Open House/Registration Day on Sunday, August 30, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

First day of Sunday School will be the following week on Sunday, September 6th, from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

First day of Mitkadem will be Wednesday, September 9th, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

If you have any questions about registration, or are interested in teaching or volunteering at SJS, please contact Ms. Ami Olstein at 595-7521 x 205  or sjsadministrator@templeemanuelhawaii.com.

                                                                    Temple Emanu-El
                                                                School of Jewish Studies

The Temple Emanu-El School of Jewish Studies conducts classes for students from grades Pre-K/K through High
School from September through May each school year.  Classes are held on Sunday mornings, afternoons and
Wednesday afternoons.  A typical school week is shown below.
The curriculum at the School of Jewish Studies is designed to expose our students to the various components
involved in living a “Jewish Life.”  With this in mind, we will work to:
•     Make students aware of the presence of G-d through classroom lessons.  We will also address their style of
dress, use of acceptable language and demonstration of appropriate behavior.
•     Have students creatively learn about the vast array of Jewish Studies including Hebrew, Torah, G-d, Values,
Life Events, Holidays, Prayer, and their Jewish home, Israel.
•     Have students actively understand Judaism through culture (Art, Cooking, Dance, Music and Drama.
•     Produce happy young people who will have enjoyable memories of their time at the School of Jewish Studies.
•    In the curriculum we use a combination of materials from the Union for Reform Judaism and materials developed
locally.  All materials contain a strong Hebrew component.  

The  programs of our religious school embrace experience and learning activities, encouraging children, young
people, and adults to become…
•        Jews who affirm their Jewish identity and bind themselves inseparably to their people by word and deed.
•        Jews who bear witness to the berit,  the “covenant” between G-d and the Jewish people through the practice
of mitzvot, “commandments,” as studied in the Torah and the classic literature it has generated and as interpreted
in light of historic development and contemporary liberal thought
•        Jews who affirm their historic bond to Eretz Yisrael, the “Land of Israel”
•        Jews who cherish and study Hebrew, the language of the Jewish people
•        Jews who value and practice tefilah, “prayer”
•        Jews who further the causes of justice, freedom and peace by pursuing tzedek, “righteousness”; mishpat,
“justice”; and chesed,  “loving deeds”
•        Jews who celebrate Shabbat and the festivals and observe the Jewish ceremonies that mark the significant
occasions in their lives
•        Jews who esteem their own person and the person of others; their own family and the family of others; their
own community and the community of others
•        Jews who express kinship with K’lal Yisrael by actively seeking the welfare of Jews throughout the world
•        Jews who support and participate in the life of the synagogue
•        Jews whose lives are informed by an appreciation of Jewish history and heritage
•        Jews who engage in, enjoy and value Jewish culture

Leadership of the School of Jewish Studies is provided by Rabbi Peter
Schaktman, Cantorial Soloist Ken Aronowitz (Program Director), Ms. Ami Olstein
(Administrative Director), and Vanessa Buchthal (Chair of the Education
Committee).  They may be contacted directly by clicking on their names.