The entire Young Judaea community grieves for those who were killed in Saturday’s horrific shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue, and we stand together with the Jewish community of Pittsburgh in the face of this tragedy.

Words cannot express the shock, sadness, and deep loss that we all feel. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to those who survived this heinous attack, and to all those who have tragically lost loved ones.

Yesterday, children from Young Judaea Pittsburgh had planned to gather at one of our families’ homes to celebrate their community at Camp Young Judaea Midwest. How can it be that on a day when they were supposed to be having fun, playing games and talking about camp with their friends, these children are instead struggling to understand the unimaginable? How can it be that on a day when our parents were meant to be sharing their wonderful camp experiences with new families, they instead need to have conversations with their children about anti-Semitism, hatred and death? In the face of these unanswerable questions, the families decided to gather together as planned at this home, now to support and comfort one another.

We mourn the loss of these eleven souls. May their memories be for a blessing. Many of us now worry about our and others’ safety. We struggle with how we should discuss with our teens and children this killing of innocent people and the hate and anti-Semitism that motivated the shooter. There will be time to learn and to teach. Young Judaea has always been, and will always be, a place for Jewish young people to come together to confront, reflect and learn from difficult and challenging ideas and, sometimes, tragedies. For now, we must simply mourn this loss and stand with our brothers and sisters in Pittsburgh.

So, in addition to sharing our love and support, offering our solidarity and comfort to the Pittsburgh community, we will continue to dedicate ourselves to empowering our children to change the world – in spite of the hatred that inspired this tragedy.

B’Shalom,

Simon Klarfeld
Executive Director, Young Judaea

Evan Ressel
National Mazkir
Young Judaea National Mazkirut

David Weinsten
Executive Director, Tel Yehudah

Frank Silberlicht
Executive Director, Camp Young Judaea Texas

Walter Synalovski
Executive Director, Camp Judaea

Robin Anderson
Executive Director, Camp Young Judaea Midwest

Helene Drobenare
Executive Director, Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake

Sharon Schoenfeld
Director US Programs, Young Judaea

 

 

 

 

Young Judaea started the year with a bang with over 200 teens taking part in programs around the country. Events took place in Los Angeles, DMV (DC/Maryland, Virginia), South Florida, LI NYC, Empire, New Jersey and Pittsburgh.  Brand new communities started in Boston and Atlanta!  The Midwest region began their planning for their winter convention and soon our Chicago teens will start down their path to YJ!  Scroll down to read about some of the exciting things happening around the country.

Atlanta Young Judaea

We are so excited to announce the return of YJ Atlanta! After going to Tel Yehudah in Barryville, New York and learning all about the year round YJ programs, three teens: Micayla Pollak, Skyler Clark, and Sadie Levy decided to bring back YJ Atlanta! Of course, this work could not be done alone, so a planning meeting was held in order to find others interested in helping to lead YJ Atlanta. At our planning meeting, we discussed the Pillars of YJ, future events, goals we have for our Atlanta chapter, and formed an official planning committee! The director of Camp Judaea, Walter Synalovski, and the Director of Communications and Alumni Engagement, Elana Pollack, even came out to our planning event to help! Currently, our planning committee consists of Alex Rothenberg, Charlotte Barrios, Ilana Funk, Leon Cohen, and Shira Funk. All of these amazing individuals are all working hard to get YJ Atlanta started!

Our very first YJ Atlanta kickoff event is coming up! On October 28, we are going to Morgan Falls Overlook Park from 2:30 to 4:00. All 9-12 graders are invited to come and spend some time with your Judaean friends in Atlanta! We also encourage you to bring any and all friends that you think might enjoy some fall sweets or be interested in YJ! We will have some fall-themed treats and other fun activities for all who join us! This event will be so much fun, and we are so excited to see you there!
Contact us!

Instagram: @youngjudaeaatl
Facebook: YJ Atlanta
Email: youngjudaeaatl@gmail.com

New Jersey Young Judaea

New Jersey Young Judaea has been super busy in these fall months. We kicked off the year with our Sukkot by the Sea event in Asbury Park. New Jersey Judaeans learned about water conservation and Sukkot down by the beach and boardwalk. Even with a little bit of rain we participants were still able to do tashlich in the ocean and have a blast on the boardwalk.

This month New Jersey had another event in Livingston the night of Saturday the 20th called the Last Laugh. At the event we discussed the controversy surrounding Holocaust centered humor. The mazkirut worked very hard to make this an interesting and meaningful event! New Jersey Judaeans are also looking forward to National Convention with the announcement of the location being in Atlanta. Overall the region has had an amazing start to the year and can’t wait to see what is to come!

~ Manni Burach

LINYC Young Judaea

LINYC Young Judaea kicked off their year with a really fun sukkot-themed event in Riverside Park in NYC. At the kickoff, we got to know each other and our sukkot traditions, all while learning about the four species of sukkot. It was a blast hanging out with our friends and even doing tashlich in the Hudson River!

Our next event is one you won’t want to miss: A viewing of a film that focuses on Young Judaea’s kibbutz in Israel: Kibbutz Ketura. This showing is open to the public and we will gather together to watch and then discuss it on November 4th at the JCC in Manhattan. We have been invited to take part in a memorial for Yitzhak Rabin with all of the other youth movements in NY. Additionally, we are planning a social action event in mid-November.

