Kehillat+Kol+Haneshama



=Nurturing Liberal Jewish Identity in Jerusalem=

The objectives of the program are to increase the long-term synagogue participation and home-based Jewish practice of Israeli families who have contact with Kol HaNeshama through its nursery school (gan), but nonetheless have either little interest or little knowledge of Jewish practice in a liberal framework.

The strategy for engaging gan parents in the long-term is to turn them into partners in creating a meaningful Shabbat experience that will both answer their needs and introduce them to new ways of celebrating Shabbat within the liberal context.  Most gan parents relate to the Kehila as consumers, making use of the services of the gan. They endorse the idea of Jewish education for their children but they are not necessarily interested in introducing Jewish rituals at home or being involved with a religious community as families after school hours. We have learned that our assumptions were valid and that many of our gan parents are not interested or aware of what the Kehila has to offer them after gan hours. Some of the parents in our gan are willing to come with their children to our specifically designed programs for families with young children, but will not (yet) join services in the sanctuary or other educational programs if there is not a children’s component in them and if they are geared towards the general Kehila membership.

This year we are adjusting the program by focusing on two parallel tactics. We are going to present our programs to all the new and second-year gan parents as a supplement to the gan and invite them to take part. We are also going to form a group of parents who actually choose to be Kehila members and use them as bridges to reach out to the larger community of parents.

One of the challenges we are facing is how to make the general group of parents intrigued enough about what we have to offer to check us out and find their comfort zone with us and within themselves. Secular Israelis shy away from everything religious, and while they want some Jewish connection for their children they are intimidated by any notion that would suggest //Chazara BeTshuva.//, even if it is Reform. To address this challenge we are planning to "use" the members' parents group to do the marketing and bridge over to other parents. Another important agent we hope to recruit is the gan staff. They who have a daily presence in the gan will carry the message further and will facilitate and take part in some of the activities. The staff will be supported and encouraged by the Rabbi and the other Kehila staffers.

The other challenge is to make that same group of gan parents who are also members more involved in the synagogue's life by taking leadership roles within the project and initiating other activities that they find are right for them. We will build a social group out of these parents, making them feel like a Kehila within a Kehila. We will offer them training and present them with content while encouraging them to come up with their own ideas and initiatives.

Through programs of Shabbat enrichment, community learning and the production of teaching materials we hope to create the systemic change of bringing more people out of the “consumer” group and engage them in Jewish life from a place where they feel more comfortable with a range of Jewish rituals and synagogue life.

__Early Kabbalat Shabbat for young children: [|פעילות חודש יולי אוגוסט.doc] __ 1st meeting: invitation: [|קבלת שבת ראשונה.doc] materials: [|ברכת הילדים לערב שבת.doc] and this is what one of the families made: [|ברכת_ההורים.jpg] __Tot Shabbat morning service:__ invitation to special service - end of school year:[|שבת- בוגרי גן 2.8.08.doc] __Special community Shabbat service:__ invitation - begining a new school year:[|הזמנה לשבת עליה לכיתה א.doc] 2nd invitation:
 * __Activities__**
 * [|סוף אב-תחילת אלול .doc]

3rd invitation:
 * לקראת חגי תשרי[|.doc]

[|דף מקורות תשרי לימוד להורים.doc] 4th invitation:
 * [|חשוון.doc]

[|ראש חודש חשון תשסט 1 סופי.doc] 5th invitation:
 * [|סוף חשון-תחילת כסלו.doc]

[|ראש חודש כסלו מקורות לימוד להורים.doc] 6th invitation:
 * [|לקראת חנוכה.doc]

[|חנוכה דף מקורות להורים.doc]

__**Pictures**__: [|early kabbalat shabbat activity.JPG] [|early kabbalat shabbat activity 2.JPG] [|early kabbalat shabbat activity 3.JPG] [|early kabbalat shabbat activity 4.JPG] [|early kabbalat shabbat activity 5.JPG] [|early kabbalat shabbat activity 6.JPG] [|Tzadik katamar.JPG] [|Nitza with the Tamar.JPG] [|going to collect plastic bags for the Sukah.JPG] [|Tamar the artist collecting plastic bags.JPG] [|collecting plastic bags for the Sukah.JPG] [|decorating the plastic-bag-Sukah.JPG] [|decorating the Sukah.JPG] [|decorating the Sukah.JPG] [|decorating the Sukah.JPG] [|decorating the Sukah.JPG] gan + banner media type="file" key="kkh Track 1.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 2.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 3.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 4.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 5.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 6.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 7.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 8.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 9.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 10.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 11.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 12.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 13.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="kkh Track 14.mp3" width="240" height="20"