Bringing Reggio Emilia to Pittsburgh
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Shevat–Iyar 5778 | February–April 2018 Issue No. 106 the connection also in this issue February is Jewish Disability Awareness Bringing and Inclusion Month rabbi henry, p. 9 Reggio Let All Who Are Hungry Come and Eat Emilia to rabbi bisno, p. 11 My URJ Biennial Pittsburgh member story, p. 6 p. 4 Check out our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/RodefShalomPgh Shevat–Iyar 5778 | February–April 2018 Contents issue no. 106 learning & practice We are a Reform Jewish congregation 3 Seder Like New dedicated to melding the traditions of women of rodef shalom our faith with contemporary life. Our 10 Audacious Hospitality congregation was chartered in 1856 and is one of five synagogues on the National 4 Bringing Reggio in Action Register of Historic Landmarks. We are Emilia to Pittsburgh member engagement a diverse congregation engaged in social family center issues, culture, and learning—made up 11 Let All Who Are Hungry of multigenerational, multicultural, and 6 My URJ Biennial Come and Eat interfaith families and individuals; our learning & practice rabbi bisno doors are open to everyone. 12 Simchas 7 Celebration of Learning member engagement Staff Phone Extensions j-jep 412.621.6566 Dan Nichols sustainability youth group Sherry Bell x137 14 Strengthening Martha Berg x131 8 Archival Connections Congregations Rabbi Bisno x123 president’s message Rachel Cohen x183 archives Yael Eads x130 Kate Kim x111 caring 16 Appreciating Character Carolyn Frischer x178 nominating commitee Rabbi Henry x126 9 Jewish Disability Dr. Jacob x125 Awareness and 17 Financial Taskforce Kristen Karsh x120 Inclusion Month executive director Marlena Keffer x112 rabbi henry Amy Langham x117 16 Contributions Mimsie Leyton x127 Liron Lipinsky x116 Michael McHugh x144 Don Megahan x190 Hope Nearhood x122 Rabbi Aaron B. Bisno Barry D. Weisband Rodef Shalom Congregation is a member of the Frances F. & David R. Levin Murray Klein Union for Reform Judaism. Helena Nichols x132 Senior Rabbinic Pulpit Executive Director Christine Ranasinghe x182 Rabbi Sharyn H. Henry Miriam Leyton Mayda Roth x140 Sidney & Shirley C. Rapport JoAnn Ruffing x110 Walter Jacob, DHL Family Center Director Rabbi Emeritus/Senior Dave Seskey x128 Scholar Liron Lipinsky Sam Siskind x179 J-JEP Religious School Director Barry Weisband x119 Don Megahan Lauren Wolcott x124 Music Director & Organist The bulletin of Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, is published bimonthly, six times The Gift Corner x115 annually. Periodical postage paid at Pittsburgh, Pa. Lippman Library x180 Postmaster: Send address changes to: Hakesher, 4905 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. USPS 537–660 Rodef Shalom Congregation Our mission: The mission of Rodef Shalom Congregation is to build and sustain a vibrant Reform Jewish community. We guide and support our members in living full Jewish lives throughout the life cycle, based on Torah (study), avodah (worship), and gemilut hasadim (acts of loving kindness). We strive to be a national and international leader in Jewish thought and practice. learning & practice Women’s Seder Seder Like New Monday, March 12 @ 6:30 p.m. Jan Shaw, Women of Rodef Shalom President How is this Seder different [email protected] from all other Seders? fter 21 years conducting a women’s Seder during 1. It’s not really a Seder. We won’t be stepping Passover, Women of Rodef Shalom (formerly called through the entire Haggadah. We’ll be Sisterhood) has decided to hold a program before picking highlights to talk about. We’ll have A readings and ideas that you may share at Passover to explore ideas and perspectives on the Seder. Our goal is to help all of us prepare for Passover by adding your own Seder. meaning through fresh perspectives. We will spend time 2. It’s no longer for women only. We are open at our program deconstructing the Seder and exploring to all. ways to add meaning. 3. We’re starting a new Passover spin on the Pittsburgh cookie table, asking for Whether or not you’re able to join us, why not challenge attendees to bring their favorite Passover yourself to introduce some new elements to your Seder cookie along with the recipe. this year? If you’re new to the Seder, this is for you. If you’ve dusted off your Haggadah every year • Perhaps you could try incorporating a variety of forever, this is for you, too. charoset recipes that reflect the wide range of Jewish communities in the diaspora. Gloria Kaufer Greene’s To make reservations, please go to http://www. New Jewish Holiday Cookbook offers Ashkenazic, rodefshalom.org/rsvp. Turkish, Moroccan, Israeli, and Yemenite style charoset recipes. • You might identify engaging readings to supplement Congregational your Haggadah. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism website has a collection of social justice Seder Haggadot and readings on topics ranging from a freedom Seder for the earth to a supplement on the Friday, March 30 modern plagues of conflict minerals. 