Kol Hadash

Sunday School Weekly Schedule Our Youth Education is all on Sunday mornings. Our weekly class schedule is: —Kindergarten/1st grade class is 9:30-11:30 a.m. —2nd/3rd grade class is 9:30-11:30 a.m. —4th/5th grade class is 9:30-11:30 a.m. —6th/7th/8th grade class is 9:30-11:00 a.m. —9th/10th grade Confirmation class is 9:30-11:30 a.m. —6th grade Hebrew class is 11:10 a.m.-12:00 p.m. —7th grade Mitzvah class is 11:10 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Monthly, we have: —Preschool Jewish Discovery class for 2-6 year olds with a grown-up at 10:30-11:30 a.m. (check calendar for dates) — free and open to everyone (members and non-members) —Youth Group meetings for 8th/9th/10th grade students (check calendar for details) Sunday School Try Out Are you thinking about how to expose your children to Jewish culture and identity? Your family is welcome to ‘try out’ our Sunday School by visiting their grade’s class for the day. Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation holds weekly Sunday School classes for students in Kindergarten through Confirmation. Each class has a well-defined curriculum, covering topics in Jewish history, literature and culture. We encourage children to value their Jewish identity and to think for themselves. Our whole school -- students, teachers, and families -- come together to celebrate Jewish holidays as well as for special programs on Jewish culture, community service activities and more. Please contact our Youth Education Director, Ilana Shaffer, at youthed@KolHadash.com or 773-209-8266 to schedule a Sunday School Try Out (with no expectation of a commitment) or with questions about our Youth Education.

Historically, religion and sexual expression have often been at odds; guilt, shame, restriction and denial have limited personal and relationship freedom for generations. How would a Humanistic Jewish approach to sexual identities and ethics be different? Together we will explore recent statements by the Association of Humanistic Rabbis to find out.

WE (Women Enjoying) meets each week at a different member's home to play and learn Canasta. No experience necessary! Questions? Contact Joyce Hirsch (we@KolHadash.com).

WE (Women Enjoying) meets each Tuesday at the Chicago Botanic Garden. We'll meet at the Gardens and walk the grounds together. Questions? Contact Joyce Hirsch (we@KolHadash.com). Weather permitting ... call Joyce Hirsch to confirm.

Are Humanistic Jews "believers"? Too often organized secularism has focused on criticizing religion and never gotten around to the next generation's question: "what do we do now?" Yet many of us find more meaning in living for our ideals rather than against our enemies.

For almost 2000 years, Jews considered themselves in exile, perpetual immigrants whose native land remained far away. Most American Jews are now multiple generations removed from the immigrant experience, yet many retain a sympathy for the “huddled masses” Jewish-American poet Emma Lazarus so memorably described. What balance do Jewish voices envision between having borders and welcoming the stranger?