Dear Temple Emanu-El Families,
My name is Mya Bodnick, and I’m excited to be joining the Temple Emanu-El team as the first Lifelong Learning Educator. As we approach the beginning of our school year, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to create a Jewish community where everyone feels that they truly belong.
As our children enter Religious School each week, I hope we can think beyond what they are learning in their classrooms. Of course, we want our children to learn about holidays, traditions, history, and to read Hebrew. But we also want them to discover something even more important: that Judaism has a place for them, and that they have a place in Judaism. Sukkot offers us a beautiful model for this. One of the traditions of Sukkot is ushpizin, welcoming guests into our sukkah. At Temple Emanu-El, we are striving to take that idea one step further through “radical welcoming”—creating a community where every child and every family is welcomed, valued, and able to show up as their authentic selves.
As parents, you can help make that possible. Ask your child what they did in religious school—not just what they learned. Ask who they sat with, what made them laugh, what surprised them, or what they are looking forward to next week. Encourage their questions, even when there might not be easy answers. And most importantly, remind them that they belong here.
My hope for this year is that Religious School is not simply a place our children go each week, but a place where they feel known, welcomed, and part of something bigger than themselves. I want them to develop a sense of pride in being Jewish and an understanding that they have a role to play in shaping the future of our Jewish community. Our community needs their joy, their curiosity, their questions, and their commitment more than ever.
Just as we open the walls of our sukkah to welcome others, my hope is we continue opening the doors of our community to every child and family who walks through them.
Chag Sukkot Sameach!
Mya Bodnick
Lifelong Learning Educator
