BACK To SCHOOL

Religious School
Reforms

Local educators are excited
about changes being made.

LYNNE KONSTANTIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ason Portner is a
12-year-old who will
celebrate his bar
mitzvah next April at
Temple Emanu-El.
is father, Arnold
Portner, speaks proudly of
his son's accomplishments. "For
his Mitzvah Project, he was
reading to blind college students.
Can you believe it? A 12-year-
old reading on a college level."
But even an advanced student
such as Jason has his doubts
about continuing through He-
brew high school after his bar
mitzvah.
"I was thinking about flat out
saying no," he explains, "because
I thought we would be doing re-
ligious prayers. But learning
about history and things like that
would be interesting. So now I'm
undecided."
The words "bar mitzvah"
translate literally to "son of the
commandments," or "one who is
bound by the commandments."
The age that a boy becomes a
"son of the commandments" is 13;
a girl can become a "daughter of
the commandments" at 12, as
girls mature faster than boys (ac-
cording to the Torah, honest).
Regardless of how mature he
— or she — is, the child who has
reached "binding" age today can-
not comprehend what it meant
to the 12- or 13-year-old in the
days of the origination of the
Torah.

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Society today considers this
age group as children, whereas
during biblical times, 12-13-year-
olds shouldered more responsi-
bility.
Nevertheless, as b'not mitzvah
age remains unchanged, the bur-
den of inspiring the interest of
post-b'not mitzvah education has
fallen largely on the shoulders of
the educators.
Jews as a community are con-
cerned about the education and
identity of their youth. But some
parents who opt out of Hebrew
day school education for their
children have had a tough time
finding them a quality education.
And if the curriculum is lacking,
the already tough job of com-
pelling children back to religious
school following bar/bat mitzvah
becomes that much tougher.
One Huntington Woods moth-
er calls the offered courses recy-
cled.
"My son," she said, "was tak-
ing the same classes, over and
over." Having lived through her
son's graduation from Hebrew
high school, she deems unworthy
the fights bound to ensue follow-
ing her 15-year-old daughter's
upcoming confirmation. "If she
doesn't want to go, I won't make
her; not unless they change the
curriculum or get new courses."
And that is precisely what most
area religious schools have been
working toward. According to
most local Conservative and Re-

Alex Simon likes going to temple
because there's always something
going on.

form educators, the key to not forc-
ing children — or at least not drag-
ging them to shul by their hair—
is to develop programs within the
religious schools which are based
on the social needs of the average
12-, 13- and 14-year-old.
"We are trying to create an en-
vironment for the students so
that anything they do associated
with the temple is Jewish and
positive," explains Fran Pearl-
man, education director for Tem-
ple Israel in West Bloomfield.
Many educators, however, also
believe that students' disinterest
in continuing their Jewish edu-
cation stems in part from parents

communicating their lack of a
goal for their child beyond the bar
or bat mitzvah. It is often not un-
til that milestone has been ac-
complished that parents look to
the next step, but as far as the
kids are concerned, their goal has
been accomplished, and they're
off the hook.
"People enroll their children
[in Hebrew elementary school]
with a mental goal, which is bar
or bat mitzvah," said Beth Achim
Education Director Barry Levine,
"and the kids pick up on that ...
The parent has to offer [consis-
tent] positive attention to educa-
tion and religion."
Ron Leff, who runs Adat
Shalom's religious school pro-
gram, agrees. "If parents don't

see it as important to continue,
the kids won't either."
Susan Rott and her family be-
long to Beth Shalom in Oak Park.
Ms. Rott is one example of the
many parents who do see reli-
gious education as "important to
continue," but still must deal with
the same problems. Her daugh-
ter, Leslie, will be 11 next month,
but this issue is already a serious
concern. "Right now Pm begging,"
Ms. Rott said. "... she doesn't
want to go ... But I want her to
see the really beautiful things in
Judaism: Torah, ethical ques-
tions, things that aren't studied
in the lower grades.
"I think a lot of kids see b'not
mitzvah as the end of their Jew-
ish education," she says, "not the

