Jan 8, 2016
Educators and Rabbis Experience the Magic of “Shababa” and Its Power to Engage the Jewish Community
Driven by rhythmic drumbeats, joyous songs, personalized puppets and memorable learning opportunities, an imaginative new Jewish education program, known as Shababa has arrived in Miami, supported by a grant to the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE) – a subsidiary agency of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation – by the Robert Russell Memorial Foundation. In partnership with Federation’s PJ Library, a Shababa family concert and experience will take place on Sunday, March 6 in North Dade.
Shababa is an immensely popular Jewish family life and learning initiative founded at New York’s 92nd Street Y in 2007. It combines Jewish tradition with the dynamics of modern Jewish families, allowing children to grow in an environment that is artful, celebratory, creative and intergenerational. In Miami, Federation, CAJE and PJ Library work together year-round to support formal and informal Jewish educational experiences for children, teens, adults and educators.
The Shababa experience will debut in Miami on Sunday, March 6 during a special concert, beginning at 3 p.m., at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center on the Sanford L. Ziff Campus in North Miami Beach. Children and families are invited to share the magic of Shababa during an interactive show that combines music, puppets, play and soul. PJ Library is a gift from the Greater Miami Jewish Federation made possible by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the Blank Family Foundation. It provides children ages 6 months through 11 years old with a free monthly book to promote Jewish literacy, create moments for Jewish family engagement, and bring Jewish life and learning into the homes of families with young children.
Sixteen participants from Jewish early childhood education centers, synagogues, and day schools in Miami traveled to New York in January for a Shababa National Summit and discovered why this exciting approach to Jewish outreach is attracting the interest of so many families across the country. Participants included educators affiliated with Lehrman Community Day School, Temple Beth Sholom, Temple Judea, The Gordon Schools of Beth David Congregation and Cuban-Hebrew Congregation’s Montessori School. In addition, professionals from CAJE and PJ Library joined the cohort to learn how to bring Shababa to Miami.
The Summit provided many new ideas about connecting with multi-generational audiences and creating unique Shababa experiences back home. Each institution received its own sloth puppet named “Todah” (Thank You in Hebrew), a centerpiece of the Shababa program that creates opportunities for new innovative types of engagement.
What began as a pre-Shabbat sing-along has transformed into weekly events that attract hundreds of children and their families. The celebratory spirit of Shababa is supplemented with educational content sewn seamlessly into the fabric of the presentation.
“Shababa is energetic, renewing, inspirational, constructive, inclusive and transformational,” said Marcela Fridman and Tonya Pacanins, lead teachers at The Gordon Schools of Beth David Early Childhood Center who participated in the recent Shababa Summit. “Through music, dance, activities, arts and crafts, puppetry and other tools, we learned amazing strategies to connect children, parents, grandparents and other caregivers, so the spark and love of being Jewish are ignited and can shine even brighter.”
For reservations and more information about the March 6 Shababa concert and family extravaganza, click here or contact PJ Library Director Joy Prevor at [email protected] or 786.866.8572.
For more information about CAJE and its programs, visit CAJE-Miami.org or call 305.576.4030.
