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Learning From The Kids

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Clockwise from top left. Hebrew student Bob Canvasser
Dance students Allie Sucher of Farmington Hills, Jillian Bean ofWest Bloomfield and Jessica Glickman of
Farmington Hills, all 11
Hebrew students Tsila Pleasant and Susan Brodsky ofWest Bloomfield

"By the end of the class, students should be able
to recognize the words in prayers in the Hebrew
prayer book," Goldstone said. "Then they're ready
for Level Two, which goes more in-depth into the
reading of prayers."

Who's In Class?

For Stephane Lubin, the convenience of learning
Hebrew at the same place she was bringing her 11-
year-old daughter, Rachel, for dancing, was too much
to resist.
"I have attended bits and pieces of beginning
Hebrew classes before but I had never completed the
alphabet," said Lubin, of Farmington Hills. "When
Mark came into the first night of Joe Cornell, I
thought it would be great to finally finish the
Hebrew alphabet."
Bob Canvasser of West Bloomfield also joined the
class largely because of his children. "My two boys,
Jack, 11, and Ben, 7, both attend Hillel [Day School
of Metropolitan Detroit] and my wife went to a
Hebrew day school in Columbus," he said. "I didn't
like being the only one in the family that couldn't fol-
low the prayers at services."
Others, too, pursued the Hebrew course at their
children's urging. "Two parents indicated that they
are learning to read Hebrew at the request of their
children who have expressed great pride in them for
taking the class," said Dr. Roth of Farmington Hills,
a B'nai Moshe member and volunteer teacher for
the course.

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2004

58

Beyond The Letters

Some parents have special requests of Dr. Roth.
Stephane Lubin wants to learn the alphabet letters in
cursive so she can help her daughter with her Hebrew
homework.
In addition, Dr. Roth said, "I will try to get the par-
ents ready to be able to recite the blessings for an aliyah
so they can be proud of themselves, and their kids can
be proud of them when their 'big day comes."
Dr. Roth, who attended Joe Cornell dance classes
many years ago with founder Joe Cornell teaching in
his former studio in Detroit, said, "I still remember
the steps I learned way back when."
A pediatrician, Dr. Roth said, "The current owners
of Joe Cornell were my patients when they were kids."
The current NJOP classes include both Jewish and
non-Jewish students,
"I am not, myself, Jewish, although my husband
and 11-year-old son are," said Linda Sherman of West
Bloomfield. "I have taken many classes, read lots of
books and become pretty interested in Jewish history.
To convert or not to convert is always the question; I
guess, in recent years, learning Hebrew has loomed as
a big obstacle."
When Sherman first learned about the Hebrew
reading course, she said, "My son looked at me; I
looked at him; and he said, 'Go for it, Mom.' I did.
"I hope to use the class as a springboard for a long-
term study of the Hebrew language, for use at services
and, of course, for my son's bar mitzvah. Perhaps, one
day, for my own conversion."

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"When I sit down to study a little before class, I just
grab a kid," said Susan Brodsky. "My son Michael is a
graduate of Hillel and reads Torah at [Congregation]
Shaarey Zedek and my daughter Olivia also is fluent
in Hebrew. I just ask them sit next to me, and I read
with them sitting there to make sure I am reading
),
correctly.
Brodsky has pride in her accomplishment, remem-
bering the years she couldn't help her children with
Hebrew homework and hopes to continue her studies
after the NJOP course ends in February.
Bob Canvasser also found a new connection with
his children through the class. "At night after my 7-
year-old reads with me in English, I'll do my Hebrew
homework with him so that he can correct me,"
Canvasser said. "It's a thrill for me to do it, especially
since what is difficult for me, he learned last year in
first grade. My 11-year-old gets a kick out of helping
me with my homework and explains things to me
and translates the simple sentences I'm learning.
There aren't many opportunities for me to learn from
my children academically, but they're both so good
with it."
Stephane Lubin has a specific goal in mind for the
class. "Rachel is my third and final child going
through Hebrew school," she said. "So I hope to
have mastered the alphabet by the time she com-
pletes her studies."
Kaplan said: "The more involved I become in pro-
moting NJOP classes, the more I see the genius in its
design and how much it appeals to people who are out
there searching for ways to connect Jewishly. It is a
true gateway into Jewish life," she said.
B'nai Moshe Rabbi Elliot Pachter called the
Hebrew course "a brilliant way to give the parents an
opportunity to make great use of the time that their
kids are in Joe Cornell.
"What a great message to these children to see their
parents engaged in the learning of Hebrew," he said.
"This certainly fits into the overall plan at our shul to
make the bar or bat mitzvah experience a multi-gener-
ational project."

❑

B'nai Moshe's upcoming adult education
courses include:
• Level One NJOP class with Jewish
Academy of Metropolitan Detroit student Judy
Margolin, beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 9
• Level Two NJOP class with Dr. Mark Roth
beginning at 9:30 a.m., Monday, Jan. 10.
• Advanced Hebrew Reading and Grammar
with Dr. Edward Golenberg, to take place
Sunday mornings. Start date to be announced.
• Prayer Book Hebrew Seminar with Nathan
Roth, to take place Sunday mornings. Start date
to be announced.
For information on these classes and other
tentatively scheduled NJOP Read Hebrew
America classes, as well as non-NJOP adult
education classes, call Nancy Kaplan at (248)
737-1931 or
e-mail at: kolelmoshe@comcast.net
Kaplan also is interested in forming other
Hebrew reading classes based on availability of
those interested.