tots into the main Sanctuary to go up to the bimah and participate in leading Kiddush and HaMotzi for the congregation.

This service takes place in Room 8 in the Administration Building.

Minyan Katan

As our children grow and change, their Shabbat morning service grows and changes as well. Minyan Katan is held twice monthly, and is just the place for our children aged 6-10 and their parents, grandparents, or other adult companions to step up to using a special Youth Siddur and service designed to increase their comfort level with more of the prayers from our Shabbat morning service. In addition to these prayers and songs, children hear about, read about, and act out stories from our texts. Minyan Katan creates an environment where children can feel comfortable volunteering and participating in services in a new way, gaining both understanding of and skills in the service.

After the service, everyone is invited to return to the main Sanctuary, to go up to the bimah, and to participate in leading Kiddush and HaMotzi for the congregation. 

This service takes place in Room 8 in the Administration Building.

Shabbat Mishpacha

One Friday night each month during the school year, a special service is held for families with children. Parents, grandparents, and siblings of all ages are welcome. With its own special prayerbook and songs, augmented by stories and activities, this engaging service ends with a shared Shabbat dinner, prepared in our Mosaic Law kitchen by one of the Shabbat Mishpacha families who volunteer their time and culinary talents.

Shabbat Mishpacha is a beautiful and joyful way to bring in Shabbat together. It also helps to grow the next generation of Jews by providing a warm, inviting, and fun space to embrace both their immediate and their extended Mosaic Law family.

Havdallah Mishpacha

When we move into the time of year when there are decreasing hours of daylight, and Shabbat ends earlier, we are happy to take that opportunity to have Havdallah Mishpacha services. Havdallah is the time when we mark the sacred time of Shabbat, and transition into the new week. This beautiful ceremony incudes wine,, spices, candlelight, singing, and wishing everyone a good and sweet upcoming week. Our Havdallah Mishpacha ceremonies are make-and-take events, giving families the opportunity to create, over time, all they need to be able to celebrate Havdallah in their own homes for those Saturday nights that we do not get together at the synagogue.

Mercaz Shabbat

One Shabbat in the spring is designated as Mercaz Shabbat. On this special morning, children from all of our grades are invited to the bimah at different times to share their skills in leading parts of the service. They always make us proud with their confidence, their comfort on the bimah, and with how much they can do.

As our students in third grade prepare for more intensive study and practice of the prayers in the siddur, Mercaz and Mosaic Law Congregation provide them with their own copy of Siddur Lev Shalem. These will enable them to grow in their understanding of the service, and to participate with more skill and confidence.

 As our students in the sixth grade approach Bar and Bat Mitzvah, Mercaz and Mosaic Law Congregation present them with a Tikkun to enable them to learn to read Torah for their special day and into the future.

Mercaz Tefillah

Our Sunday morning Religious School begins in the main Sanctuary for group tefillah with our Cantor, Rabbi, and Director of Education. This is a time for students from every grade, and all of their parents and grandparents who would like to join in, to use our Mercaz siddur and to start the day with our own prayer service.

​Our Wednesday afternoon students join in the chapel to share in prayer and song more in keeping with the afternoon and evening service. With the Cantor, Rabbi, and Director of Education, they hone their prayer skills, gain leadership skills, and leave the chapel with these wonderful words on their lips.

Special holiday services

We are proud to offer special services for our youth throughout the year. 

At Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, our youngest children, we hold three programs. One is for children aged 0-4, who enjoy participating with their parents, grandparents, or other adult companions, singing songs, listening to stories, games, learning about the holiday, playing, and eating yummy round challah with honey. Our children aged 5-8 also have their own service, filled with song, stories, and games, as well as prayers and rituals at their level and, of course, challah with honey. Children from ages 9-12 come together for a service that honors their maturity and ability to learn more about the prayers and stories of the holy days at their level, while also having opportunities to share their feelings and perspectives on the days with their peers and with the parents, grandparents, or other adults who accompany them. Our older teens join together in a New Frontier Youth Service created by their board with help from their Advisor and other adults through the Department of Education and Youth. They come together to blend holiday observance as they find it in our texts but with a personalized structure that brings additional meaning to the days.

Special services do not end when the High Holy Days are over. Mercaz helps our children, in a very accessible way, to learn special prayers and rituals, including how to shake their lulav, in the sukkah at Sukkot. Youth-centered programming occurs at Simchat Torah, complete with flags and candy apples. Hanukkah programming blends the fun of songs and stories with examples of how to welcome Hanukah in the synagogue and at home. Tu B’Shevat is made all the more celebatory (and delicious!) with our young people’s Tu B’Shevat Seder. No holiday is quite like Purim. We hold a special Children’s Purim service separate from the adult service, but we also have a special aspect to our adult Megillah reading thanks to the level of fun our teenagers bring to the main Sanctuary, along with the Mishloach Manot baskets, and the masks, noisemakers, and prizes for the younger children. Passover brings its own opportunity to make a link between classroom learning and the home Seder and Passover experience.

 

Youth programming

 

Parent and Me

This program depends wholly on parent engagement. Its goal is to focus on nurturing friendship, respect, and community for families with children aged 3 months to 4 years. Sessions have included simple play, music, movement, art, recognition of special days and celebrations, and more. Events may happen in homes, parks, selected special sites, or in the Kindergarten room at Mosaic Law. Families who are interested in leading or hosting should contact the Director at rabbilobel@mosaiclaw.org to help to get out the word.

Mercaz Youth Groups

Youth programming and informal education are as much a part of Mercaz as is formal education. We understand that many families cannot commit to extra time for Youth Group Events, but still want their children to enjoy and benefit from those special days. We do our best to meet that need by scheduling four special Youth Programming Sundays during the school year. We hold those special celebrations and activities during the time students will already be available during our Mercaz sessions, which requires no extra time commitment for our students or our parents. All students who are enrolled in Mercaz have automatic membership in what had previously been separate youth groups (some of you may remember Perachim, B’nai Mazel, and Kadima).

New frontier

New Frontier Jewish Youth is a unique approach for providing teens opportunities to build or continue building their Jewish and personal identities, both individually and as a community. Activities range from local synagogue-based programming to regional weekend conventions and special events. Such events will range from social to educational to holiday celebrations to Shabbatonim to teen-led services to social action to leadership training to recreation – there seems to be no limit to what our tweens and teens can plan and carry out once they set their minds to itl.