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New Name and Expanded Mission for TI's Religious School.........posted Jul 2, 2009

Officially, the school is now known as Rimonim Center for Learning, a name change that reflects the school’s new collaboration with Congregation Shaare Tefila.

The one-year collaboration of the two religious schools was finalized in mid-June with the signing of a formal memorandum of understanding by TI President Sam Freedenberg and the leadership of Shaare Tefila, also a Conservative congregation that’s relocating to the area.

The agreement also enables the two synagogues’ youth groups, Machar, Kadima and USY, to merge operations for the next year.

Lay leadership see the collaborations injecting new vitality into the education and social venues. “It’s a win-win for both of us,” said Jonathan Solomon, co-chair of the TI Religious School committee.

The joint arrangement will allow Congregation Shaare Tefila to offer quality programs to its membership while in the midst of building a new synagogue on Georgia Avenue, just south of Olney. The arrangement can be extended by mutual agreement of the two synagogues by Jan. 15.

While small changes in religious school activities will be completed during the summer, the joint program is, for the most part, already in place. Shaare Tefila’s students and two of their most talented teachers will join Tikvat Israel’s faculty and students to form a vibrant and active program come September.

Tamar Weinsweig, who recently completed her first year running the TI religious school, will serve as director of the expanded school, which will offer separate classes in all levels through 10th grade with the possible exception of a multi-grade class for kindergarten and 1st-grade pupils.

The curriculum will continue to include music and art instruction, and a resource teacher will address children with special learning needs.

Instructional time is being expanded for many grade levels as Sunday hours will increase from 2 to 2½ hours.

Additionally, students in 10th through 12th grades are being offered a creative program that accommodates their busy lives as high schoolers. The new program will involve eight weekend get-togethers over 2009-10 rather than weekly classes. The programs will explore and solidify Jewish values and life skills. The high schoolers will arrive on Friday evenings for a Shabbat dinner together, then sleep in the synagogue and spend Shabbat together through the end of Havdalah.

This program will be open to high school students from throughout the Washington region.

“To reflect this exciting venture, the religious school program will operate under a new name – the Rimonim Center for Learning,” said Solomon, explaining the Hebrew word “Rimonim” is the plural form of the word for pomegranate.

“The rimon is a beautiful fruit that is one of the seven species mentioned in the Torah. The rimon is said to have 613 seeds, representing the 613 mitzvot,” he added. “The seeds all come together to create a beautiful, sweet and fragrant fruit. In fact, the rimon starts as a flower and blossoms into a fruit.”

Registration is well underway for the fall. Information packets about the Rimonim Center for Learning are available by contacting Weinsweig at 301-424-4396 or Tamar@tikvatisrael.org.