Learning
Quote from a student in the Holocaust class, 2007
Elyse made us think & view life's values differantly towards the world, in a way that that I have never experienced.
Meet the Chavarim School Staff
Parparim (Pre K)
Jane Moskowitz
Jane Moskowitz is thrilled to be a part of the Chaverim School at HBT. Her natural curiosity and passion for learning about Judaism matches that of her young students as she converted to Judaism in 2001 and is still learning every day! Jane recently completed coursework for a Master's in Education through Lesley University and looks forward to switching careers to become a Middle School English teacher in the near future. She and her husband and colleague, Rob, live in Plymouth with their puppy, Frankie.
Jane has enjoyed getting to know her students this year at HBT and observing the connections they make between their daily lives and Judaism. At the beginning of the year, they studied the concept of Tzedakah and discussed how the students' families participate. She was excited to see these novice students light up as they identified their own actions as fulfillment of Tzedakah and thought about how people around them are taking part in Tzedakah and making the world a better place. They will continue to explore concepts of Judaism and to celebrate the Jewish holidays.
Gan/Aleph (K/1)
Rob Moskowitz
Rob Moskowitz is honored to join the staff at Temple Hillel B'nai Torah this year. After working at WBZ-TV/WSBK-TV Boston for fifteen years, he followed his true calling and became an elementary teacher in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He earned his M.Ed at Lesley University after attending Syracuse University for his B.S. He lives in Plymouth, with his wife and colleague, Jane. Frankie the dog, Jake and Zoe the cats live there, too.
Gan and Aleph students are having a terrific year! They are learning a lot, but also having fun along the way. They will continue to learn about the Jewish holidays and explore concepts of Judaism.
Bet (Grade 2)
Daniella Quinones
Daniella grew up in San Diego, CA and moved to Boston to attend graduate school at Emerson College. She graduated from the University of Judaism's Introduction to Judaism Program with Rabbi Miller in Los Angeles, CA. As a member of Combined Jewish Philanthropy's Young Leadership Division (YLD) she works to promote Jewish culture amongst Boston young professionals. She is currently a candidate for the Foreign Language Education Licensure at UMASS Boston.
Daniella enjoys teaching her second graders and is phenomenal at preparing them for 3rd grade. Aside from the Hebrew Alphabet her students learn about Jewish symbols, holidays and customs. In her spare time she enjoys rooting for the Red Sox and walking her dog, Stella.
Gimmel (Grade 3)
Inbar Hanouna
This is Inbar's first year teaching at HBT. She recently moved to Boston from Denver. Inbar is a natural teacher and has been doing so in Denver for several years. She brings to HBT a passion for Judaism and a love of children. She plans to go to graduate school in the near future and thinks Boston really is the place to be! She loves the outdoors, hiking, running, snowboarding and spending time with friends and family.
Inbar has already accomplished a lot with her 3rd graders and looks forward to celebrating their Haggigat Hasefer in May.
Dalet (Grade 4)
Hillary Pinsker
Hillary is delighted to be working with her Kitah Dalet students and families. This is her second year teaching Dalet, and her fourth year teaching at HBT. This year, Kitah Dalet will be studying B'reishit/Genesis, and building Hebrew literacy skills in both prayer and Modern Hebrew. Hillary values the diverse families that comprise the Chaverim school, and hopes to make the classroom a safe, fun, and engaging place for the children to be themselves and learn about their Jewish identities
In her life beyond HBT, she lives in West Roxbury with her wife and 2 cats, and enjoys reading, and playing soccer.
Hay (Grade 5)
Courtney Ackerman
This is Courtney's first year teaching at HBT's Chaverim School. She has worked as a USY adviser and as a Program Assistant at the JCC in Springfield and recently spent 6 adventure-filled months volunteering in Israel, teaching English to children. She loves to travel, read, cook and bake, and plans to occasionally ask her students to test out some new recipes. She is a UMass Amherst graduate and a New Jersey native, and now considers herself a Bostonian—although still remains an ardent Yankee's fan!
Vav (Grade 6)
Eden Holt
This is Eden's first year teaching at HBT. She is the eldest of four girls born to an Israeli mother and African American Father. She was born in Israel and was raised in Jacksonville Florida. Due to her father's position in the American navy she moved between Israel and the States 5 times. She graduated from high school in Israel and was drafted to military service (in Israel it's obligatory). She went on to be a commanding officer and respectfully discharged as a lieutenant.
Her experience as an American Girl Scout, a scout in the tzofim (Israeli Scouts) and the IDF laid the groundwork for her work as an educator. She is creative and engaging and loves working with her 6th graders.
She recently moved to Boston to obtain a B.A in Sociology.
Zayin (Grade 7)
Rachel Block
Rachel is excited to be coming back for her second year as the Kitah Zayin teacher at HBT. She graduated Gann Academy in 2006 and now I is now working full time at an insurance company. Her experience at Gann helped her develop a love for Jewish education and study, which she is happy to be able to continue to share with her students. She has enjoyed being a part of the HBT community over the last year and is looking forward to continuing to be apart of this community.
The Zayin class this year is learning about ethics. So far the class has covered a variety of contemporary issues and their class discussions have been engaging, thoughtful and insightful. Rachel looks forward to diving into more ethical issues throughout the year!
Song Leader
Alan Reinstein
This is Alan's second year as the song leader for the Chaverim students, and once again he's enjoying seeing the children once a week to sing songs from the liturgy, songs for the holidays, folk songs, and any other songs that fit into the calendar of Jewish learning.
During the week, Alan teaches English at Newton South High School to both freshmen and seniors. He is also a parent to three of the students in the Chaverim School. His musical background includes both songwriting and performing with both the guitar and the harmonica, and the weekly playing with students keeps him both fresh and enthusiastic about music.
BOOK CLUB (7th & 8th Grade)
ROSH HODESH (7th, 8th & 9th Grade)