Children's Services

FTJC welcomes families of all kinds into our community. Each Shabbat at 10:40am we hold age-appropriate children’s services that are warm, vibrant and accessible, whether you are new to Shabbat services or familiar with them. Come for singing, grape juice, and challah. All are welcome!

Zera’im / זרעים / Seeds (Ages 0 – 3)

Seeds of Shabbat – monthly gatherings for children 0-3 and their grown-ups: Join us for a Shabbat experience filled with songs, stories, hands-on activities and community-building as we teach our children about Shabbat and upcoming holidays.

Weekly Saturday Morning Tefillah / Prayer – Zera’im weekly Shabbat morning tefillah / prayer, “Seeds of Prayer,” takes place at 10:40 AM in Classroom 1

**Zera’im Seeds of Shabbat meets monthly on Shabbat afternoons.

This initiative is supported by a generous grant from UJA Federation of NY

Nitzanim / ניצנים / Sprouts (Pre-K – 2nd Grade)

Nitzanim Sprouting Mitzvot – monthly experiential and service-based learning about mitzvot, with a focus on this year’s theme of b’tselem elohim (in the Divine image). Programs will incorporate key Hebrew words and phrases, Torah learning, and fun and meaningful ways of engaging with others in the community.

Weekly Shabbat Morning Tefillah / Prayer – Nitzanim weekly Shabbat morning tefillah takes place at 10:40 AM in the Penthouse

Weekly Torah Stories- Nitzanim and Shorashim meet weekly at 9:40 in the Penthouse to learn, play, and think about the stories and lessons in the Book of Genesis (Sefer Bereishit). In addition to acting, playing games, having debates, and engaging with Torah in age-appropriate ways,  Torah Stories will incldue snack time at the end!

Shorashim / שורשים / Roots (3rd – 5th Grade)

Limmud U’Ma’aseh – monthly learning during Kiddush about Jewish ethics, values and dilemmas. Through small group learning and service activities, Limmud U’Ma’aseh helps our Shorashim-niks deepen their relationships to each other, the larger Fort Tryon Jewish Community, and their neighborhood. Each month Shorashim-niks meet to discuss questions of Jewish values and ethics through text-study, Bibliodrama, and other learning activities.

Weekly Shabbat Morning Tefillah / Prayer – Shorashim weekly Shabbat morning tefillah takes place at 10:40 AM in the Library

Weekly Torah Stories- Nitzanim and Shorashim meet weekly at 9:40 in the Penthouse to learn, play, and think about the stories and lessons in the Book of Genesis (Sefer Bereishit). In addition to acting, playing games, having debates, and engaging with Torah in age-appropriate ways,  Torah Stories will incldue snack time at the end!

Anafim / ענפים / Branches (6th – 8th Grade)

Anafim Monthly Learning – our Anafim cohort meets monthly on Sundays for experiential and discussion-based learning about Jewish identity and mitzvot. Including several field trips and service projects throughout New York City, Anafim-niks will explore their own Jewish selves as emerging adolescents as they delve into learning about Jewish thought and practice.

Monthly Parasha Discussion – Anafim-niks meet monthly on Shabbat morning to discuss the weekly parasha

Teens (9th – 12th)

Teen Beit Midrash – monthly learning about contemporary issues of social justice. This text-based learning experience, now in our second year, is an exciting opportunity for FTJC’s teens to build a learning community together while exploring Jewish ideas about important questions of justice.

Social Justice Project – throughout the year, our teens will work together to develop a social justice project in conjunction with the Fort Tryon Jewish Center’s Social Action Social Justice Team

Family Experiences

Mishpacha Minyan – Our family minyan meets seasonally to bring in Kabbalat Shabbat together
Chavurot / Family Learning Groups – this year we are hoping to build family learning experiences that cater to family needs and desires on a small scale. If you are interested in joining with other families in the community to participate in guided learning, please contact Alyssa Schwager, our Youth & Family Community Organizer at alyssa.schwager@ftjc.org.
Resources for Family Learning – we are working to build our resources to help families learn together at home. Please check back for our growing resource library, and for now enjoy the following helpful tefillah / prayer resources:

Modeh Ani - I Give Thanks

Blessing Children

Blessings before & after eating

Ritual Ideas

Zera'im Siddur

Shabbat & Holiday Programming

FTJC welcomes families of all kinds into our community. Each Shabbat at 10:40am we hold age-appropriate children’s services that are warm, vibrant and accessible, whether you are new to Shabbat services or familiar with them. Come for singing, grape juice, and challah. All are welcome!

We offer holiday programming that helps children and their grownups become familiar with key symbols, rituals, and practices of major holidays. Check the FTJC Calendar for updated information about holiday programming.