Circles are small cohorts (5-6 families or 5-8 individuals) that meet regularly around a shared purpose. Here are the Circles we're building for the year ahead. Be in touch ([email protected]) to hear more, or find the right entry into Sanctuary for you!
Holy Day Circles - Larchmont (monthly): We’ll explore Jewish holidays through nature, art, cooking, and community service. This will be a great way to connect with a small cohort of peers and experience the rhythm and wisdom of the Jewish calendar through hands-on experiences.
Holy Day Circles - Rivertowns (monthly): In a collaboration with Scribble Art Workshop, we’ll explore Jewish holidays through art and the creativity process. This will be a great way to connect with a small cohort of peers and experience the rhythm and wisdom of the Jewish calendar through hands-on experiences.
Shabbat Circles (monthly): We’ll gather each month as a family of families for a Friday night festive meal, a creative Saturday morning service, or a sweet Havdalah ritual at each other’s homes. Joining as a community, we include parents and siblings, and explore Shabbat together. The goal is for each family to host one Shabbat gathering.
Hebrew Circles (weekly): We believe that Hebrew is a key that unlocks meaning, and learning Hebrew should feel like a fun process of discovering. B Mitzvah students begin weekly Hebrew meetings together in 6th grade, but some students choose to start exploring the language before that. We start new weekly groups whenever we have a group of 3-4 interested students.
B Mitzvah Family Circle (weekly): Becoming B Mitzvah means counting in a minyan (a core group), so we dedicate significant time and energy to building a minyan where everyone counts and is counted on: to teach and learn, lead and follow, speak and listen. We'll learn Jewish wisdom and rituals through lived experiences. We’ll journey together as a family of families, because we can’t practice Judaism by ourselves!
Teen Circle (monthly): Our ancient ancestors couldn’t anticipate today’s news headlines, but they did grapple with the role of humans, the limits of our control, and the presence of evil in the world. Their questions and insights can help us clarify our own perspectives on current issues like climate change, reproductive rights, gun violence, structural racism, and the list goes on. Moreover, Jewish wisdom inspires us to commit to action.
Book Circles (monthly): New this year, we're building Book Circles (one for tweens, one for adults) that read historical fiction and explore together the range of Jewish experiences over time and across the world. One way to deepen our understanding of this moment in Jewish American history is to place it in a broader context and see which expressions of Jewish life are constant and which continue to evolve.
Also new this year: Havruta Learning Pairs. Sometimes individuals learn the most or feel most comfortable when working one-on-one or two-on-one with a teacher. Sometimes it takes time to build a Circle, so we want to start as a very small group. These individuals also join larger Sanctuary Gatherings for holidays throughout the year.
Holy Day Circles - Larchmont (monthly): We’ll explore Jewish holidays through nature, art, cooking, and community service. This will be a great way to connect with a small cohort of peers and experience the rhythm and wisdom of the Jewish calendar through hands-on experiences.
Holy Day Circles - Rivertowns (monthly): In a collaboration with Scribble Art Workshop, we’ll explore Jewish holidays through art and the creativity process. This will be a great way to connect with a small cohort of peers and experience the rhythm and wisdom of the Jewish calendar through hands-on experiences.
Shabbat Circles (monthly): We’ll gather each month as a family of families for a Friday night festive meal, a creative Saturday morning service, or a sweet Havdalah ritual at each other’s homes. Joining as a community, we include parents and siblings, and explore Shabbat together. The goal is for each family to host one Shabbat gathering.
Hebrew Circles (weekly): We believe that Hebrew is a key that unlocks meaning, and learning Hebrew should feel like a fun process of discovering. B Mitzvah students begin weekly Hebrew meetings together in 6th grade, but some students choose to start exploring the language before that. We start new weekly groups whenever we have a group of 3-4 interested students.
B Mitzvah Family Circle (weekly): Becoming B Mitzvah means counting in a minyan (a core group), so we dedicate significant time and energy to building a minyan where everyone counts and is counted on: to teach and learn, lead and follow, speak and listen. We'll learn Jewish wisdom and rituals through lived experiences. We’ll journey together as a family of families, because we can’t practice Judaism by ourselves!
Teen Circle (monthly): Our ancient ancestors couldn’t anticipate today’s news headlines, but they did grapple with the role of humans, the limits of our control, and the presence of evil in the world. Their questions and insights can help us clarify our own perspectives on current issues like climate change, reproductive rights, gun violence, structural racism, and the list goes on. Moreover, Jewish wisdom inspires us to commit to action.
Book Circles (monthly): New this year, we're building Book Circles (one for tweens, one for adults) that read historical fiction and explore together the range of Jewish experiences over time and across the world. One way to deepen our understanding of this moment in Jewish American history is to place it in a broader context and see which expressions of Jewish life are constant and which continue to evolve.
Also new this year: Havruta Learning Pairs. Sometimes individuals learn the most or feel most comfortable when working one-on-one or two-on-one with a teacher. Sometimes it takes time to build a Circle, so we want to start as a very small group. These individuals also join larger Sanctuary Gatherings for holidays throughout the year.