Bialystoker Synagogue launching new kids' program

he Bialystoker Synagogue has announced the opening of the Downtown School for Judaism. The first module in the school will be a two-hour, Sunday morning program for children who are not attending yeshiva and who will be in kindergarten during the 2004-2005 school year.

Enrollment is currently open for the program, which will begin in September. According to the Bialystoker's Rabbi Zvi Romm, the module will serve as the pilot year for a program that would eventually reach elementary school-age children and beyond. Hands-on activities revolving around Jewish holidays, culture, and basic Hebrew skills, led by an experienced early childhood teacher, are designed to stimulate a love for Jewish tradition.

The Bialystoker Synagogue's roots on the Lower East Side go back to 1865. It was founded on Hester Street, then moved to Orchard Street, and, in 1905, reached its current location on Willet Street, which is now Bialystoker Place. The synagogue got its name from Bialystok, Poland, original home town of many of the members. Rabbi Romm adds that each family that enrolls in the new program will be guaranteed two free High Holiday seats in the Bialystoker Synagogue.

Bialystoker Synagogue, 212-475-0165 9:00 A.M.-2:00 P.M. Mondays through Thursdays, info@bialystoker.org, www.bialystoker.org

Mordechai Leib