Hebrew Reading Course Offered at Beth Shalom

Jews with littleor no background in the Hebrew language can learn basic Hebrew reading skills, allowing them to connect with their Jewish heritage, follow along in a prayer book at services, and help their children with Hebrew school homework with enrollment in a course offered at Palm Coast’s Temple Beth Shalom. The class meets Wednesday afternoons from 2:30 until 3:00 p.m. and the initial schedule calls for meetings on November 12th, 19th and 26th, December 3rd, 10th and 17th and January 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. There is a $10 charge for materials, the text “Kriah u’Tefillah L’Matchilim” A Reading and Prayer Primer recently updated by the New York publisher Ktav and author Zvi Scharfstein. Details and further information are available from instructor Merrill Shapiro, Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom.  

The results of the recent National Jewish Population Survey show a decline in the American Jewish population, making clear the need to offer American Jews access to engaging educational programming that will inspire them to integrate Judaism into their lives. Experience has demonstrated that they beginning Hebrew Reading courses are a fantastic way to get people to take their first steps into Jewish life and to generate interest in Jewish traditions and culture.

Beth Shalom and Hadassah Offer Modern Spoken Hebrew Classes

Temple Beth Shalom and Palm Coast Hadassah have partnered to offer classes in modern spoken Hebrew through a course called Ivrit L'Hadassah, Hebrew of Hadassah. The classes meet Wednesday afternoons at Temple Beth Shalom  The beginngers course is offered from 3:00 until 3:45 p.m. while a course for intermediate level students is is offered from 1:00 untill 1:45 p.m.  The courses are open to all and there is no charge. Further details are available from the course instructor Merrill Shapiro, the Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom who can be reached in the synagogue office at 386-445-3006.

The initial course calendar plans meetings on Wednesdays November 12th, 19th and 26th, December 3rd, 10th and 17th and January 7th, 14th 21st and 28th.   

Learning Hebrew is not as hard as one might think. Anyone can learn to read, speak, and understand the language of the Bible, prayers, and of daily life in Israel. Even for those who can't read a single Hebrew letter, or those who already have a background in the language, Ivrit la Hadassah – Hadassah's National Hebrew Studies program – can provide anyone and everyone with the basic building blocks of Hebrew to help build or increase Hebrew Language proficiency. 

Ivrit la Hadassah offers a four-level program that teaches the Hebrew alphabet in segments, integrates grammar sequentially, and introduces conversational Hebrew. Peer-led classes use an exciting, low-pressure, results-oriented approach that emphasizes basic skills and conversational fluency.Participants have fun learning, and make friends who share a  Jewish consciousness and love of Israel.

The gift of Jewish and Hebrew literacy is now available to Flagler County residents.  

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.

First US Jewish Charter School in Broward County

First Jewish charter school in U.S. approved
The Broward County School Board in South Florida approved two measures July 24 that effectively give a green light to the nation's first Hebrew-language charter school. Set to open Aug. 20 in Hollywood, Fla., the Ben-Gamla Charter School will be operated by a private company, Academica, under the direction of Adam Siegel, an Orthodox rabbi who formerly headed Yeshiva Elementary School in Miami Beach.
Even though Siegel and the school's main backer, former U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch, insist that Ben-Gamla will not teach Judaism, the school has nevertheless generated enormous controversy within South Florida's Jewish community over the separation of church and state.
"The opposition of some Jewish day schools comes about because until now, they have effectively been a monopoly in terms of delivering Hebrew-English education in Broward County, and they feel that their monopoly status is being threatened," Deutsch told JTA.
Rabbi Allan Tuffs of Temple Beth-El in Hollywood counters that the objections are not about money or power. "Nobody's got a problem with teaching modern Hebrew," he said. "What I'm worried about is that if Ben-Gamla succeeds, every religious group in America will want to have their own segregated, religious school funded with public money."
The measures approved Tuesday night at a meeting attended by hundreds of parents involve changes to Ben-Gamla's curriculum and its use of a building in Hollywood that can accommodate up to 430 students. Both the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Federation of Broward County have expressed concern about the new school, though Broward County School Board officials insist that Ben-Gamla is not at all religious.