Back to cheder under Covid-compliant rules

Alan Traub was pleasantly surprised when he dropped into South Hampstead United Synagogue on the first Sunday of September.

The North-West London congregation in was one of the first to reopen its cheder since lockdown.

Mr Traub, the synagogue’s board member responsible for education, expected fewer than half of the 80 or so children on its boks to return. Some parents, amid all the uncertainties still surrounding the virus, might have felt going back to school was quite enough.

“We had 60 per cent, I’m delighted to say, on the first day.”

Given that attendance on an average Sunday morning before the pandemic would be around 75 per cent, it was an encouraging start.

While some US communities have delayed reopening until the chagim are over next month, Mr Traub felt it important to enable children to come back to the synagogue before the High Holy Days.

And while the cheder ran an online programme during lockdown, he believes however good the virtual offering was, it cannot replicate the three-dimensional experience. “You do not get the high-quality delivery of education which will keep children engaged. People get tired on Zoom. The social interaction which children were missing during lockdown was also a major reason I wanted them back in the building.”

When South Hampstead parents were asked before the reopening whether they were considering sending their children, 83 per cent responded positively.

The community was fortunate in having moved into its airy, new and bigger home last year with rooms designed for flexible use. So by folding back doors, a double room could be converted into one, making it easier to socially distance the class.

Just as schools have done, staggered start and finish times have been introduced. While cheder is in session, “no adult is allowed on the premises other than those responsible for running it,” Mr Traub said.

Other adjustments have had to be made. “Hebrew reading was our biggest challenge. The teacher holds the book two metres away and points to where they want the child to read and the child reads in another book.”

After use, books are put aside and cleaned for the following week.

Classes were due to resume this week at New North London Synagogue for Haderech, its midweek evening programme to prepare for bar and batmitzvah. But with close to 200 students, the group has been split into two over two days to comply with safety guidelines.

The social element, such as the café and table-tennis, has had to be cut. “You can’t have the milling around,” said the Masorti community’s director of education Niki Jackson.

Other tweaks have had to be made. Many post-bneimitzvah students return to act as mentors on the programme. “Normally, you’d find them scattered around the building practising their singing with their mentor. But you can’t do that because you can’t sing in public. This will carry on on Zoom, which we had during lockdown and was quite successful.”

Sunday morning classes are set to reopen for some 140 children after the festivals, when they will be taught in bubbles of up to 15. Instead of all coming together for assembly, additional screens will be installed in the classroom so everyone will join the collective prayers from their bubble.

During lockdown, teachers found that one-to-one Hebrew reading sessions offered as part of the digital cheder resulted in “fantastic progress”, so she plans to retain that as an extra for thos who want it.

While a few parents have so far said they are uncomfortable about their children returning to cheder, overall there “seems to be a huge demand for it”.

Whereas NNLS is situated in the spacious complex of the Sterrnberg Centre, other communities may have less room at their disposal. Rabbi Josh Levy, of Alyth, one of the biggest Reform congregations with 3,500 members, said, ”We can’t bring 150 children in one go into the building safely.”

So it is still wrestling with the logistics of reconvening on-site sessions after half term in October.

Its “immediate priority” is to do something for bnei mitzvah and young teenagers. In terms of retaining a synagogue connection, young people are the most challenging constituency “and we want to be back with them”.

On a usual, Friday night some 60 children in the bnei mitzvah group along with teenage leaders would be gathered at the synagogue.

So it is likely to have to rely on blended learning, combining physical sessions with continued digital programming, over the next few months.

“Our goal is that every class will be able to come in at least once between half-term and Chanukah,” he said.