Summer Kids Midrash Combines Learning With Fun

Ohel Yaakob (the Lawrence Avenue shul) in Deal, New Jersey was the place to be for hundreds of community boys and girls this past summer. The after-camp learning program, for kids from preschool to junior high, ran staggered programs, for girls from 6 to 7pm and for boys from 7 to 8:30pm four days a week. The girls learned tefilah (prayers), parasha (weekly Torah portion) and being thankful to Hashem, in a fun-filled and entertaining program. The boys began by praying minha (afternoon prayers) and arbit (evening prayers) with a minyan (quorum of 10 men) and went on to learn Mishna, Gemara, halacha (Jewish law), parasha and taamim (intonations).

The program was headed by Rabbi Mordechai Sultan, and staffed by community rabbis and teachers, including Rabbi Joseph Bijou, Rabbi Max Sutton, Rabbi Moshe Haber and Rabbi Yanai, among others. The highly popular program didn’t even take a break for Tisha B’Av (a special video presentation in the spirit of the day was aired in lieu of the regular classes). Overall, the well-attended program was a testament to the ability of program directors to enable the children to learn in a fun and exciting way.

The program, which was capped off with a grand siyum (completion celebration) and a late-night trip to a Lakewood Blue Claws baseball game, has already run for several years with increasing enrollment each season. Next year’s program has been predicted to be even larger and full of new surprises.

Reprinted with permission of Community Magazine, the most widely circulated Sephardic monthly in the world.