The New Normal

It was a normal day at Religious School yesterday. There were no special events and all the students spent the day in their classes. Of course “normal” these days means a 10% increase in the number of students. We have had to be adaptable. Kids are studying in the vestibule outside the Sanctuary and in the social hall. My confirmation kids cram into my study. I am doing this out of necessity, but I actually like it. It feels a bit like inviting the kids into my home and I have easy access to my music library for our “Yeshivah of Rock” segment.

The setting may not be ideal right now, but if my class is any indication, the kids are engaged and learning. We spent a wonderful morning talking about Madonna and the Kabbalah (with a quick excursion to the Kabbalah Center website, so the kids could see religious hucksterism in action), listening to Terri Gross’ interview of Arthur Green, reading an article about the crypto-Jews of the American Southwest and studying some Talmud (one of concentrations for the year).

While my class went on break, I wandered the school a bit. There is such life in our little shul! The place was crawling with kids having a great time learning Torah. Many thanks to Rabbi Martha and our talented faculty, who are all doing superior work, more than overcoming the challenges we have faced this year.