Temple Beth El uses ShulCloud for managing member data and financial accounts. It is widely used and highly secure. Our Masa enrollment is done through ShulCloud. CLICK HERE to access our online enrollment form. If you haven’t logged in before, the system will prompt you to create a password and then you’ll be redirected to the Masa enrollment form.
If you have any technical issues, please contact Ilene Stone at 248-865-0612 or click here to email Ilene. If you have questions about our programs, please contact Debbie at 248-325-9708 or click here to email Debbie.
Several years ago, after much discussion, we decided to call our programs for grades K-12 Masa. Masa is the Hebrew word for journey, and it captures the essence of what we are striving for. Every Jew is on a journey exploring how best to engage in Jewish living and we are our students’ guides along the way.
So, instead of Religious School, our families wake up on Sunday mornings to attend Masa, and our teens get to sleep a little later and come in for Masa Teens.
MASA PROGRAMMING
Grades K – 6
2022-2023 (5783)
Sundays 9:30 am – 12:00 noon
GAN
KINDERGARTEN
The theme for our Kindergarteners this year is “Celebrations”. Students will celebrate the birthday of the world on Rosh HaShanah, freedom on Hanukkah and Passover, and the beauty of God’s world on Shabbat. How we celebrate as Jews with ritual items and blessings will be highlighted throughout the year. The featured mitzvah for Gan is Kindness to Animals. Students will begin learning Hebrew in our Hebrew Through Movement Program and other specialists include art, music, library, and weekly T’filah (prayer).
KITAH ALEPH
1ST GRADE
1st Graders will experience the joy of doing Mitzvot (Commandments). They will get to observe the holiday commandments of hearing the shofar, shaking the lulav and Etrog, lighting the Hanukiah, and retelling the Passover story. The featured mitzvah is Bikkur Cholim, Visiting the Sick. 1st Graders will participate in our Hebrew Through Movement Program, and other specialists include art, music, library, and weekly T’filah (prayer).
KITAH BET
2ND GRADE
2nd Graders will be diving deeply into two Judaic topics. First, they will explore the story of Creation and Shabbat, why and how we take time to rest and refresh each week. Second semester students will explore the story of the Exodus and Passover, creating their own creative class Haggadah. The featured mitzvah is Hachnasat Orchim, Welcoming Guests. 2nd graders will participate in our Hebrew Through Movement Program, and other specialists include art, music, library, and weekly T’filah (prayer).
KITAH GIMEL
3RD GRADE
3rd Graders will be diving deeply into an exploration of God; what does Judaism teach us and what do we individually believe? Students will explore God through Torah stories, prayers and blessings, and our sacred spaces where we encounter God. The featured mitzvah is Kibud Z’kaynim, Honoring the Elderly. 3rd graders will also participate in our Hebrew Through Movement Program, and other specialists include art, music, library, and weekly T’filah (prayer).
KITAH DALET
4TH GRADE
4th Graders will be participating in our Project Based Learning Initiative. In addition to weekly community building, Hebrew Through Movement and T’filah (prayer), students will spend one semester developing a project on the Jewish Life Cycle and another semester on Israel. By diving deeply into a project of their choice, we will guide students to achieve a high-quality experience that deepens their understanding of Jewish life. The featured mitzvah for Kitah Dalet is Bal Tashchit, Not Destroying the Earth.
KITAH HAY
5TH GRADE
5th Graders will be participating in our Project Based Learning Initiative. In addition to weekly community building, Hebrew Through Movement and T’filah (prayer), students will spend one semester developing a project on the Jewish Life Cycle and another semester on Torah. By diving deeply into a project of their choice, we will guide students to achieve a high-quality experience that deepens their understanding of Jewish life. The featured mitzvah in Kitah Hay is Ha-achalat R’evim, Feeding the Hungry.
In addition to Masa, 5th graders will also participate in B’nai Mitzvah Workshop on either Sundays or Wednesdays to develop their Hebrew and prayer reading skills.
KITAH VAV
6TH GRADE
6th Graders will spend first semester exploring names in Jewish tradition and seek to answer how they can earn for themselves a good name. Second semester they will dig deep into some Bible stories and create lessons on them that they can teach to younger Masa students. The featured mitzvah in Kitah Vav is Lo Titayn Michshol, Not Placing a Stumbling Block. 6th Graders will continue learning Hebrew in our Hebrew Through Movement Program and participating in weekly T’filah (prayer).
In addition to Masa, 14 months before their ceremony, students will also be assigned a tutor to continue their Hebrew studies and proceed in our B’nai Mitzvah Program.
Sundays 10:30 am – 12:00 noon
We begin with breakfast and social time at 10:30 and classes meet 11:00 – 12:00
KITAH ZAYIN
7th Grade
Our 7th Grade students will spend the year exploring the meaning of becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah by learning about and doing Mitzvot (commandments). We will learn about a variety of Mitzvot such as Caring for the Earth, Honoring the Elderly, and Feeding the Hungry. A highlight of the program will be field trips when we go out into the community and perform those Mitzvot ourselves.
KITAH CHET
8th Grade
Our 8th Grade students will spend the first half of their year learning about the Holocaust through a Jewish lens. Our approach will be to study the historical development of the Holocaust, so students can make the connection between history and the moral choices they confront in their own lives. Following this unit, students will have the opportunity to choose among several shorter elective classes.
Masa Teens 9th – 12th Grades
Sundays 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Classes meet from 11:30 – 12:30 and students end their day with lunch and social time
All our high school students will be taking part in units on Comparative Judaism and Comparative Religions this year. These units will be designed to help our teens understand who they are as Reform Jews in relation with other Jewish movements and with other religions. Our goal is to help our students feel pride in who they are with a deep respect for the beliefs of others.
Following these units, students will have the opportunity to choose among several shorter elective classes.
In the Spring, 10th Grade students will have the opportunity to meet with the Rabbis and Educator to prepare for the Confirmation ceremony on April 28th.
12th Grade students will also meet with the Rabbis and Educator to prepare for the Graduation ceremony on May 5th.
