Youth Education

Rodfei Zedek offers a unique "One Synagogue with Many Schools" approach to Jewish education.  We offer two distinct after-school religious programs:  the Family Institute for Jewish Living and Learning on our campus and the Moadon Kol Chadash on the north side.  Other Rodfei families send their children to the Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School.  We provide a Family Minyan for school-age children and Minyan Katan for pre-schoolers and their families.

Religious School • Family Institute

Rodfei Zedek's Family Institute for Jewish Living and Learning is a partnership formed by the family, the child, and the community.  We believe that Judaism is an ongoing search for meaning and that this search starts in childhood and continues as life-long learning.  We believe that the family and the synagogue can work together to nourish developing Jewish identities and that the best way to convey the joy and beauty of being Jewish is to provide new and creative ways for children to explore Judaism at each stage of their development.

Early Childhood Jewish Education • Infants-Second Grade 

Early Childhood Jewish Education at Congregation Rodfei Zedek is offered through the Jewish Enrichment Center, a new Jewish program for after-school and Sunday enrichment in Hyde Park.  The Jewish Enrichment Center holds sessions on Sunday mornings, Monday and Tuesday afternoons.  The Center partners with children in long-term, project-based Jewish exploration in a warm, Hebrew- and text-rich environment.

Moadon Kol Chadash

The Moadon Kol Chadash offers north-side families a Jewish education center affiliated with Congregation Rodfei Zedek.  This unique, informal center for Jewish learning serves students ages 18 months through high school through the Gan Gani (preschool) and Moadon (after-school) programs.  Moadon Kol Chadash emphasizes hands‑on learning through Hebrew language and Jewish and Israeli culture.

Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School

We share our campus with Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School, which purchased a portion of the Rodfei Zedek property when we reconfigured and rebuilt.  Akiba has a superb pre‑school, which we encourage our families to consider, as well as a fine K‑8 day school program.

Together

Children from the Family Institute, Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School, and Moadon Kol Chadash come together for Family Services, through which they perfect their knowledge and proficiency at prayer and Torah reading, and learn about synagogue leadership and the meaning of religious observances.  The three schools also come together for Shabbat and Festival meals at the synagogue, and each school has a series of communal meals and gatherings to foster a chavurah-like atmosphere among its own constituency.  This results in groups that are close to one another and find extended family in all of Rodfei Zedek.

In November there is a Bar/Bat Mitzvah Planning Meeting for the families of 5th‑grade students.