6:30 p.m. ∙ Freehof Hall • Finally, you might just ask some new, provocative RSVP at questions. In 2006, writing in the Jewish Journal rodefshalom.org/rsvp about making Passover meaningful, Amy Klein asked, “What is your personal Egypt this year? What do you talk about at the Passover Seder when you consider freedom?” That same year, Rabbi Lee Bycel, of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California stated, “The Seder is a time of challenge and controversy. It’s a time that pushes us with questions. It’s not comfort and convenience and waiting for the meal.” Women of Rodef Shalom encourage you to make this year about discovering ourselves anew in the story we know so well. Issue No. 106 Shevat–Iyar 5778 | February–April 2018 HaK ESHEr the connection 3 learning & practice Bringing Reggio Emilia to Pittsburgh Mimsie Leyton, Family Center Director [email protected] ∧ (412) 621–6566 x127 n October, I had the incredible opportunity to go to Italy with educators from Pittsburgh Jewish Ipreschools. We headed to Reggio Emilia to learn about an approach to early childhood education that in recent years has inspired preschools all over the world. In 1991, Newsweek published an article naming the program in Reggio Emilia the best early childhood program in the world. Now thousands of educators from around the world visit the Malaguzzi Center, where I spent the better part of a week studying. In the last decade, Jewish preschools have embraced this approach to early childhood education as the fundamental aspects of Reggio align well with Jewish values. It is important to understand that Reggio is not a method, or step by step curriculum that can be Participation in the 2017 Reggio Seminar was made possible followed like a script. Rather, it is a philosophy that thanks The Bonim Beyachad—Building Together Jewish early childhood education initiative is a program supported by the encompasses the nature of children, teaching, and Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. learning. One cannot take an Italian model and simply drop it into an American preschool. The approach must be considered within the culture of each community and each school. We strive to be Reggio inspired. In the Reggio approach, children are highly valued (B’tselem Elohim) and believed to be strong, competent, and full of wonder and curiosity. They are driven to want to understand the world around them and and are therefore capable of constructing their own methods of learning through play and other hands-on learning experiences known as the hundred languages of children. The role of the teacher within the Reggio approach is complex. In addition to providing a safe and nurturing environment, educators are learning partners who listen carefully, observe, and document the children’s work. Their job is to provoke, co-construct, and stimulate children’s thinking and collaboration with their peers In Reggio schools the environment is considered the third teacher, designed to encourage exploration, 4 rodefshalom.org collaboration, and communication. In the schools I visited, classrooms were filled with natural light, open space and free of clutter. We Americans were horrified to learn that there are only two teachers for 26 young children (not legal in PA!), but saw for ourselves that the environment is so engaging that it serves as a third adult. In Italy, where aesthetics are highly valued, each school has studio space (an atelier, staffed by a trained studio artist, an atelierista), where children can experiment and create with many different types of media. Time is not set by a clock. Teachers get to know the personal rhythms and learning styles of each child because they remain together in three -year cycles. Project work is the backbone of the curriculum. Learning by doing is key; ideas originate in the Reggio In Action: experiences of children and teachers as they construct knowledge together. Projects can last A New Playground from a few days to several months and may be Plans for our new outdoor play space are underway. carried out individually or in small or large groups. Inspired by the Reggio approach to early childhood Photos, transcripts, and representations of the education, we’re no longer thinking of it as a children’s thinking are all used to document the traditional playground, but rather as an outdoor process of learning and make children aware that classroom! their efforts are valued. Building on the principle of the environment as the And, finally, parents are an essential component. third teacher, careful consideration is being given to They are not considered consumers, participation the organization and aesthetics of the space. Out is expected and they are encouraged to collaborate. with the stationary neon equipment and in with Multiple perspectives promote a sense of belonging natural materials to invite discovery, engagement, and create a community (Kehilah).