Bnai mitzvah mentor
The Stephen S. Wise Temple
Location
Los Angeles, California
Quick overview
Provide personalized tutoring and mentorship to students preparing for their B'nai Mitzvah, focusing on Hebrew pronunciation and cantillation. Track student progress and maintain professional communication with families and temple staff.
Requirements summary
Requires a degree or certificate from higher education and experience teaching children aged 11-13 in Jewish education. Must be fluent in reading and decoding Hebrew and capable of chanting cantillation accents.
Job description
The B’nai Mitzvah program at Stephen Wise prepares students for service leadership through personalized tutoring and mentorship. Teen Peer Mentors teach students how to lead siddur elements, while Adult Mentors / educators provide instruction in Hebrew decoding and cantillation. Students are paired with Adult Mentors for tutoring based on their decoding capacities assessment, with programs lasting either five-six months or nine-ten months. This structured approach ensures a comprehensive and supportive learning experience.
Position responsibilities
- Meets weekly with assigned students to ensure their competency and confidence of the reciting, singing, and chanting of prayers, blessing, and readings from their Torah and Haftarah portions.
- Ensures accurate Hebrew pronunciation for clear and effective leadership.
- Teaches Torah and Haftarah cantillation either through a “classical” method through patterns of trope clauses, or a “syllabic” method through identifying key syllables in the text.
- Tracks student progress using Mitzvah Tools and keeps families and the Program Director informed.
- Communicates promptly and professionally with students, families, and temple staff.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
- Degree or certificate from higher education.
- Notable experience teaching children ages 11-13 in formal or informal Jewish education.
- Fluency in reading and decoding Hebrew; to “cold read” Hebrew text with all diacritical marks (nikkudot) accurately, and chant through reading the cantillation accents.
- Competence in educational technology (e.g. Zoom) for holding tutoring sessions.
- Kindness and empathy towards students and families based on their individual needs.
Stephen Wise Temple, barring some traditional styles (minhagim) of the community, uses the “Reform standard” of Torah and Haftarah cantillation (i.e. Wolff-Portnoy).