Congregation Har Tzeon-Agudath Achim revamped its building and surrounding area last fall, and its youth education program is no exception.

The traditional Silver Spring synagogue recently launched Shabbat School, a free Jewish educational experience on Saturday mornings for children ages 5 to 11. The first class session took place on Rosh Hashanah.

Sarit Cioban Spector, Shabbat School’s teacher, aims to teach students about the Jewish holidays, Jewish values, Jewish life and prayer and the foundations of Hebrew.

“This is a wonderful group of kids,” Cioban Spector said. “They’re very excited to learn … We’re building a foundation, working with different age groups and it’s very exciting to see [this program] come to fruition.”

Their parents are enthusiastic too. Many of them are active members of HTAA’s board education committee, said Rabbi Steven Suson.

“Some are in [Jewish] day school and some are in public school, but all of them want to make sure that their children have a meaningful experience at the synagogue on Shabbat morning,” he said.

The group, which ranges from five to a dozen students depending on the week, attends part of HTAA’s Shabbat morning services, plush Torah scrolls in tow.

“Sarit does a wonderful job of integrating the kids in the regular services and participating both with the adult services where appropriate and in their own programming,” Suson said. “Not only is it wonderful for the adults to see the kids participating, but also by osmosis and by participation, the children learn the order of the Torah service, the tunes that we use [and] the words to the prayers.”

This education is valuable because students will be prepared when it comes time to prepare for their b’nai mitzvah.

“It makes it easier for their participation in Jewish life in any synagogue anywhere in the world to be able to know how to lead a service, how to have an aliyah, how to properly hold and carry a Torah scroll — it is something that all of these kids are learning every single week,” Suson said.

The students come with varying amounts of Jewish education — most attend public schools, while some attend Jewish day schools and speak Hebrew at home.

“Sarit does a masterful job of making programs that are accessible to kids, no matter what their background is,” Suson said. “She has kids in there who speak Hebrew, and she has kids in there who can’t yet identify an Alef or a Bet.”

“My role as an educator is to present our way of Jewish life,” said Cioban Spector, who brings 17 years of experience and a master’s in teaching Hebrew.

The rabbi recently got to see Cioban Spector in action.

“Not only does she have a lot of experience in the classroom as a teacher and classroom management, she has incredibly creative methods, especially when it comes to teaching on the Sabbath, when certain activities are prohibited,” Suson said.

Because writing isn’t permitted on Shabbat, Cioban Spector uses Hebrew letter magnets instead of a marker to spell out words on a whiteboard.

Learning at Shabbat School isn’t confined to the classroom or sanctuary. Cioban Spector also takes the students to a new patio area, which houses a “huge, beautiful sukkah.”

“As part of our Yom Kippur program, we went outside, we looked at the sukkah, we explored how many walls [it has] and why,” she said.

The outdoor space is a spot for games, movement and story time too.

“It’s a hands-on, all-environment learning,” Cioban Spector said.

HTAA had a “very vibrant” youth education program pre-pandemic, according to Suson.

“Things changed a lot for us in those years,” the rabbi said, adding that the congregation lost a number of young families due to a lack of in-person programming.

Then, the shul underwent a construction project with renovations and changes to its facility, which limited HTAA’s programming.

“Now, we’re coming out of that with a newly renovated facility and building with new classroom space and library space and office space and appropriate programming areas, not to mention a beautiful new site and building … all kinds of things we’re [using to] reinvent ourselves, especially our youth program,” Suson said.

Children are welcome to join for a one-time Saturday class, but the Shabbat School curriculum is designed to be year-round.

“It’s an exciting program that we’re able to offer to the community this year as the pilot year for no cost,” Suson said. “People are welcome to come and experience it themselves on any given Shabbat morning [if they register online] … and admission is open and rolling.”

“We have created things that are Shabbat-friendly, [and] at the same time, really hands-on,” Cioban Spector said, adding that the kids made bonfires for Lag b’Omer.

“We allow this flexibility, and that’s the main idea: to bring them closer to Shabbat, to bring them closer to the shul, and work with what they’re interested in and their abilities,” she said.

To learn more about Shabbat School, visit htaa.org/shabbatschool or email info@htaa.org.

zbell@midatlanticmedia.com