Jordy Rossen, 11, Tammy
Ram, Ben Filler and
Doniele Traurig, all 10,
work on an assignment.
A One Room School
Teaches Modern Themes
n a Greektown street corner, in the tower-
ing shadow of St. Mary's Church, a bright,
if rambunctious group of Sunday school stu-
dents is bringing Judaism into its lives.
In some ways, the one-room school at
Congregation T'chiyah has the antiquated
charm of a 19th-century Talmud Torah, a
kind of Jewish Little House on the Prairie
where children aged 6 to 14 read from the
same religious text.
In other respects, the curriculum taught
by Judy Schreiber — filled with philosoph-
ical discussions about the relevance of Jew-
ish values in the 1990s — could not be more
modern.
It is a paradox that somehow appears to
be working in Detroit's only Reconstruc-
tionist congregation. And the paradox with-
in the paradox is Ms. Schreiber herself, an
Orthodox woman who encourages the chil-
dren in her class to form their own concepts
of faith.
"They accept my adherence to more tra-
ditional things and I accept their more lib-
eral approach," Ms. Schreiber said. "I don't
stress academics as much as a love of Ju-
daism and the strong feelings we share of a
Jewish identity and of a connectedness to
God."
This inclusive approach reflects a central
tenet of Reconstructionism, which views Ju-
daism as an "evolving religious civilization"
that must adjust to the secular elements of
modern society.
T'chiyah is small, with 112 members, but
active. Founded in 1977, the congregation
was an outgrowth of living-room meetings
of Jewish professionals from the Lafayette
Park section of downtown Detroit.
With no standing rabbi, members rotate
responsibility for leading weekly services,
which are held in the St. Mary's School
across from St. Mary's Church on St. An-
toine.
Its tiny sanctuary, with wooden floors and
a high-beamed ceiling, sits on one end of the
fourth-floor room. Its pews and stained glass
window were salvaged from the former Con-
gregation Mogain Abraham near Eastern
Market.
The Sunday school class meets at the oth-
er end of the room, beneath tall cathedral
windows that look out on the church. Book-
cases line one wall, while a small standing
blackboard holds the day's lesson plan.
On a recent Sunday morning, seven stu-
dents sat around the T-shaped table head-
ed by Ms. Schreiber. Smart and inquisitive,
virtually all the students attend alternative
private schools during the week.
To Ms. Schreiber's right was the group's
youngest member, Zachary Beebe, a cheru-
bic 6-year-old with long brown bangs and
one very short attention span.
At the far end sat Abe Gurewitz, at 14 the
group's oldest member.
Abe was Zachary's age when he first came
to T'chiyah. Like most of the kids, Abe has
known only one religious teacher, Ms.
Schreiber, who has taught the Sunday
school class for nine years.
This proves both a blessing and curse —
a blessing for the students and, on occasion,
a curse for the teacher.
For Isabel Dmitruk, 11, having the same
teacher means "we don't have to get used to
different things every year." The rituals of
each session — in which Hebrew writing,
Torah study and prayer follow a prescribed
order — is a comfort to the young students.
For the teacher, though, facing the same
class means she cannot trot out identical
lessons each year.
"Every year we learn about the same hol-
idays," Ms. Schreiber said. "So I always have
to look for new ways for them to think about
the same events."
Having students of such varying ages pre-
sents its own challenges, chief among them:
developing themes that hold the attention
of both older and younger kids. "It makes
me nuts, yes," Ms. Schreiber jokes.
But, she insists, this one-room approach
also keeps her fresh, and helps students gain
a keener understanding of Judaism.
"They each understand things at their
own level," Ms. Schreiber said. On
Chanukah, for instance, "the older students
understand it as the first historical war for
religious freedom. Younger students may
think of it in terms of lighting candles, latkes
and dreidels."
On this day, the students are discussing
the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and
of Abraham's plea to God not to punish the
just with the wicked.
"The primary mitzvah we can do is to be
kind to strangers," Ms. Schreiber tells the
group.
The students-listen closely to her mes-
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