The Children's Synagogue
Our best practice project involving volunteers is an activity for young children (3 to 6 years old), accompanied by their parents.
The Children's Synagogue is held on Saturday, twice a month, at the same time as the main service taking place in the synagogue, and it lasts one hour. It is organized by our Talmud Torah director, involving volunteer parents who share this time with their children.
The activity is divided into two parts:
1. Half-hour service
Example: T’’u b’Shvat – The parents tell the story around the Festival (New Year for Trees), then there is a discussion about the environment.
2. History and games
Example: Games might include puppets and cards representing fruits, written in Hebrew, with each of the parents and children identifying themselves as a fruit.
Once the activity is over, parents and children join the service held in the main synagogue.
This activity, which has been running for more than a year, is very successful. According to the parents, the children are asking for a regular Saturday activity. So, due to popular demand, this fortnight activity will become a weekly one.
Following the success of this type of activity the participants have expressed the wish for a deeper personal investment. The children are greatly motivated to continue learning within the Talmud Torah on Sundays. The volunteer parents also want to involve themselves more in this activity and in other community activities as well.
We are considering setting up another activity of this type and are looking for inspiration among the successful activities of our partner organizations within the Grundtvig programme.
