Clergy, educators from the Anti-Defamation League and Veterans of the Israeli Defense Force are just a few of the teachers who helped engage Temple Sinai’s religious school students in important hands-on learning experiences. The Mitzvah Makers program focuses on learning about and doing “mitzvot” (commandments/good deeds).
To prepare for Bar/Bat Mitzvah, students learned about the prayer book with the temple clergy. Other learning opportunities included understanding the Mitzvah of being kind to animals. The Riverhead Marine Foundation taught them how to respond to a stranded marine mammal or sea turtle.
Students volunteered at HUC soup kitchen, making connections to the homeless and less fortunate. The students offered a warm welcome, served food, and helped the homeless go shopping with dignity through the racks of donated clothing.
Each Mitzvah Maker student joined a long term community service project. Every student chose a project based on their personal interests. Some of the projects included “Be a Mentsch,” where the students cooked and delivered homemade meals to less fortunate families; Adopt a Survivor, where students interviewed a Holocaust survivor to perpetuate their experience by being prepared to tell their stories over for years to come; Bake sales and basketball for charity and finally, bringing awareness about the dangers of texting and driving.
Temple Sinai of Roslyn is at 425 Roslyn Rd. For more information about the above program, or other religious school programs, contact Elena Schwartz at 516-621-6800 or visit the website at www.mysinai.org.
