The Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture welcomes back Matthew Gindin as Pnei Mitzvah teacher for the 2024-2026 cohort.

Renewing Ways to Face our Past, Present, and Future

Did you know that the first Peretznik to have a secular bar mitzvah was in 1965? Avrom Osipov told the story of his groundbreaking ceremony at a Peretz alumni event in 2018, explaining that the concept was newsworthy enough to be reported on in the local media. Indeed, the event was reported in the Jewish Western Bulletin as follows:

(The article also notes that the pianist who accompanied the students who sang Yiddish songs for the occasion was Gyda Chud.)

Nearly 60 years later, the secular, pluralistic tradition has included well over a hundred children who have found new meanings in reinterpreting the bar mitzvah rite of passage. Since 2019, we call it the Pnei Mitzvah program, inspired by the renaming of Reb Zalman's organization from "Bnei Or" (sons of light) to "P'nei Or" (faces of light) in the 1970s. The gender-neutral name not only represents the plurality of faces in our Pnei Mitzvah cohorts, but also the task of facing our histories and traditions, as well as our present and collective future.

Welcoming Back Pnei Mitzvah Teacher Matthew Gindin for the 2024-2025 Cohort

We're excited to begin the new Pnei Mitzvah cohort with Matthew Gindin as teacher. Formerly Education Director at the Peretz Centre (and most recently Master Teacher at Or Shalom), Matthew is an exceptional educator who focuses on the unique needs and experiences of each student and their learning journey.

Part of the reason that we're particularly enthusiastic about Matthew's return is his in-depth approach to history and culture, which aligns with the Peretz Centre's mission of progressive and modern Jewish education. As an teacher, Matthew stands out for his respect for children as learners and people. His teaching style encourages engagement with traditional texts as literature, with the freedom to reinterpret and make connections to their own experience of the world. Over the two year program, students will go through millennia of Jewish history from a pluralistic, non-dogmatic standpoint, from beginnings as a nomadic people into the temple period and through to the present day. They will be exposed to a breadth of Jewish thought, arts, and culture and learn major concepts and themes that have shaped our understandings of Judaism and Jewish life.

In addition to redesigning the Peretz Bnei Mitzvah curriculum in the 2010s and coining the term "Pnei Mitzvah," Matthew has been teaching Jewish history, philosophy, and contemplative traditions in a wide variety of settings since 2004. He also works as an acupuncturist, freelance writer and editor, professional lecturer, and independent journalist.

Forging Meaningful Connections: Pnei Mitzvah Project and Ceremony

As an educational and cultural institution, we aim to help students renew their relationship with the Jewish culture that they inherited and live in by providing informed, ethically-grounded avenues to deeper study and broader interests. Children will enjoy spirited debates while studying Talmud, as well as learn to trace ethical issues from Halacha (rabbinic law) through different texts to see the way they develop.

Alongside textual study that lies at the core of Jewish learning, the Pnei Mitzvah curriculum maintains a focus on the cultural and historical impacts of Jewish concepts, beliefs, and practices. Students will discuss different denominations of Judaism and learn about how they emerged and changed over time. They will gain an understanding of major Jewish philosophical and political movements, from the birth of secular Judaism in Europe (Heine, Spinoza, etc.) to Jewish political radicalism (Jewish Feminism, Jewish unionism and the Bund, Emma Goldman, Marx, etc.).

In the first year, students work on their own interpretation of a text that they have studied. Matthew has seen many creative "midrashim" produced over the years, like one student who retold the story of Adam and Eve from the point of view of a worm in the apple. Another student wrote and recorded a song telling the story of King David using the Minecraft soundtrack.

The second year encourages students to go deeper with an individual Pnei Mitzvah project that they present at the Pnei Mitzvah ceremony to close the program. Whether they pursue a topic related to the course materials or to their own interests, or even learn their traditional Torah portion, the emphasis is always on their intellectual curiosity, and learning the art and practice of learning itself. While these projects are unique to each student, the final ceremony is focused on community. Each cohort plans their own version of the ceremony to showcase the students and celebrate their learning, which has become a highlight of the Peretz Centre's events calendar as we welcome new generations of Peretzniks.

The 2024-2026 cohort starts on Sunday, October 20 2024. Save your spot and register now to join the next group of Peretz families.

Don't miss the Pnei Mitzvah ceremony for the 2023-2025 cohort in June 2025!