By Danielle Kassin, Religious School Director
We miss our students and families. We are lucky to see them in Zoom classes or on Facetime, to read their notes and comments through Facebook Live and e-mails, and to hear their voices via phone, but there is just nothing that replaces seeing our students in-person and being with our Religious School community. So this is how it began… Our vision to actually see and be with our families!
At Sinai Temple Religious School, our mission is always for students to bring Judaism “home.” We ask students to go beyond the classroom and bring what they learn into their households and their daily lives. Now, in this unprecedented time, we have found a silver lining- an opportunity to bring a bit of Judaism and a lot of ruach (spirit) to the homes of our families. We are thrilled to bring this to life! L’Chaim!
Together, our Sinai Temple clergy and Religious School staff have led three car parades, visiting over 70 homes. Many more are planned for the weeks to come. On these drive we have wished people a Chag Sameach for Passover and Shabbat Shalom. Neighbors and people walking nearby have joined in the joy of Judaism, danced along with our music, and even requested to see our signs, designed to greet and engage with our students.
When we get to a student’s home, we run up and ring the doorbell, honk the horn and blast a song from the car. We dance with the family (from afar) and hold up posters with questions like, “How many foods are on the seder plate?” or “What is the most popular number in the Haggadah?” Both questions that can be answered with the raise of fingers, which we can see from many feet away. Then we have them read our signs in Hebrew, which say things like, “Chag Sameach” and “Sinai Temple Religious School misses you!’
Although these greetings do not come close to the joy of giving high fives and hugs or to having the community in one room and hearing our voices together, this is as close as we can get, and we feel lucky to have cultivated “drive by Judaism”!
