The Berger family of West Windsor is piloting a new approach to Jewish education this school year. Yerusha, which means inheritance in Hebrew, empowers families to transmit Jewish tradition from generation to generation by combining family-based experiential learning with a small group community. Children learn and experience Judaism at home with their parents, following a framework of ranks and requirements, and then join their peers once a week for a combination group session to bond and share. Four times a year all of the families celebrate Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, together in one of their homes. Yerusha has its first open house on Sunday, May 23, from 4 to 6 p.m. in a private home in West Windsor.
This approach to Jewish learning involves the whole family and that is what appeals to West Windsor residents Adam and Margaret Berger, who enrolled their three sons in the program this past fall. The boys love the combination of self-paced learning along with the fun weekly gatherings and their parents have learned new things about their heritage.
Adam Berger was born and raised in Great Neck, New York. An applied math major at Yale, he attended graduate school at Princeton University, and works for Princeton Focused Investments. Although his family was not observant, he attended a conservative Hebrew School and had a bar mitzvah.
His wife, Margaret, was born and raised in Syosset, New York. She was a math major at Yale and is an actuary at Mercer, a benefits consulting firm. She was raised in an observant, conservative household, went to a conservative religious school at a synagogue, and had her bat mitzvah.
The couple moved from Edison in 1995. “We moved here because: “I was working in the area; Margaret was working in NYC and we would be close to the train station; and there was a good Jewish community,” says Adam.
“We were looking for a religious education experience that would meet our family’s needs, and were introduced to Rabbi Justus Baird last spring,” says Adam. “He had the groundwork already done for the Yerusha educational program, and Margaret and I were excited to try it out. We spent last spring and summer working with the other families and Rabbi Baird to flesh out the concepts, and we started in October. I wouldn’t say the children were eager, since they didn’t really know much about it, but they were willing to give it a try.”
Their son, Aaron, an eighth grade student at Community Middle School, is on the Mathcounts team and plays piano. He attended traditional Hebrew school at Beth El Synagogue, celebrated his bar mitzvah, and goes to their Hebrew High school. At Yerusha he explores the topic of Jews and the Internet.
Sammy, 10, a fifth grade student at Village School, is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and plays piano. He used to attend religious school at Beth El Synagogue. He is busy studying genealogy with Yerusha.
Isaac, 6, a first grade student at Dutch Neck School, studies Tae Kwon Do and piano. He was recently part of a play about Moses at Yerusha.
As the first year of Yerusha winds down, the five families and Rabbi Baird are telling others about the program. For the last several weeks interested families have been observing the Yerusha weekly sessions and asking questions about next school year’s enrollment. To learn more visit www.yerusha.org or E-mail info@yerusha.org.
Open House, Yerusha. Sunday, May 23, 4 to 6 p.m. Information about a new and innovative approach to Jewish education. Register by E-mail to info@yerusha.org. www.yerusha.org.
