Welcome to the Ansin Religious School of Temple Ohabei Shalom!
What We’re All About:
Our ARS teaching team are facilitators, helping students and families find their own unique path to Jewish life. There’s no one-size-fits all in Judaism; each of us is an individual, yet made in God’s image (b’tzelem Elohim), and each of us has to find the ways in which Judaism can be inspirational. Rooted in ancient wisdom, we find relevance for our current times. Our teachers and staff are guides for families along this path. By the end of their time at ARS, students will be able to actively participate in Reform worship services while finding meaning in the prayer; be familiar with Jewish holidays and values; have an understanding of the arc of Jewish history through the Torah and beyond; and most of all, find relevance in the Jewish story to their own stories.
What You Need To Know
-ARS is a one-day-a-week religious school program, meeting on Tuesday afternoons from 3:15-5:45 pm
-First day is September 13, 2022, and last day is May 16, 2023. Full calendar is here.
-8th grade registration is here; the full 8th grade calendar is here
-Click here for tuition information
-Click here to register for ARS Walking, our supervised walk from Pierce, Lawrence, and FRR Schools
-Our COVID Policies and Procedures can be found here
-Click here for our policies and procedures; click here for our full parent handbook
-If you have questions about ARS, contact Amy Deutsch, ARS Director, or call 617-739-9200.
-If you have questions about ARS registration, contact Cassie Dezii, Membership & Engagement Coordinator or call 617-739-9200.
-Information about the 2021-2022 year of Team Chaverim, our extra enrichment class for grades K-3 on Thursday afternoons, can be found here
ARS 2022 - 2023
As we plan for fall 2022, we are planning that all of our programs will be back in the building; but as we've learned throughout this pandemic, flexibility is key. We will continue to update you as we move forward. No matter what, we are assuming that we are always sanitizing hands, we are a mask-preferred community, keeping 3 feet of distance (more when possible), and keeping our HVAC at a high standard of excellence.
Our theme for ARS 2022-2023 is B’tzelem Elohim - Created to be Sacred.
One of the very first lines of the Torah explains that each human is created b’tzelem elohim, in God’s image. If we are each created in God’s image, we are each equally worthy of respect, kindness, and inclusion. As God’s creations, we are each holy, special, and sacred. We each have value. We each have something to teach, to learn, and to share. We each have endless potential. And because we are all from the same Source, we all share something holy, and it is our sacred task to take care of that holiness in ourselves and others. When we come together as a kehillah kedosha, a holy community, the capacity for change, growth, and friendship is boundless.
A note--talking about God can be intimidating, confusing, and off-putting. The understandings of God that many of us have are influenced by the society in which we live, and sometimes involve that “old man in the sky” theory. That’s not the kind of God that we are talking about at ARS. Judaism offers a multiplicity of ways to understand God, and we want to offer that multiplicity to our students, in the hope that each individual will find their own connection to what is greater than us.
How do we do it?
Through three ancient values as written in Pirkei Avot, the words of our sages: on three things the world stands: Torah, Avodah, and G’milut Hasadim. What are these three things at ARS?
Torah is more than simply the bible stories we pass down from generation to generation. It’s the learning and the teaching we do in our classrooms. It’s the history we live when we learn about the Jewish stories of our own families. And it’s our commitment to our own stories—from baby namings to preschool to kindergarten Consecration to ARS learning to b’nei mitzvah to high school exploration and Confirmation and beyond.
Avodah may literally mean work, but it’s work in the service of something greater. Work for others—whether volunteering in our own community and being a teacher’s helper, or our synagogue-wide commitment to plant trees in Boston. And also service in terms of prayer: holy service. Learning the components of the Shabbat service, feeling a sense of mastery and understanding of prayer, and being able to lead the ARS community in prayer.
G’milut Hasadim, acts of loving kindness, are a crucial component of being a holy community. The way in which we treat each other—with kind words, with kavod (respect), with caring—we are enacting the world in the way we want it to be. G’milut Hasadim starts at a student-student level and builds to a whole class, to the whole school, and to the greater TOS community. It also includes the things we do for each other because we’re all in this together, whether it’s calling a friend who’s been sick and home from school, going to every b’nei mitzvah for the students in your grade, or making a shiva call—we enact holiness when we create community through g’milut hasadim.
B'nei Mitzvah
In the years preceding your child's b'nei mitzvah, families participate in The B'nei Mitzvah Experience, an innovative family education program that prepares the whole family for this momentous occasion. Families gather a few times a year to build community, learn together, and begin to plan for this beautiful lifecycle moment.
Our historic sanctuary as a backdrop adds just the right amount of tradition to innovative and inspiring B'nei Mitzvah services. With full caterer's kitchens and banquet halls, our Event Coordinator is ready to help you plan your family's special day.
TOS Teens : Our High School Program
In grades 8-12, we have a variety of different offerings through our TOS Teens program, prioritizing relationships first, building a joyful, caring and meaningful community of learning and growth. Our program is flexible, intended to allow teens to opt in and out of programs as they choose. Options for 2022-2023 include:
-Class with Jen Whitman for 8th graders: The Good Place and Jewish Ethics (register HERE)
-Class with Rabbi Jenn Queen for 9-12 graders (Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Being Jewish)
-The Tent at Temple Israel (we partner with this weekly community high school program for 8-12 graders)
-Madrichim (Teen assistant teachers in ARS on Tuesday afternoons; for 8-12 graders)
