“The sun is going down; it’s shining through the trees. Another week’s gone by, become a memory. So throw away your hammer, there’s nothing left to do. Go on home and find the gift that’s waiting there for you.”
These are lyrics from the song “It’s Time To Say Good Shabbos” by Abie Rotenberg. The song is just one of the many performed by Talmud teacher Reuvane Slater on Friday afternoons as a treat to his class after a long week of work and as a creative way to acknowledge Shabbat. Besides being a Talmud teacher, Slater is also a rabbi, author and father.
Slater has taught at JDS for 25 years, and throughout all of his years of teaching, he says he has come into class enthusiastic about not only teaching his students, but learning with them as well.
“A lot of times if a person asks a question, they’re not interested in an answer, necessarily,” Slater said. “They’re interested in a discussion, or to be respected, like, ’does my question make sense?’ And I think sometimes those are often overlooked.”
Slater values discussion in his classes, with students being encouraged to ask questions and share opposing arguments in order to create interesting conversation throughout the class.
“Every day after class I would debate him,” alum Alex Rosenberg (‘22) said. “I would grill him with questions with my debate partner, Josh. We both really debated against him in terms of a lot of stuff relating to halacha, Jewish law, stuff that we found a little bit troubling and challenging.”
Rosenberg has maintained a connection with Slater since he graduated from high school and still talks to him on a regular basis whenever he has a question about Judaism or, sometimes, just to chat.
Slater said he tries to connect with all of his students through class traditions such as Meaningful Shabbat Moment in a Minute or Less (MSMML), in which students will share something meaningful that happened over their weekend in under a minute.
Accompanied by his guitar, Slater also energetically performs Jewish songs in class. He calls this “Zinging,” the Yiddish term for singing, which Slater uses to “spice it up.”
“Friday afternoons, about 15 minutes left to class, I break out my guitar and I go through three or four songs that we do,” Slater said. “And kids, if there’s nothing else that they remember 10 years down the line, they’ll bring up Zinging and singing the songs, and singing whatever it is, and they will talk about the memories that the songs brought to them.”
It isn’t just his students that Slater has these bonds with; he also has managed to forge deeper relationships with many of his colleagues, including 10th Grade Dean and Education Support Services teacher Brett Kugler.
“Rabbi Slater and I go back a long way because his father-in-law was the rabbi of my school growing up as a kid,” Kugler said. “So I have known him since he first moved to this area when he got married. However, I really started to get to know him on a more personal level once we both started working here.”
When he’s not teaching, Slater enjoys dabbling in things such as building, plumbing and electrical work. He also is very open to helping his children with whatever they need. Whether it be basketball, carpool or homework, Slater is available to help.
“I think a lot of my interactions with my own kids come out in class with my students,” Slater said. “…the ways I’ve interacted with kids here, and the ways which I’ve learned to be more cognizant of kids and their needs, I think it’s also helped me as a father.”
According to Slater’s students, it’s his ability to connect with the people around him and his absolute passion for all things Jewish that led to so many students looking forward to their next Talmud class. With class traditions like Zinging and MSMML, there’s always something else to look forward to.
