Crossing the River

CTR Calendar
Adventure Sunday Calendar	CTR Handbook (incl. B'nei Mitzvah info)
CTR Release Form

Crossing the River (CTR) is our 2-year pre-B’nai Mitzvah (6th and 7th grade) preparatory class. This program is a culmination of everything your child has learned in Living a Jewish Life and Hebrew Chavurot. The basic understanding achieved in these earlier programs set the foundation for upon which the teacher builds when teaching Crossing the River.

In order to become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah in the Nevei Kodesh community your child must complete 3 years of Jewish education including the two year Crossing the River program.

In the first year (6th grade), students study Jewish stories, life cycle rituals, and ethics.  They grapple with Jewish concepts in relationship to contemporary dilemmas with an emphasis on the precepts of ben adam l’chavaro – the ethics of relating to others and to one’s community. This program includes a mitzvah (community service) project, which is done by the class as a whole.

In the second year (7th grade) students deepen their Jewish identity as they study Torah, searching for Torah’s contemporary meaning and relevancy to today’s world. They will learn the art of drash, a form of debate and sacred controversy which is fundamental to Jewish being; how do we consider and respect the many gleaming facets of an idea – even when they are in seeming contradiction to one another?

Adventure Sunday is a part of the first and second year CTR program for all students. On Adventure Sunday students are encouraged to seek deeper understanding of themselves and their community as they face physical challenges together. Meeting once monthly, it provides students opportunities for growing close as a group, developing peer bonds as they explore issues of their own leadership and personal depth. Ropes courses, rock climbing, and orienteering are some of the activities of this unique program. This is an opportunity for students to get to know his or her peers outside of the classroom and develop a community that will support him or her through the next steps into Jewish adulthood. Adventure Sunday is led by the very talented Craig Dobkin, who has worked with Beit Sefer Chadash for many years.

Once a month, during the student's class, a parent class is held. These are lectures/discussions by different experts in town, including Rabbi Tirzah.

Each year, we have a “Dinner with the Rabbi”. This year we are also adding Shabbat services to our curriculum. Students will attend a Shabbat services with his/her class and help lead part of the service. There will be a community potluck dinner before hand in honor of your children.

For more information contact Sarah Pew at (303) 449 0873 or email her at sarah@neveikodesh.org