Page 12 - The Jewish Voice - April '25

Page 12, The Jewish Voice

community caLendar

Chabad of Palm Beach Gardens 11:15 a.m., Children’s Program In partnership with Yeshiva University, NYC and CTEEN
6100 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens 11:30 a.m., Rabbi Vigler’s Weekly Sermon International
624.2223, www.jewishgardens.com 12:15 p.m., Community Kiddush Luncheon Rosh Chodesh Society
Morning Services April Thursday, May 9 at 12 p.m.
Sundays, 9 a.m. CTeenU: Jewish Business Ethics Is there anything wrong with selecting the easiest, least
Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 16 at 5:30 p.m. burdensome path at each personal crossroads? This lesson
Evening Services High Schoolers earn College credits while learning about examines the story of Ruth, which highlights shouldering
Monday to Thursday, 7 p.m. Judaism! Learn timeless Jewish wisdom on money, integrity, instead of shirking responsibility, unveils our true self-worth,
Sundays ethics and self-worth empowering teens with the critical tools and guides us toward unexpected power.
10 a.m., Hebrew School they need to become the leaders of tomorrow! Sponsored By: Friday Night Live: The Woman Who Dares
Mondays
8:30 a.m., Weekly Parsha In partnership with Yeshiva University, NYC and CTEEN Friday, May 10
6:30 p.m., Hebrew Reading & Writing International Pamela Braun Cohen is probably one of the most
Tuesdays Virtual Speed Dating Event important Jewish women you’ve never heard of.
8:30 a.m., Chassidus: Chabad Philosophy Sunday, April 21 Her deeply personal story explores the grassroots Soviet
11 a.m., Ladies’ Ethics Class Harnessing the power of Chabad as the largest Jewish Jewish emigration movement through the eyes of one of its
1 p.m., Ladies’ Mahjongg & Cards organization on Earth, each candidate is verified by their own indefatigable leaders, focusing on the actions of heroic refuseniks
Wednesdays Chabad rabbi, so you know that you’re dealing with a safe and in the Soviet Union as well as courageous individuals in the
8:30 a.m., Weekly Parsha reliable prospect. Using powerful tools like virtual speed dating West – described by Natan Sharansky as the “students and
11:30 p.m., Yiddish Club (Ending May 1, 2024) with our sophisticated algorithms, as well as local events and housewives” who waged the battle to free Soviet Jews.
1:45 p.m., Ladies’ Torah Studies an app that is in the works, Met@Chabad is sure to change While she was busy fighting for the Soviet brethren
Thursdays the way that Jews get married, everywhere. she had never met before, she had the unexpected result of
8:30 a.m., Chassidus: Chabad Philosophy
11 a.m., Shul Orientation Seminar Sign yourself up at MetAtChabad.com/SpeedDating or finding herself, as she discovered her own faith along the way!
4:30 p.m., Bar & Bas Mitzvah Club call 561.624.2223 ext 8 Her incredible story of courage and resilience inspires us to
6:30 p.m., Hebrew Comprehension Community Passover Seders overcome the obstacles we encounter in our lives as well.
Fridays Monday - Tuesday, April 22 - 23 JLI: Decisions of Fate
8:30 a.m., Video Farbrengen with the Rebbe Pesach means “the mouth that speaks” because the May 14, 21, and 28
6:15 p.m., Friday Night Services w. Beer & Biltong Mitzvah of the evening is to talk to our friends and family Judaism’s timeless values provide practical guidance
Shabbos about our rich Jewish heritage. At Chabad, we pride ourselves on life-and-death decisions to four painful dilemmas: risky
9:30 a.m., Shabbos Service in making Seders experiences that are equally uplifting and treatments, end-of-life care, abortion, and care of the deceased.
nurturing for souls and engaging for minds, as they are pleasing Facing these moral dilemmas can be paralyzing. Preparing
to the palates. yourself with Torah’s timeless wisdom serves to mitigate doubt
education Moshiach Farbrengen and anxiety and fill you with the confidence to proceed.
Hebrew School Graduation
Tuesday, April 30 at 12 p.m.
May Sunday, May 19
Bereavement Group Shmulik Vigler’s Opshernish
I Don’t Want to Go to Hebrew School Wednesday, May 1, 15 and 29 at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 26
Sadly, death is a part of life that we cannot ignore. As In Celebration of Lag Ba’Omer—The Jewish Festival of
By Andy Greenberg a community, we are grateful to have each other for support Mysticism
