Sunday School

Sunday School at the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism offers instruction for grades kindergarten through Bar/Bat Mitzvah. In small classes, and through art, music, technology, texts, and games, students learn about Jewish culture, history, and holidays, receiving a rich Jewish experience from a humanistic perspective.

Humanistic Jewish education grows out of the philosophy of Humanistic Judaism. In addition to defining the content of our curricula, the philosophy of Humanistic Judaism helps define our method of communicating ideas. Affirming a Humanistic Jewish philosophy in our school furnishes us with both the “what” to teach and the “how” to teach.

Humanistic teaching means we must create an open, warm environment in which learners can safely express their thoughts and feelings. It is an environment that motivates, excites, and encourages critical thinking, love of learning and striving for self-improvement. Our teachers and staff exemplify Humanistic Jewish values through their behavior and in their approach to the study of Judaism.

We offer:

• Knowledge about the Jewish people, historic and contemporary
• Celebration of the Jewish holidays and their significance
• Humanistic philosophy and ethics
• Bar/Bat Mitzvah classes
• Hebrew
• Music, crafts and games
• Small class size

Goals:

• Foster a positive personal Jewish identity in a multicultural world.
• Appreciate and apply humanistic values and ethics.
• Understand Humanistic Judaism and how it compares to theistic branches of Judaism and to other religions.
• Celebrate Jewish culture through holidays, song, dance, literature, life cycle events, and community activities.
• Learn and appreciate Jewish history
• Traditional Bible stories and their relevance today
• World Jewry
• Birth and growth of the Israeli state
• Jews in America
• Become acquainted with Hebrew reading, writing, and conversation.
• Create a sense of congregation, community and shared goals.
• Enjoy classes and the learning experience.

We aim to create school and classroom settings that reflect the highest standards of Humanistic Judaism and its moral values: respect for fellow learners, enjoyment, participation, personal responsibility and learning to develop an independent set of beliefs based on informed discovery.

We emphasize the participation of families in our educational program and welcome parents to learn with their children during the year. To this end, we offer adult educational classes held during Sunday School hours.

Sunday School Registration Forms

You must join CHJ in order to register for Sunday School.

While social distancing remains in place, CHJ is deferring plans for Sunday School in 2020-21.  For further information, please email  sundayschool@humanisticjews.org. 

Sunday School Snow Policy

In the event of snow on a morning scheduled for Sunday School, please check to see if you have received a message from the CHJ listserver. A message will be sent by 7:30 a.m.