Dayton Jewish School

At its meeting on Feb. 28, the board of Beth Abraham Synagogue decided to establish its own supplementary religious and Hebrew school for children of its congregants in grades kindergarten to eight, beginning with the 2007-08 school year.

The decision ends the Conservative synagogue’s collaborative religious/Hebrew school program with Traditional synagogue Beth Jacob Congregation: the Dayton Jewish School. It also coincides with Beth Abraham’s move from its location of nearly 60 years in Dayton View to its new home at Sugar Camp in Oakwood in early 2008.

“We had talked about it two years ago,” said Beth Abraham President Susie Katz. “The parents weren’t confident with the decision at that time. When we voted (Feb. 28), everyone understood that it wouldn’t make sense to move without looking at everything we do. We took a careful look at everything we’re doing to educate our children.”

Katz said the congregation formed an education think tank that met for three months. “We looked at, in a perfect world, what would we like our religious education to look like? We wanted it to be identifiable with the Conservative movement, to be identifiable with Beth Abraham Synagogue, with our professional staff, Rabbi Barsky and anyone we add. We felt we couldn’t do it with the DJS structure.”

Rabbi Bernard Barsky, spiritual leader of Beth Abraham Synagogue since 2003, said he championed this approach.

“I think since I got to Dayton, it didn’t take long for me to see what Beth Abraham had to do to have a viable future. One, relocate. Two, have its own in-house religious school. I felt very strongly, with the energy of the move, it seemed a natural step for the religious school.”

He hopes this will appeal to young families in Dayton’s south suburbs. For the 2006-07 school year, Beth Abraham has 12 students enrolled at DJS. Six Beth Abraham students are enrolled at Hillel Academy, the Miami Valley’s Jewish day school, in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Most of the children at Beth Jacob Congregation attend Hillel Academy, with 22 in grades kindergarten through eight. Eight Beth Jacob students are enrolled at DJS.

Rabbi Hillel Fox of Beth Jacob, said that when Beth Abraham leaders first discussed splitting DJS two years ago, he told them it was an uphill battle. “I don’t think it is necessary if we can have them together, if we can have more socialization,” he said. Even so, he and Beth Jacob President Bruce Feldman look at the change as an opportunity.

“We’ve met numerous times and we’re planning a fantastic program that people are excited about,” Feldman said. Staffing details of Beth Jacob’s school and specific plans were not available as of press time.

Fox added that with supplementary religious and Hebrew training returning to the congregation, “we can offer a creative environment. We’ll try to see how we can actually make it better.”

“As a rabbi, I’m looking forward to having ongoing involvement with the program and the students: one-on-one education opportunities,” Fox said. Prior to becoming Beth Jacob’s rabbi, Fox served for seven years as director of youth services at Agudas Achim synagogue in Columbus; he oversaw formal education for children, taught sixth and seventh grades, and developed and presented the synagogue’s family programming.

Barsky said that part of the vision for Beth Abraham’s school is “a place where children will have a strong personal bond with the rabbi,” though he wasn’t able to give details of what his role will be.

Beth Abraham is now searching for an education director. Barsky said the congregation might rely on a consultant from United Synagogue to help in planning a curriculum.

The Dayton Jewish School was formed in 1992, following the breakup of the Community Hebrew School, a project of the Jewish Federation’s Bureau of Jewish Education, which had served supplementary religious school students of Beth Abraham, Beth Jacob and Temple Israel. When Temple Israel decided to bring Hebrew studies back to its own congregation, Beth Abraham and Beth Jacob continued to collaborate.

Katz said that establishing a religious/Hebrew school for Beth Abraham had nothing to do with DJS staffing or structure.

“We started from zero,” she said. “We’re trying to create a school that would meet the needs of all our families: most observant, least observant, most involved, least involved. We hope we’re doing the right thing. We’re not taking the easy path. We now have to create this wonderful school. We’re ready to dig our heals in.”

By the numbers: Miami Valley area Jewish students, grades K-8

• Beth Abraham Synagogue, Dayton: 12 at DJS
• Beth Jacob Cong., Harrison Twp.: 8 at DJS
• Hillel Academy, Harrison Twp.: 32
(22 Beth Jacob, 6 Beth Abraham, 4 Temple Israel)
• Temple Anshe Emeth, Piqua: 7
• Temple Beth Or, Washington Twp.: 117
• Temple Beth Sholom, Middletown: 15
• Temple Israel, Dayton: 84
• Temple Sholom, Springfield: 19

Sources: DJS, Congregations, Hillel Academy

These numbers do not include preschoolers.

© 2007 The Dayton Jewish Observer