Palm Coast Students Complete Read Hebrew America/Canada Course

Ten Flagler County students were caught up in the National Jewish Outreach Program’s Read Hebrew American event, one of over a 1000 classes across the continent reaching more than 12,000 students intent on acquiring access to the ancient Hebrew documents that guide western civilization. The ten, meeting at Temple Beth Shalom on Thursday evenings, were part of a mega Hebrew literacy campaign that invited thousands of Jewish adults into community institutions to create awareness of the importance of Hebrew literacy. In just five 90 minute sessions, students were given the key to reading with beginning level comprehension the language of the Bible and of a myriad of historical documents dating back 2,500 years.

The National Jewish Outreach Program is an adult education and outreach organization founded in 1987 by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, a leading American rabbi then serving at the Lincoln Square Synagogue in midtown Manhattan, New York City. The program’s aim is to address issues of Hebrew and Jewish literacy.

Temple Beth Shalom is the center of Jewish communal life in Flagler County. Founded 35 years ago, the congregation has grown reflecting the growth of Palm Coast. Beth Shalom sees itself as an educational institution intent on fostering the understanding of traditional Judaism, its customs, ceremonies and traditions among both Jews and non-Jews in the region.