GUIDE TO JEWISH LIVING IN TIDEWATER CONGREGATION BETH EL’S PATRICIA SARAH ASHKENAZI RELIGIOUS SCHOOL

Director of Education: Sharon

J. Serbin

Email: sharonj@bethelnorfolk.com

Congregation Beth El’s Patricia Sarah Ashkenazi Religious School (PSARS) meets on Sundays, 9 am-12 pm at Congregation Beth El in Norfolk. The student body consists of classes from Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten through seventh grade. The curriculum includes Judaics, Hebrew, Israel studies, and mitzvot. Arts and crafts, holiday programs, creative drama, music, and more provide a well-rounded education. PSARS focuses on ‘experiencing’ education. Teachers make learning come alive in fun and engaging lessons. The school’s mission is to educate, nurture, guide, and encourage students to embrace the joy in Judaism.

Hebrew School meets Wednesdays, 5 - 6:30 pm at the Simon Family Jewish Community Center in Virginia Beach. Classes are for third - sixth graders. Hebrew School focuses on various aspects of Hebrew, including but not limited to, reading, writing, root words, brachot, and conversational modern Hebrew. Classes are divided into Kitah Aleph and Kitah Bet. The curriculum includes fun and engaging methods such as arts and crafts, rhythms and drumming, music, and educational games. Students develop a strong foundation of Hebrew and learn how it connects to Jewish culture.

New this year is the Bogrim Program. Open to eighth -12th graders, Bogrim meets once a month on Sundays in their own Moadon (club house room) at Congregation Beth El. The Bogrim Program will help these students grow as Jewish young adults through discussions, social actions, mitzvot (good deeds), and middot (values), while using creative drama, role playing and artistic expressions and going out into the community to do mitzvot to round out the curriculum. Students explore who they are individually as a young Jewish adult, who they are in the community, and what their responsibilities are in the world.

Norfolk Area Community Kollel

420 Spotswood Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23517 757-655-1836, nack@norfolkkollel.com, norfolkkollel.com

Rosh Kollel: Rabbi Boruch Danziger

Executive Director: Rabbi Gershon Litt

Rabbi Yehuda Brickman

Rabbi Yakov Berkowitz

Rabbi Yedidya Kov

Norfolk Area Community Kollel offers Jewish classes and programming regardless of affiliation or practice. Their philosophy is Torah-based and centers on gaining spirituality through personal growth and rich Torah heritage. The Norfolk Kollel offers programs at college campuses and high schools, as well as lunch and learn programs and “one-on-one” study sessions. The Kollel can “tailor-make” a Jewish education program for specific needs. The motto of the Kollel is “Inspiration Through Education.”

Old Dominion University

INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH STUDIES AND INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AT OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY

2024 Batten Arts and Letters, Norfolk, VA 23529 757-683-6816, odu.edu/al/institutes/ijiu, amilliga@odu.edu facebook.com/IJIUatODU

Director: Amy Milligan, PhD

The Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding (IJIU) is an interdisciplinary academic program at Old Dominion University dedicated to creating strong, inclusive learning experiences that deepen understanding of Jewish thought, history, and culture. IJIU sponsors research, academic programs, engagement activities, and collaboration with community partners to promote diverse Jewish perspectives about significant local and global issues, address antisemitic acts and other forms of hatred, and encourage dialogue between people of all faiths and beliefs.

Hillel At Old Dominion University

757-559-1836, rabbilitt@oduhillel.org

Director: Rabbi Gershon Litt

Hillel is the home to the Jewish student community with social activities, educational events, and holiday celebrations on and off campus.

Ohef Sholom Temple Religious School

530 Raleigh Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23507 757-625-4295, fax 757-625-3762 ohefsholom.org

Religious School Director: Alyson Morrissey, alyson@ohefsholom.org Alyson@ohefsholom.org, 757-625-4295, ext 114

Ohef Sholom Temple Religious School is committed to raising lifelong Jews whose identity is firmly grounded in Torah and Jewish texts and who are connected to Israel, Jewish history, culture, language, and traditions. The school strives to ensure that students find joy, pride, and meaning in becoming lifelong learners who will serve to strengthen Jewish life and the Jewish community by connecting directly to the clergy, staff, congregation, and each other.

The school meets most Sundays throughout the school year, 9:30 am - 12 pm and offers an engaging Jewish educational experience for students, Pre-K through 10th grade. The Institute for Southern Jewish Living’s curriculum will be introduced this year for Pre-K - sixth grade classes. The school will also utilize Moving Traditions, a curriculum aimed at B’nai Mitzvah aged learners and their parents, providing five sessions where families learn side-by-side as they prepare for their simcha. An electives-based model for 7th, 8th, and 9th graders allows students to choose various topics to explore, with a Jewish twist, such as theater, cooking, and journalism. Each grade level will also spend a trimester focused on their core curriculum. In 7th grade they will study comparative religions, in 8th grade the Holocaust, and in 9th grade, the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Students also have the opportunity to participate in art, cooking, music, and weekly t’filah. OST’s Religious School hosts family programming centered around the holidays throughout the year.

Hebrew School meets just before Religious School, 8:45 - 9:30 am. Students also meet one-on-one with their teacher for 20 minutes during the week over Zoom.

Hebrew School is for fourth through seventh graders. The Hebrew program is self-paced, recognizing that not all students learn at the same pace.

Ohef Sholom Temple offers assistance to those with disabilities and has a licensed special education professional on staff who is able to provide support for all students.

Strelitz International Academy

International Baccalaureate® World School

Early Years and Primary Years Programs, Infants–Grade 5

Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus

5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23462 757-424-4327, strelitzinternationalacademy.org

Facebook: Strelitz International Academy

Instagram: strelitzinternationalacademy

Head of School: Heather Moore, hmoore@strelitzacademy.org

Admissions Manager: Ally St. Pierre, astpierre@strelitzacademy.org

The Strelitz International Academy is the community’s progressive Jewish Day