Chabad of Suffern Puts Focus on Fun

RAMAPO, NY — In front of an excited group of 22 elementary school children, Rabbi Moshe Grossbaum theatrically revealed a Texas longhorn’s horn from a slender cardboard box.

He then pulled out a deer horn, a long spiralling ram horn, an antelope horn and other big and very small horns during a lesson on what a shofar can and cannot be made of.

In an effort to counter the traditional belief that nobody actually enjoys Hebrew school, Rabbi Shmuel Gancz and his wife, Devorah, sought to put a twist on the traditional model with the Chabad of Suffern’s newly created Hebrew school.

“For too many kids growing up in America, Hebrew school is their only Jewish experience,” Shmuel Gancz said.

Because of that, he said, what a waste it would be if that one religious experience was negative.

To celebrate Rosh Hashana – the Jewish new year, which began last night – instead of lectures or worksheets, the Chabad last week brought Grossbaum and his traveling “Shofar Factory” to Viola Elementary School.

The children got to try blowing the shofar, a hollowed out ram’s horn traditionally used to usher in the new year, then Grossbaum demonstrated the various sounds blown into the instrument.

Afterward, the children got a chance to make and keep their own shofars. The kids sanded down goat’s horns and Grossbaum and Gancz cut and hollowed out holes into the new instruments.

Within minutes, the odd smell of goat-horn dust and the sound of students testing out their shofars filled the room.

The Ganczes said they planned to provide much more interactive programming over the year.

For Passover, there will be matzo-making; for Sukkot, the children will travel around in a stretch Hummer, visiting neighborhood sukkahs, which are temporary huts built for the holiday.

“Our real goal is to make it hands-on. We don’t use worksheets,” Devorah Gancz said. “We don’t believe that we should be sitting behind desks and make it more active.”

In endeavoring to make Hebrew school fun, the Ganczes – a young couple who recently moved to the area and started the Chabad – said they hoped to spark an interest with some local Jews to get more involved in the religion.

“Anything to do with Judaism, you get involved,” Shmuel Gancz said. “Kids are going to get to experience the different holidays, shown the fun of it, shown the excitement.”

The school also uses Aleph Champ, a popular program that works like the belt system in martial arts, leveling up children for passing Hebrew reading tests.

Hebrew school days for second- through fifth-grade students are held after school twice a week at Viola Elementary.

“The parents and children are very happy that they don’t have to wake up Sunday morning to go to Hebrew school; it’s another reason to hate Hebrew school,” Devorah Gancz said.

In the first few weeks of school, the Ganczes’ efforts seemed to be paying off.

“He loves it, not a peep,” Talia Lipton, 37, of Montebello said about her 8-year-old son, Ben. “When I tell him, ‘You have Hebrew school today,’ he says, ‘Oh, good.’ And as a parents, that’s great that you don’t have to battle.”

As his mother spoke, Ben Lipton, wearing his Aleph Champ orange-level necklace, was busy sanding down his shofar.

“I like that we do all these fun projects,” he said, “and we’re able to take them home.”