Testimonial

I am a child of Israelis and married to an Israeli. I arrived in Chicago at the age of 3, and have been immersed in the Israeli American experience. As you well know, many Israelis are not formally affiliated with the Jewish community. I saw this first hand as a child, and many of my peers left their Israeli homes and lacked a Jewish identity. This led to assimilation and a lack of belonging. The same is happening in the current generation of Israelis. Maccabim provides the kids Hebrew language, culture and some religion. This is so vital to their continuing involvement in the Jewish community. My kids continue to benefit from this environment, which is unique in bringing kids of Israelis together. As has been my experience, by providing an environment of Jewish belonging, many of these kids will grow up increasing their involvement in Chicago's Jewish community and beyond.  

We love the teachers. Everyone is very vested in the children learning Hebrew. They are very supportive and do amazing projects with the kids. When I first visited it brought tears to my eyes because it reminded me of when I was in Hebrew school and my love of Israel. My children are learning to speak Hebrew very nicely, to read and to write, and learning important aspects of Israeli culture music songs and poems.   

Being a student at Maccabim Hebrew School for the past five years, I feel that I was taught both through learning about the history of the Jewish people and through having real-life experiences about my Jewish roots and heritage and how I am connected to it all. During these years I've gotten to know the story of my ancestors and I learned to read much better Hebrew. Being an Israeli and having a large family in Israel, the Hebrew language is a part of me and Maccabim continues to help me strengthen my writing, reading and speaking skills.    

We live in a non-Jewish neighborhood, and it was very important to us to find a Jewish school that will give our kids a sense of belonging as well as teach them about their Jewish heritage, conversational Hebrew and about Israel. We chose Maccabim due to the unique program of the school. For the last three years, our kids not only have made an amazing progress in Hebrew but also they have gained the love of being Jewish, tradition, and being part of a greater community. Our kids love their teachers and look forward to going to Maccabim every week (despite the 40 minute drive). We could never make a better choice.

The reason we send our daughter to Maccabim is because she is getting a real education and a strong connection to the Jewish people and Israel. It is not just focused on the Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Its goal to have the students become knowledgeable and productive members of the Jewish community for life. 

Our daughter's transition in 5th grade from a Jewish day school to public school led us to the Maccabim program. We, as a non-Hebrew speaking family, were welcomed into the school. Once we arrived, we found Maccabim to be innovative, nurturing, and has allowed our daughter to build on her Hebrew language literacy. The teachers like to teach the children, and our daughter enjoys going to Maccabim on Sunday mornings.