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JEWISH LIFE AT RASHI

Rashi students learn in an atmosphere that infuses each of them with an appreciation for and love of a life informed by Jewish values. Our affiliation with the Reform Movement informs our practice, thought processes and celebrations.
We are dedicated to helping our students, staff and families – who represent a wide range of observance and affiliation – find meaningful individual practices within our community.
Rashi welcomes children of interfaith families.


Jewish Identity Prayer and Holidays Israel Social Justice

Jewish Identity

Rashi students become proud and knowledgeable Jews with strong Jewish identities.

Through formal and informal learning experiences, including family education opportunities, observance of holidays and regular prayer, our students are guided to an understanding of, and appreciation for, the richness of Jewish life.

There is no right way to observe Judaism at Rashi. We believe that understanding Jewish practices and observances will help families chart a spiritual path that has integrity and meaning for them. We share with students different customs, laws and understandings of Jewish culture and observance. How a family practices is a personal decision, aside from our communal observances. 

We welcome and embrace interfaith families. In accordance with the Reform movement, we do not distinguish between children of Jewish and non-Jewish mothers. We encourage families to use the resources of interfaithfamily.com and urj.org.

Prayer and Holidays

Tefillot (prayers) and holiday celebrations are based on the liturgy of the Reform movement.

We encourage our students to explore and to cultivate their own spirituality through questioning, thinking and re-thinking. Encouraging discussion has been the standard for the Jewish people for centuries and a hallmark of the Reform Movement!

"Graduates of the Rashi School emerge with a profound knowledge of Judaism, a level of Jewish self-assurance, and a commitment to Israel and the Jewish people that would have been very difficult to achieve in any other educational setting."

– Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President
Union for Reform Judaism

Tefillot helps ground students in the Jewish tradition and enhances children’s spirituality. Through the understanding of prayer and its intention, students achieve a sense of self-worth, love for themselves and for each other.

Students participate in minyan (morning weekday prayer) twice a week, once in a communal setting and once either in the classroom (for younger students) or with options for meditation, writing response to prayer, or singing for older students. The entire Rashi community, including many parents, ends the week with a joyful Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday afternoon of song, storytelling and the sharing of special events.

Holiday celebrations are integrated into the life of the school in a way that is educational and experiential – students make shofarot and charoset, and march around the school with lulav and etrog.

Israel

Jewish life at Rashi includes instilling in students a deep love for Israel and an ease with writing and speaking modern Hebrew.

Particular emphasis is devoted to fostering strong personal connections between Rashi students and their peers at the Leo Baeck School in Haifa. Our students learn about Israeli culture and history, and culminate their Rashi educational experience with a wonderful trip to the Jewish homeland, during which our eighth graders travel for two weeks with the Leo Baeck students. The Israeli students then join us for a week in Boston, after which we are no longer two separate groups but one contingent of young Jews exploring spirituality and modern life in a Jewish context.

Social Justice

Central to our teaching is the Jewish mandate of tikkun olam, the repair of the world. Rashi’s commitment to social justice, drawn from our Reform Jewish tradition, is part of our core identity as a community.

Text study, the introduction of individuals and organizations involved actively in social justice work, the ongoing link between classroom curricula and Jewish values and mitzvot, and hands-on opportunities in the greater community allow each student to develop his or her unique sense of purpose and direction for lifelong contributions to improving the world.

Social Justice at Rashi is evident in four spheres:

School Curriculum

Social Justice is integrated into the curriculum at all grade levels.

Schoolwide projects

  • Tamchui Purim Philanthropy: During this two-week project, students choose which of several local and international charities will benefit from their donations.
  • Civil Rights: Students at each grade level engage in a level-appropriate study of the Civil Rights Movement in conjunction with the observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January.

Student-initiated mitzvah projects

As individuals or in small or large groups, Rashi students meet during lunch and recess time on projects they select or create to help repair the world.

Community Connections

  • Mitzvah Makers: Rashi students volunteer to spend time on a regular basis with residents of Hebrew SeniorLife residents. Click here for 2011-12 Mitzvah Makers Schedule.
  • Literacy Project: Rashi Middle School students are paired with students at a local public school in Dedham, serving as reading buddies and mentors in this project created by the Jewish Community Relations Council.
  • Partnerships with community organizations, including Family Table, Cradles to Crayons, Franciscan Children’s Hospital, Birthday Angels, Kibbutz Lotan and Connect Africa: Rashi students collect food, toys, and other needed goods to assist the less fortunate.

Connecting social justice to real needs in the real world, we teach our students to have empathy for others, to be effective agents of change, and to carry those lessons into their life after Rashi. By engaging in social justice, Rashi students are empowered to make a difference in the world.

For more information about Jewish Life at Rashi, please contact Rabbi Ellen Pildis at epildis@rashi.org.