The following list contains specific items requested by the Falmouth Service Center. Children may bring these or other healthy items of their choice to Beit Sefer, which holds a weekly tzedakah collection of money and non-perishables at its Sunday morning assembly – Asefat Boker.

This handy list allows you to stock up in advance. Wy not take your child for a special shopping adventure.

 

September – peanut butter, almound butter, sunflower seed butter, plus healthy fruit jellies

October – healthy lunch box snacks

November – stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy

December – canned meats

January –  healthy cereals

February – hearty soups

March – 100% juice

April – tuna fish and mayonnaise

May – whole wheat and multigrain crackers; graham crackers

Shabbat retreats are a highlight of youth learning and engagement at FJC. Set at the beautiful Craigville Conference Center, overnight retreats provide opportunities for relaxation and connection with FJC friends, fun at the beach, spirited games of newcombe, parachute, and catch the flag, communal meals in the dining hall. Judaic content comes with Havdallah, mealtime blessings, Judaica art projects, informal worship, conversation, and a fresh appreciation of Shabbat menucha (rest).

Rabbi Lieberman and Pamela Rothstein, Director of Lifelong Learning, chaperone the retreats. Every other year, we bring the combined sixth and seventh grade classes to Craigville. In off years, the retreat is geared to post-b’nei mitzvah, our Gesher (bridge) group. With families ranging from the South Coast to mid-Cape and busy tween/teen activity schedules, the Gesher retreat reunites friends in a setting with positive memories of their school days.

We welcome your interest in FJC’s Beit Sefer,  where the youth of FJC engage in Jewish learning with all their hearts, with all their spirit, and with everything they’ve got (from the V’ahavta). Beit Sefer’s goal is to provide the skills and inspiration for our children to live fulfilling Jewish lives, thus leading them to kedusha (sacredness) — the ability to access and affirm the Holy within their lives. We do so with a commitment to a liberal approach to Jewish living as articulated by the principles of Reform Judaism.

In educating our children, we affirm these values:

TORAH: Torah as a symbol for all Jewish learning, including history, theology, literature, and language, including Hebrew.

AVODAH (prayer): attaining an appreciation for and a comfort level with spiritual expression through prayer, song, ritual, the creation of ritual objects, and comparative religion, including a competency with and understanding of prayer through the study of Hebrew.

GEMILUT CHASADIM (acts of loving kindness): helping students see themselves as God’s partners and living their Jewish values through the practice of tzedakah (righteous giving), mitzvah projects, and learning about opportunities for tikkun olam (repair of the world).

KLAL YISRAEL (unity of the Jewish people): fostering connections to their fellow Jews, both locally and globally and understanding both the diversity and unity within the Jewish world, with particular emphasis on fostering an appreciation of the special role that Israel plays in our lives as Jews.

 

ENROLLMENT

“Train a child in the direction to take, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6

Falmouth Jewish Congregation welcomes your inquiry into enrolling a child in Beit Sefer. Membership in the Falmouth Jewish Congregation is a requirement for Beit Sefer enrollment from Kindergarten through Grade 7 (b’nei mitzvah). It is NOT a requirement in Gan Yeladim, our monthly adult-child preschool program. Please refer to the “Membership” page of this website for further information or contact the office or Director of Lifelong Learning.

Our school welcomes families of diverse makeup and background and includes a large number of Interfaith families (with varying practices). In keeping with the Union for Reform Judaism’s 1995 Resolution on religious school enrollment, registration in Beit Sefer is open to children who are being raised and educated exclusively as Jews, and therefore not receiving formal education in another religion. A couple’s choosing Judaism exclusively as their children’s religious identity does not precule a sharing of the non-Jewish partner’s religious traditions. Participation in cultural and familial traditions should be distinguished from religious instruction.