Religious Education

Religion was a very big part of our upbringing in Rochdale.

Whatever our religion was, and no matter how religious we were, it was woven into the fabric of our old neighborhood.

I remember how many people I knew took religious training at Christ the King Church. They left during the school day, and I am sure they received a fine religious education from that institution.

Many of us were Jewish, and Rochdale offered every type of Jewish center and school to attend--Reform, Traditional, Conservative, Orthodox.

You really had your pick about what shul you would go to.

My family was Conservative, and my religious education was at Rochdale Village Jewish Center.

I have to say that I hated every moment of it.

Led by Mrs. Wechsler--we called her "Wacky," but she did mean well--I was a horror at that synagogue, not doubt about it.

And it wasn't just me, no, many of us were off the wall when we had our religious studies.

After a long day at regular school, we had to sit and learn even more in Hebrew School, and I just wasn't about to be able to sit still to do this.

However, somehow, I received my Jewish education, and like many of my Jewish friends, I had my bar mitzvah, a day I will never forget.

And I did learn things in that Hebrew school, in between the flipping of baseball cards and acting up. Yes, I am amazed that I was able to learn, even though I could not sit still.

And I won't ever forget those Hebrew school days, where it wasn't just me, but we all seemed to run amuck in the respective synagogues we attended.

Was it how we were, the time we lived in, or something else that would not let us sit still for one moment?

Relive those days with your friends at the Reunion. I am sure everyone has stories about their religious training, or lack thereof, to share.