Jewish Practices

Temple Beth Ami Nursery School enjoys sharing our Jewish heritage and traditions with our families. Early exposure to our special customs lays the groundwork for developing a Jewish identity. In early childhood, Jewish experiences basically revolve around the holidays, as we share each holiday’s stories and morals, songs, foods, and rituals. In addition, we recite prayers before we eat, at both snack and lunch time. We also share the Hebrew language with our children by introducing them to everyday words (such as water and milk, body parts, and numbers); we want children to understand that there is a language other than English that Jewish people use and that it is a modern language that they can use.

Shabbat is celebrated each Friday morning in school. Most Fridays, classes celebrate in their individual classrooms. Once per year, each family is invited in to the classroom for their child’s special Shabbat. Once per month, we host our “Community Ta’am Shel Shabbat” (Taste of Shabbat) in the Sanctuary, and parents are welcome to join us; on these days, families enter the Temple through the Main Entrance and are greeted by teachers in the lobby.

Temple Beth Ami does not celebrate non-Jewish holidays with origins in other religions, including Halloween, Christmas, St. Valentine’s Day, or Easter. TBANS does celebrate uniquely American holidays, particularly Thanksgiving.