Family Programming
Family Programs
PARK SLOPE JEWISH CENTER (PSJC) OFFERS A WONDERFUL ARRAY OF FAMILY PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES. WE MAKE LEARNING ABOUT JUDAISM AND CELEBRATING HOLIDAYS A FUN AND MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. PLEASE JOIN US! FAMILY PROGRAMMING IS A PRIMARILY VOLUNTEER RUN GROUP AT PSJC. THE PARK SLOPE JEWISH CENTER ALSO RUNS A HEBREW SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 9TH GRADE, AS WELL AS OTHER TEEN PROGRAMS.
To be added to the Family Programming listserv and recieve notice of upcoming programs and events, click here
Shabbat Children’s Services
Junior Congregation:
Give your kids a chance to create their own community! Children ages 8-12 years old (approximately grades 3-7) learn, lead services, practice Bar/Bat-Mitzvah skills and spend time with their friends. This informal, highly participatory service meets EVERY SHABBAT morning. Parents welcome but not required to attend.
Also, new in Junior Congregation: “Brunch ‘n Learn.”
Join us for bagels and cream cheese at 10:30 am. We plan to study Pirkei Avot while we eat. This will be followed at about 10:45 am by a Junior Congregation service. It really helps the flow of the service when people come on time, that is, by the beginning of the service. Parents are encouraged to stay with their children — not only for crowd control, but also to join in study and prayer (and if you come early enough, to khop a nosh). Pirkei Avot is an important part of the Mishnah. It contains numerous nuggets of early Rabbinic thought — you may know them already, but you may not quite know who said what, and when, and why. So, if not at 10:30 on Saturday, then when?
Mini-Minyan:
Children in Kindergarten through 2nd grade are welcomed to their own service with a Siddur created just for them! Learn the prayers, join together in song, stories and other fun Shabbat activities. Parents welcome but not required to attend. Mini Minyan meets every Shabbat during the school year. Each service ends with a family kiddush. Families also have fun at periodic pot luck lunches following the service.
Tot Shabbat:
Shabbat services for PSJC’s youngest members! This service is geared towards kids of pre-school age and their parents (adult supervision is required). Through guitar-led prayers and songs, dancing and stories, Tot Shabbat allows parents and children to have a truly wonderful family Shabbat experience. Tot Shabbat meets every Shabbat during the school year. Each service ends with a family kiddush. Families also have fun at periodic pot luck lunches following the service.
High Holidays services
PSJC offers three services for young davenners, depending on their age. Youngsters 3-5 and 5-7 and their parents can enjoy two outdoor childrens’ services, led by a dynamic Jewish educator and talented musician. Older kids are invited to Junior Congregation, meeting in the lower sanctuary. Timing of all childrens’ programs is coordinated with adult services in the main sanctuary.
Other holiday programs
Whether it’s Sukkot, Chanuka, Simchat Torah, Purim, or another holiday, PSJC offers a variety of enriching and fun family programming. Programs have included:
• Sing-alongs for younger children, led by professional Jewish educators and musicians
• Family holiday services, such as for Purim and Simchat Torah
• Arts and crafts programs
• Purim carnival
Havdalah and Friday night programs
Families can enjoy special Havdalah programs with music, story-telling, dancing, movies, and more on occasional Saturday evenings. We also sponsor periodic family Friday night services, usually followed by a dairy/parve pot luck dinner. These evening programs are a great way to get to know other families at PSJC and to experience the joy of Shabbat and Havdalah together.
Teens/youth groups
Under the guidance of Dina Garfinkel and Anna Sasson, we are please to have 3 wonderful opportunities for teens and preteens in our community to get to know one another.
Kadima
Teen Minyan
PSJC Teen Social Action Group meets monthly, always combining a social action project such as visiting a shelter where abused women live with their children with something fun, like eating pizza or bowling. For more information, please contact Dina Garfinkel at (April please include link to email here)
Bogrim
Hebrew School
PSJC’s Hebrew School provides a warm, welcoming, and inclusive learning environment for students beginning in Kindergarten through 9th grade. Our mission is to instill in children a positive Jewish identity, a connection to the PSJC community and to k’lal Yisrael (the Jewish people), and to provide our children with a strong grounding in Jewish literacy through knowledge of Bible, holidays, prayer, history, values and the Hebrew language. Our teachers make learning come alive through creative use of drama, arts, and music and through celebration of the holidays. We also engage our children and their families in tzedaka (charity) projects, and involve the whole family in the learning process. For example, kids participate with their families in our annual Purim Carnival and our annual Tzedaka Fair.
The school operates on Sunday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for children in Kindergarten through seventh grade, and additionally on Wednesday afternoons from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. for children in third through seventh grades. For more information and scheduled sessions for PSJC’s unique Chet Seminar (8th/9th grade program), contact Elisabeth Albert, Director of Family Education and Hebrew School Principal.
How can I get more information?
Contact us or the synagogue office at (718) 768-1453. For information about the Hebrew School, ask for the Hebrew School brochure and Hebrew School Handbook. You also can have your email address added to the family programming e-list for notices of upcoming programs.
We invite the community to join us for these great programs!