Makom Community NEWS

Vlogs: Video Reflections on Learning

Choice in Transformation by Trent Works: A reflection on the Shorashim (1st-2nd grade) learners’ observations and insights around transformation in their lives and in the story of Yosef. The Project of Leading by Zoe Myers-Bochner: A reflection on the creation of this year’s project-based-learning for the Nitzanim (3rd-4th grade) cohort. Reflecting on Big Feelings Through Tefilah: How Makom Marked October…

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An Exercise in Empathy with Garinim

The Garinim (K-1st grade) have been studying the story of Yosef, with all its trials and challenges, while exercising empathy for all the characters involved. When they reached the part of Yosef’s story where his brothers travel to Mitzrayim (Egypt) for rations and reunite with their long-lost brother, the learners had many feelings about how this played out. Educators used…

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The Torah of Makom Community Teens

Three teens stretch out on an enormous circular, rainbow colored rug, surrounded by posters covered in printed text from TaNaKh, Talmud, Mishneh, modern books, and government documents, as well as post-it notes posing follow-up questions and colorful sharpie-scrawled annotations to match. They’ve been annotating the texts on these posters for 7 weeks. In this moment, they are silent, though this…

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A Letter from our Executive Director & Founder

Beverly Socher-Lerner

Beverly Socher-Lerner

Dear Families and Jewish Educators,

Thank you for visiting Makom Community online! We are a makom (place) where kiddos and their families experience a joyful community that embraces them and their whole family for exactly who they are! We envision a future where Jewish Education is joyful and accessible for all who want to partake. In Jewish tradition, a makom is the kind of place where someone grows into who they CAN be. We hope our makom will be that kind of place, too.

You can expect warm, personal, and playful experiences for your child or grandchild at Makom Community. Makom Community is a living laboratory for a new model of Jewish Education. We strive to create a high-quality experiences for urban families who are on a shared adventure that prioritizes empathy and connection in a durable way and brings Jewish learning into our lives.

At Makom Community, our educators are guided by our unique pedagogy, Jewish Placemaking. Jewish Placemaking encourages learners to ask mind-boggling questions, invites kiddos to co-create an environment with their educators and friends that invites questions and meaning-making from Jewish wisdom, and welcomes families as interpreters of Jewish wisdom, regardless of the way they came to be a part of the Jewish community. Our learning is focused on the social-emotional skills our tradition teaches, which we live each day in our community.

Our work is not limited within the space of our Lab School and family-centered community. We are constantly researching, enhancing, and expanding tools to support our pedagogy. We then take these lessons and provide professional development and support to educators across the country who are also doing the holy work of adding children and their families voices to generations of Torah. We call this Makom Making.

We warmly invite you to explore all that Makom has to offer and we look forward to forming relationships with you that will help shape Makom Community for years to come!

Warmly,
Beverly