When faced with the parental requirement to receive a during difficult times. Led by experienced psychotherapist I am already turning three and I’m so excited,
Jewish education, in many Jewish homes around the country Dr. Sandi Reiken together with Rabbi Dovid Vigler, our My beautiful hair will be cut for the very first time and you
children frequently reply, “I don’t wanna go to Hebrew school!” bereavement group is a safe and intimate setting to share are invited!
The standard response is: “Too bad — you have to! We’ll your story with other like-minded individuals or just to This the beginning of his formal Jewish education, a cause
talk about it again when you’re done with your B’nai Mitzvah.” listen and observe if that is more comfortable for you. of course for much celebration.
When young Jason Alexander, who played George Women’s Tehillim Group Be there and you’ll get a chance to cut some of my hair.
on Seinfeld, was faced with the same prospect, his mother Shabbos, May 4 after Kiddush Luncheon With you, this wonderful tradition I look forward to share.
reportedly had a different response: “You have to go to Hebrew The power of women’s prayer is legendary in our tradition, Lag Ba’omer Bonfire & Party
school because one day somebody might kill you because you particularly when they recite the Psalms of King David on the Sunday, May 26
are a Jew and you might as well know what you’re dying for!” last Shabbos of the Jewish Month. The power of women’s prayer is legendary in our tradition,
He, of course, went — and when he had kids he basically CTeenU: Jewish Business Ethics particularly when they recite the Psalms of King David on the
repeated the same thing to them! Tuesday, May 7, 14, 21 and 28 at 5:30 p.m. last Shabbos of the Jewish Month.
But there are better answers. High Schoolers earn College credits while learning about Men’s Club: Kosher Wine Tasting
It has been determined by secular educators that the Judaism! Learn timeless Jewish wisdom on money, integrity, Wednesday, March 20 at 5 p.m.
younger a person is when they begin to learn a second ethics and self-worth empowering teens with the critical tools
language, the more academically advanced they will be — with they need to become the leaders of tomorrow! Sponsored By: Community Calendar on page 13
a stronger sense of achievements as they progress to higher
levels of education. Evidence also suggests that an intensive
Jewish day school education provides a higher quality of
overall secular life and the ability to generate greater income.
Those attending Talmud Torah twice a week benefit in terms
of time management, critical thinking, in-depth analysis, the
ability to dissect the true meaning of a sentence (just like
English Lit), listening skills, debating, problem solving, and
more. All of these are skills needed for a successful life.
I am a victim and beneficiary of the above. Although I am
a practicing conservative Jew, I went to a modern orthodox
yeshiva and frankly hated every moment of it when I was forced
to go. When I grew up, however, I realized that I had certain
talents and skills that most non-Jewish educated day schoolers
did not have and, even though I was not the brightest in the world,
I was able to outthink and be more creative than others, with
a rapid advancement through corporate America, and able to
accomplish things that previously had been deemed impossible.
We haven’t even begun to examine the benefits of a B’nai
Mitzvah. This is one of the best educational processes available!
A student learns one of the rarest skills at a very, very young
age: public speaking. It has also been shown that the student’s
level of self-confidence and self-esteem is enhanced as a result
of all the compliments they get from family members and
congregants once the ritual is completed. Their own sense of
pride and achievement remains with them as a lifelong catapult
in training them to take on additional challenges that earlier felt
insurmountable.
I suppose my biggest failure was when I could not come
up with a good enough answer when my high school son asked:
“Why didn’t you send me to Jewish day school?”
Of course the true purpose of a Jewish education is to learn
our history, beliefs, rituals, and how to get along with God,
ourselves, and others on planet earth. So whether it’s Jewish
day school or Talmud Torah, Jewish education is l’chaim!
Andy Greenberg is a 25-year Conservative Jewish educator
of grades 3-12 and a lecturer for adults of all ages.