Last Sunday, our 7th grade Religious School students spent the day together at The Gentle Barn. They hugged cows, snuggled with goats, got kisses from the horses and gave the pigs lots of belly scratches. On another day that very same week, our little ones spent the afternoon doing yoga, playing at sensory tables filled with dried corn kernels, and painting rainbows on egg cartons. Wednesday evenings find our older teens sitting around the table with a Rabbi, talking about one of their favorite TV shows, and this week, if you come to campus, you’ll bump into kids of all ages dressed in full costume, role playing a great escape using pool noodles.Last Sunday, our 7th grade Religious School students spent the day together at The Gentle Barn. They hugged cows, snuggled with goats, got kisses from the horses and gave the pigs lots of belly scratches. On another day that very same week, our little ones spent the afternoon doing yoga, playing at sensory tables filled with dried corn kernels, and painting rainbows on egg cartons. Wednesday evenings find our older teens sitting around the table with a Rabbi, talking about one of their favorite TV shows, and this week, if you come to campus, you’ll bump into kids of all ages dressed in full costume, role playing a great escape using pool noodles.

You might be wondering what any of this has to do with Jewish education. To answer that question, we turn to a quote from Elie Wiesel: "Whatever you do in life, remember, think higher and feel deeper. It cannot be bad if you do that." When our 7th graders learn about their role as responsible Jewish citizens of the world, they visit rescued animals to feel the importance of kindness towards all creatures. When our Sababa campers learn about the Exodus, they do so by reenacting those years in the desert and actually embodying those Biblical characters. Our teens learn what it means to be a member of their Jewish community by engaging with everything - even popular TV - through a Jewish lens. Even our littlest learners experience the world around them - from their friendships to their classrooms to their time on the play yard - with this in mind: think higher, feel deeper. Connect. Understand. Celebrate. Grow.

It's the time of year when many of us are thinking about making donations that will bring us a tax benefit. This year, as you explore your options for where your year-end donation will go, we ask that you consider Temple Judea's award-winning schools: our Parenting Center, Nursery School, Religious School, Teen Journeys program, and Camp Sababa. All of TJ's children - whether they are coming to school for the very first time or about to graduate from high school - benefit directly from our team of dedicated, loving, committed educators who are here to guide them to think higher and feel more deeply, and to encourage them to grow into a lifetime of being a connected, committed, active member of the Jewish people.

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