Students at Tribeca Hebrew learn while having fun

In December, students at the after-school program Tribeca Hebrew made menorahs out of washers and colored plastic pieces, played "dreidel, dreidel, dreidel," and learned about the Hanukah hero Judah the Maccabee. Along with getting to cook tasty latkes and take home chocolate gelt, the holiday is special for these children because it is the first time they are celebrating it in their own school, which opened in the fall.

On a Monday afternoon in December, the four and five year olds are cross-legged on the carpeted floor, singing tunes led by Basya Schecter, Tribeca Hebrew's musical director. "Aynaim, shatayim, yadayim" the group calls out in Hebrew while pointing to the corresponding parts of their bodies (eyes, teeth, hands). Soon after, they sing a rendition of the classic children's song about dreidels, substituting a variety of words for "clay" in the line that describes what the spinning toys are made of. "Stickers," "fur," and "metal" each draw laughter, but the all-time giggle getter is "snot."

Schecter, who also performs music drawing from her religious Jewish background with her band, Pharaoh's Daughter, says that songs are a great way to learn new concepts, like the Hebrew alphabet, since it is easier to repeat them in musical form. Plus, she says, "So much of [Jewish] prayer is connected to melody. And the [Torah] stories are told in melodic rhythms."

Asa plays with the dreidel to celebrate Hanukah

It's a fitting question, because in addition to singing songs and playing games, Tribeca Hebrew students also get reinforcement about having good manners - like being respectful when someone else is speaking and sitting nicely in their chairs - and learn about the Jewish concepts of tzedekah (charity)   and mitzvot (good deeds). In coming months, they will channel the lessons learned into bettering their community though planting trees, cleaning up local gardens, collecting money for charity, and delivering food to the needy. 

The school's name encapsulates the guiding principle upon which it was founded: to help children connect with their Jewish heritage and with their neighborhood. "We want kids to have a positive Jewish identity, and an identity that connects to a core part of who they are -- they live in Tribeca and they are Jewish," says Michael Dorf, founder of Tribeca Hebrew. "We wanted our kids to feel proud of two aspects of their identity." The school, he says, is not affiliated with any particular Jewish movement or synagogue, but rather "an organic manifestation" of the local community.

Tribeca Hebrew got its start with the parents of eight Tribeca families deciding to impart to their children the positive Jewish education that many themselves were denied, Dorf says. Last year, they rented a space at Park Street Pre-School to hold the after-school Hebrew program, but in doing so they realized that both the children and parents needed their own learning and community center. In September, Tribeca Hebrew, located at the corner of Jay and Hudson Streets, opened with an enrollment of 50 students, from kindergarten through fourth grade, most of whom attend P.S. 234 earlier in the day. Dorf expects the enrollment to double by next year.

Sarra Alpert and her students play online Hanukah games

But the fun of learning about Judaism isn't just for the kids - parents, too, get to participate in some of the programs offered at the center, such as Klezmer brunches and Shabbat dinners. And one adult-only program, Kabbalah & Wine, involves a weekly session of wine tasting mixed with lessons in the ancient mystical teachings.

"There's a huge Jewish community [in Tribeca] that's untapped and not harvested," Dorf says.

And thanks to Tribeca Hebrew, local Jewish adults and children now have a place where they can feel a sense of cultural and communal belonging while also having a good time.

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