About

Theory of Education

BH is a liberatory Jewish learning community that fosters curiosity, dignity, creativity and joy for our students and their families. Learning at BH responds to the real world that our children experience. We provide learning environments and content that support young Jews in developing values, rituals and ways of being that draw from multiple streams of Jewish texts, histories and lineages. We implement a variety of learning approaches ranging from communal art projects and field trips to sessions with visiting adult and youth teachers and mentors.   

Our young people know that their presence and participation in Hinenu Baltimore are essential, that they are a part of a long line of evolving Jewish practice. Students understand that they are as valuable as any adult member of the congregation, fully empowered to engage in Torah and spiritual identity. We aim for all students at Beit Hinenu to feel ownership over their learning and over the direction of our community as a whole.

BH honors and actively works to uplift the multiracial identity of our Jewish community. We were called to action by the Not Free to Desist Letter published in June 2020. We acknowledge that the erasure of Jews of color and their traditions has negatively impacted our Jewish communities at large and we join efforts across Jewish communities to implement anti-racist initiatives, curriculums and frameworks especially into our youth and family programming. We teach our children that it is our collective responsibility to unravel white supremacy.  

We are committed to lifelong learning, knowing that Torah study nourishes us at every stage of life. We model to our children that study continues after b'nei mitzvah, and that it enriches and shapes our lives in an ongoing way. We model to our adults that there is something to learn from a classmate of every age, and honor the personhood of younger learners in our adult education courses. Intergenerational learning is a key ingredient to our learning at BH.

Curricular Goals

For centuries, Jewish communities have engaged in rich discussions about their educational priorities. We jump fully into that exploration, and center the following goals, framed under Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan’s “three b’s” that make up Jewish identity:

BELONGING

Identity: Students are empowered to develop and honor their own Jewish identities and to understand the different ways Jewish identity is formed and celebrated.

History: Students have a sense of the context of Jewish time and histories, and understand where they are located. Students engage with place, diaspora, and their own personal stories.

Jewish Joy: Students are encouraged to find the places of Jewish life and learning in which they delight. BH centers joy, art, curiosity, and creativity. 

BELIEVING

Jewish wisdom: Students understand what the texts of the Torah and the Jewish canon are, as well as a range of ancient and contemporary sources of Jewish wisdom. 

Service literacy: Students understand what is in a siddur (prayer book), the range of Jewish ways to pray, the arc of a service, and how they personally connect, or do not connect, to prayer.

Sacred experiences: Students are encouraged to define and identify sacredness in their own lives. It is through learning to name these moments that children realize they are links in a chain of transmission of Torah and Jewish tradition.

BEHAVING

Jewish justice: Students learn the Jewish values that obligate us to uphold justice in our communities and in the world at large. We empower our students to participate in community, to be voices for justice influenced by their study of Jewish values and history. 

Life cycles: At age appropriate levels, students engage with the life cycle, including: birth and welcoming new life, becoming b’nei mitzvah, honoring intimate relationships, life transitions, and dying . Students are equipped with the tools to wrestle with different Jewish life cycle practices and are taught how to add, amend, and reinterpret where necessary. This learning  supports students in moving through their own life cycles with more awareness.  

History

Hinenu was founded in August 2017. Over time Tot Shabbat and the Torah parade became the highlight of Shabbat morning services. In January 2020 we formally launched the first cohort of Beit Hinenu, including a b’nei mitzvah class, debate team, and family field trip group. In August 2021, Hinenu hired its first education director, Rachel Kipnes. In the fall of 2021 Rachel connected with families, facilitated events and holiday celebrations, and gathered more data about what will best serve our families. Winter 2021/2 Beit Hinenu is proud to re-launch with a more robust set of offerings. We welcome your insight and participation as we continue to grow!