Year Round Programs New Jersey Overnight, Dec 7-8
By Year Course in Israel
Sharon Schoenfeld, Director, Year Round Programs, on a recent YJ event in New Jersey.
This weekend, I had one of the more inspirational and thrilling experiences in my YJ professional career. Over over 60 teens, young alumni staff and shlichim gathered together for an exploration of Israel beyond the headlines.
The energy in the room was electric and the sense of peer education and peer leadership was obvious. Led by the phenomenal NJ teen leadership of Ethan Gertzman, Adina Gitomer, Tamar Arenson and Sander Miller with the support of some of YJ’s best staff, Joel Srebrenick, Alli Rovensky, Yael David and Ruby Welkovich, the weekend went off without a hitch. After a moving Havdala service, the teens were brought together to work with Niro Taub, the YJ Northeast Shaliach, to explore a side of Israel that most of us do not know, Street Art and Graffiti. This is not the kind of graffiti that you might see here in the US on underpasses and walls. This street art is an expression of some of the deeper and humorous sides of the country, telling stories of culture and current events with a sense of humor, with sarcasm, but also expressing the beauty and uniqueness of Israel. The teens had the opportunity to create their own images. After snacking on pizza and some of the best Israeli snacks available (parents, don’t be surprised if your teens don’t ask you for some “Krembo”) the teens then settled into an exploration of technology and innovation in Israel.
We were joined by guests, YJ Southeast Shaliach Neta Shani and local community Shaliach Matan Sidi.
Other Year Round Programming News: LionFest, YJ’s gathering in February (an upgrade and twist on National Convention) is taking place from February 14-17th 2013 at Camp Young Judaea Texas in Wimberly, Texas. See your camp friends from around the country, meet new friends, learn and help move YJ’s mission to the next level. AND! Take part in the first ever YJ Winter Games. The first 75 registrants pay only $280.
If you are interested in getting more involved in Young Judaea to help support our teens, please contact me at sharon.schoenfeld@youngjudaea.org
Learn more about events in New Jersey by joining the Ganei Yehudah Young Judaea group on Facebook. Learn more about national events on the general Young Judaea Facebook page.
