SOUTH ORANGE, NJ (April 1, 2025) – Congregation Beth El is thrilled to announce that Deb Engel has joined the synagogue to launch and run a new aftercare program, Club Shemesh (Sun Club), that begins this September at the start of the 2025-2026 school year. The program is open to all members of the community, regardless of affiliation or faith, and will follow the South Orange-Maplewood School District calendar. Registration is now open for all families.
Club Shemesh will offer a new opportunity for children in K-5 to connect, learn, and play in a welcoming Jewish environment. The child-led curriculum will focus around Jewish values, while also providing an immersive Hebrew language experience in a mixed-age classroom. The new aftercare program is partially funded by a grant from the Jewish After School Accelerator Program, which helps synagogues provide alternative Jewish education programs for the modern family.
Engel previously founded and ran Work and Play, the coworking space and licensed childcare center in South Orange that was open for five years before closing due to the pandemic. She also co-founded General Store Cooperative in Maplewood, produced the 2018 and 2019 South Orange Holiday Pop-Up Shops, and is in her final year of a three-year term serving on the Maplewood Township Committee (Town Council).
Deb Engel
“I am very excited for this next professional chapter,” said Engel. “As a Jewish mother, I have craved alternative options for Jewish education outside the traditional Sunday school model, and I feel so lucky that Beth El is trusting me to go build something! As a working mother, I also have first-hand knowledge of the challenges families face when coordinating after-school coverage. My goal with Club Shemesh is to create a warm, safe, play-based, experiential environment that builds community while redefining Jewish education.”
“Deb is an incredible leader in our towns and community,” said Rabbi Jesse Olitzky. “She has been instrumental in creating new ‘start ups’ throughout our two towns and advocating for all residents as an elected leader. We are thrilled to have her lead this new initiative.”
“From the moment I ‘met’ Deb over zoom, I was struck by her energy, her knowledge of the SOMA community, and her interest in working on this project,” said Nomi Kornfeld, Director of Education, K-12. “We hope that through Deb’s leadership of this program we will help address the complicated after school care needs for elementary school kids and be a touch point for Jewish education in the process.”
Congregation Beth El understands that part of the after-school challenge for parents is transportation. Club Shemesh’s goal is to assist transporting kids from the SOMSD elementary schools to Beth El for the aftercare program. However, transportation is not yet guaranteed. Engel recommends families contact her about their family’s individual needs.
Registration for Club Shemesh is now open to all members of the community. Caregivers can enroll their children for as few as two days per week to a max of five days per week. More information about the program can be found at clubshemesh.org.
About Congregation Beth El
Congregation Beth El is a thriving Conservative synagogue located in South Orange, NJ. As one of the fastest growing congregations in North America, Congregation Beth El serves well over 450 families, operates a preschool with close to 100 students, a Jewish Learning Center (religious school) with 180 students, and provides daily services and programming for all demographics. Congregation Beth El is deeply committed to Tikkun Olam and creates opportunities to learn, engage in direct service, and build partnerships across lines of difference in the greater South Orange Maplewood community.
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