RELIGIOUS SCHOOL

Religious School will be meeting at its usual time on Sunday morning October 11th at St. Paul's Fellowship Hall, 5619 Lindley Ave., Tarzana, CA 91316. Afterwards, all Religious School families are encouraged to stop by the Taste of Encino. Click here for more events information.

On Sundays during the school year, Makom Ohr Shalom Religious School meets from 10-12:30 in the classrooms of our sanctuary location, 5619 Lindley Blvd. in Tarzana.

Our program includes music, games, discussion, and art in the service of learning Hebrew, prayers, Torah, holidays, Jewish values, and Rabbinic stories. Our goal is to impart not just information and skills, but also love of Torah, God, and Yiddishkeit, and people. We also give our students spiritual skills and practices, such as age-appropriate meditation, as part of the curriculum. All our students get personal attention, since we have a small school, with excellent teacher-student ratios.

While the Religious School is not devoted to Bar and Bat Mitzvah preparation per se, all our families who wish to have a Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremony will receive guidance and clergy support for that event.

We are currently accepting children ages five through Bar and Bat Mitzvah to join us for Jewish learning at this important, foundational stage of their lives. Parents and students are welcome to visit and audit our school, to get acquainted with who we are and what we do.

If you have children or grandchildren, or if you know people who do, please encourage them to look into Makom's Religious School. We want to give our kids the connection to community, spirituality, and Jewish teachings that we prize as adults.

In tandem with Religious School Makom Ohr Shalom offers other family-friendly programs, listed below. We also have an annual Sukkah party for families at the rabbi’s house in the fall and a spring picnic for Makom families. For more information, or to discuss your child’s needs, please call Harold Gidish at 818 222-4374 or email hgidish@aol.com.

FAMILY PROGRAMS

Throughout the year, we have many programs especially geared for families with children, most notably our Family Shabbat service on the last Saturday morning of each month. We also invite and include children at all our events - from Shabbat services to Passover seder. Children and families are always welcome! If you have school age children, we invite you to schedule a visit to our inspirational Religious School. Please contact Harold Gidish, hgidish@aol.com to arrange a tour and to audit.

Childcare

Children are always welcome in the main sanctuary. Every first and third Friday of the month, we also provide childcare for all ages (children must be potty-trained) in a supervised room just outside the main service.On High Holidays, childcare becomes High Holy care. Children enjoy their own celebration through art, song, a junior congregation, and teachings from our rabbis. A teen lounge is also provided without charge.

Shabbat Family Services

Please join Rabbi Debra Orenstein, cantorial soloist Mitzi Schwarz, and other surprise guests and leaders on the final Saturday of each month during the school year, 10 am to noon, at rotating homes. The service is geared to families with young children, but the prayers, music, stories, and games will be enjoyable for all ages. Multiple generations welcome! RSVP to Mitzi at mitzismusic@sbcglobal.net or (310) 614-0430. 

Community Shabbat Dinners

Four or five times each year, Makom sponsors Community Shabbat dinners. These are wonderful opportunities to experience the Friday evening ritual around the dining table. Rabbi Debra Orenstein also offers a short teaching and invites an “Ask-the-Rabbi” question-and-answer session that is always a wonderful experience. We recite blessings, dine, sing, talk, and learn together, and then enjoy Friday night services, following. Our next Community Dinner will be held on Friday, August 1, at 6:30 pm. The cost is just $10 for adults; children are free. Kindly RSVP to Judy Kollack at judybk@earthlink.net.

Religious School Shabbat

Twice each year – on Hanukah (in December) and on Shavuot (in June) – we honor our Religious School families and teacher, and invite the participation of our children and teens in leading the services.

No'ar (Teen Group)    

No'ar is our youth group for post-Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. They socialize, tackle social justice projects, and enjoy youth Shabbatons. Please contact Harold Gidish at hgidish@aol.com to inquire and participate!Please add a new headline called

Children’s Choir

Music is a large part of the Makom Ohr Shalom experience, and our children can participate through the Makom children's choir. Above, our children's choir performs at the Jewish Home for the Aged during Hanukah. If you have a child who may be interested in a children’s choir, please contact Rabbi/Cantor Monty Turner at (310) 479-1270.

Havdalah Evenings for Families

Periodically during the year, families of Makom members and from the wider Jewish community get together to experience the ending-of-Shabbat ritual in the intimate setting of a private home. Our clergy lead the ritual and a family-friendly program. Songs, snacks, and shmoozing follow. Please call Dana Stone Goldberg at bbdj22@hotmail.com if you are interested in a Family Havdalah.