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The Jerusalem stone on the outside of our renovated building is symbolic of the incredible changes taking place within. 

A center for change – classrooms in our Early Childhood Learning Center and Religious School are full of innovative ideas, creative activities, and engaging programs. Our faculty comes from a variety of backgrounds and with a wide range of teaching experience. From our youngest learners to our adult generations – University Synagogue has something unique to offer.

Welcome to our community – and our award-winning and compelling school programs. We encourage you to come in for a visit!

Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC)

Each of our classrooms has dedicated teachers and a curriculum specifically designed to meet our children's needs, encourage and stimulate their curiosity and fulfill their dreams.  We utilize an individualized educational program which encompasses a kindergarten readiness approach. Our early childhood program provides an environment full of fun, laughter, self-expression, creativity, music, art, and Jewish awareness. Our preschool drop-off program begins at 24 months and is for children ages 2-5 years old. The "Butterfly" Parent-Toddler Class is for children 15-24 months. Learn more, schedule a tour, and fill out an application for our Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC) here.

Religious School

Our children are capable of so much, and it is our job as educators, parents, and clergy to help them see that. It is our job to let them use their voices, which are capable of powerful messages. We must let them be silly with their bodies, which may be standing in front of crowds one day. We need to let them explore and show them how Jewish values can guide their explorations. Our Religious School program provides a path for students to learn Jewish values and experience unique programming from Kindergarten through High School ages. Students and families are able to learn together at the synagogue as well as on our off-site family learning days.

Bar & Bat Mitzvah (B'nei Mitzvah) Training

The joy and pride of watching your child become a bar or bat mitzvah at University Synagogue is hard to describe in words. Students say that the b’nei mitzvah experience at University Synagogue is both challenging and rewarding, and becomes a moment in their life they are so proud of! Parents describe the b’nei mitzvah program as one of the “most special things we do at University.”

Click for More About Our B'nei Mitzvah Program

Bar and bat mitzvah mean, literally, "son and daughter of the commandment." Bat mitzvah is Hebrew, while bar mitzvah, historically a much earlier ceremony, is Aramaic. The word bar is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew ben (son of). While bar and bat mitzvah are often used to refer to the ceremony, the terms also refer to the child. Thus, a boy if referred to as a "bar mitzvah" and a girl as a "bat mitzvah."

Historically, first bar mitzvah and later bat mitzvah represented a ceremonial recognition that a young person had reached the age when he or she was no longer a minor according to Jewish law and thereby took on new religious privileges and responsibilities of an adult. For boys, this age was 13, for girls, 12.

Learn More About B'nei Mitzvah Rituals & Traditions

Post B'nei Mitzvah through Confirmation

The religious education does not stop once we have had our B'nei Mitzvah service and celebration. In fact it continues throughout our lives and UniSyn provides a vibrant learning environment with our various programs for teens. Learn about all the ways our teen congregants come together and deeper connections to the Jewish community and UniSyn family.

Adult Education

Adult learning at University Synagogue recognizes the desire to learn and grow in order to develop both Jewish literacy and an appreciation of how Judaism affects all stages of life. University Synagogue’s adult education program provides accessible Jewish education to adults of all educational and religious backgrounds.

Within a congregation of our size, there may be adults who want to strengthen their Jewish education acquired as a child, refresh their awareness of Jewish texts and traditions, or acquire Jewish knowledge that was not available to them. Learn about the various ways you can engage your curiosity and grow your jewish understanding here. Explore the potential to have your adult B'nei Mitzvah, listen to speakers in our People of the Book series, enroll in out Intro to Judaism course, participate in our weekly Torah study with Rabbi Stanley Davids during Hevrah Torah, engage in the monthly Current Events class with Rabbi Morley Feinstein as well as many other classes taught by our clergy and arranged by our Sisterhood.

Wed, January 22 2020 25 Tevet 5780