Dear KIRS community,
It is a pleasure to be writing to you – to introduce myself and to share with you my
thoughts on this coming year.
My name is Rabbi Rachel Silverman. I was hired this spring to serve as KI’s new
Director of Congregational Learning, and as part of my job, I have the privilege of
overseeing the KI Religious School. I’m excited to share with you my vision for Jewish
education, as well as some updates from our school.
I believe that Jewish Education is a lifelong process and a right for every family in the
Jewish community. It is my goal to make that Jewish Education accessible and engaging
for all of our students – from babies to seniors. My hope is that our religious school will
be a warm and welcoming space where many families will choose to begin (or continue)
their journeys, but that those journeys won’t be confined to the halls of this building.
Education should be fun, engaging, and full of content-knowledge.
Click here for a KIRS FAQ or here for a registration form.
We’re excited to announce that KI’s 6th and 7th graders are going to join the Makor
program at Hebrew College. Having spent last year directing Makor, I can say
confidently that this is the best program for our middle schoolers in our area. Makor was
created as a partnership between Prozdor (Hebrew College’s High School) and the
Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Our students will join students from Mishkan Tefillah,
Temple Emanuel, Temple Emeth, and Temple Beth Abraham of Canton on Sunday
mornings at Hebrew College. Our students will return to KI on Thursday afternoons for
opportunities to learn with all three rabbis. Makor offers our students the chance to direct
their Jewish learning by choosing which classes to take, to learn with a much larger pool
of students (there are about 120 students total), and to learn Hebrew as a modern, living
language.
Our entire education team is in the midst of planning an exciting year for our community.
I look forward to meeting you and your families, getting to know you, and learning
together. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions, concerns, comments, or just
to say hello. I can be reached at RabbiRachel@congki.org or 617-277-9155.
Rabbi Rachel Silverman