LINYC is getting really excited for Young Judaea’s Alternative Winter Break in Puerto Rico. We are looking forward to partnering with the people of Puerto Rico whose communities were devastated by Hurricane Maria last year. We are also thrilled about going to Atlanta, Georgia in February for National Convention!

LINYC Young Judaea is off to a great start and we hope to see you at our future events!!

~ Allegra Wertheim, LINYC Mazkira 2018-2019

Empire Young Judaea

Empire Young Judaea has been busy beginning our year! We started off with our kick off event at Apple picking and talking about immigration. We talked about how different people and their backgrounds would be able to make it to America or not.

We then had an event on October 21st where we discussed songs that empower women as well as objectify them. We talked about whether or not we would listen to an artist that objectifies women or believes something that we disagree with. We also talked about artists that boycott Israel and whether or not we would listen to them. In the end, we decided we would still listen to these artists but we might not necessarily support them by going to a concert or buying their music. We believed that having a different viewpoint from us didn’t mean their music was bad. It’s important to appreciate all viewpoints. It may even be more interesting to listen to a song that portrays others points of views so u can learn something about the alternating viewpoint. We hope you can join us for our next event on November 17th for Friendsgiving!

~ Julia Cooper, Empire Pirsum 2018-2019

Midwest Young Judaea

Midwest Young Judaea includes teens coming from Pittsburgh all the way to California! As a region-wide event, we have Midwest Bogrim Winter Convention just around the corner from November 29^th – December 2nd. Our Midwest Mazkirut is working hard to plan an amazing convention for teens from 8^th – 12^th grade.

A lot has been happening with Pittsburgh Young Judaea. They opened the year with some fun in the park, had a Sukkah Hop and they just wrapped up their annual Family House volunteer event where they cooked dinner and served it to the residents of Family House which serves people who need a place to stay while their family members are getting medical treatment. Pittsburgh YJ is holding a CYJ Midwest open house for future campers and their parents to get a sense of what camp is all about. The teen leaders will be running activities for the children while the parents hear from the camp director, Robin Anderson. Later in the month, Pittsburgh Young Judaea will have a special volunteer day for teens.

We are so excited that the group of Chicago Judaeans will be coming together this fall to begin their year with the help of former CYJ staffer Adina Lipschultz.

As you can see the Midwest region is hard at work giving back to their communities and friends because after all, MIDWEST IS THE BEST!!

~ Sarah Tessler Midwest Pirsum 2018-2019

New England Young Judaea

New England YJ is off to great start with our new maz! Our first event was at Honey Pot apple orchards on September 30th, which went super well. Everyone went apple picking, went on a hay ride, and ended with a peulah about Jewish identity. Everyone really got to know each other better and we were able to have a few first-time yj members join in . Right now we’re working on future events to have within the next two months and we’re looking forward to what’s to come for us this year as we make our comeback!!

~ Julia Kamen, New England Pirsum 2018-2019

DMV Young Judaea

DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) Young Judaea is so excited to jump back into programming with their amazing Shlicha (Israeli emissary) Gonni Kern. We kicked off with an opening BBQ but this year, the teens plan to play a larger role in running programs for children and work on their hadracha (leadership skills).

Los Angeles Young Judaea

Los Angeles Young Judaea welcomed some new Tel Yehudah teens this past summer and the group set off this year under the guidance of Shlicha (Israeli emissary) Orel Damti.  This year, the hospitality of the Valley JCC gives us a place to be and we started with a terrific program about Israel. Our next activity will be volunteering at an assisted living center in Agora Hills.

South Florida Young Judaea

YJ South Florida is kicked off the year on September 16th at Off The Wall. It was so amazing to see everyone reconnect and have fun together. I know this event foreshadows (in a good way) the fun activities we have planned for the rest of the year. Master Chef Israel was our follow-up program with a focus on Israeli food. It was so fun to see everyone and connect with Israel through food!  Coming up, we have Amazing Race Israel on November 4th.

My name is Lyndsey Lipson and I had the best summer of my life on Machon. We started the summer off with two days at Camp Tel Yehudah, Young Judaea’s teen camp. For some people this was their first time in Israel whereas for others it was there fifth or sixth. No matter how many times someone has been to Israel, this was the first time with Machon and everyone found it meaningful. Growing up in Young Judaea, Machon is something we all look forward to and live our summers waiting for. All throughout camp we learn about Israel and the culture but there is a difference between learning about it and experiencing it.

Standing on Yehudah Hatzair street allowed my Young Judaea career to come full circle. We wrote the names of people in Young Judaea who came before us and our own names in order to bring them with us on this journey. I wrote the name of my cousin who has been talking to me about her experience staffing machon seven years ago. She was someone who impacted my Young Judaea career and my choice to go on Machon. I will forever be thankful to her that I came on this program. One thing that I believe makes this different from any other Israel trip i’ve gone on with my family is the fact that I’m here with my best friends and making new friends everyday, even 3 weeks into the program. For many people this program encouraged them to do Year Course in the 2019-2020 year. Being here for only one month allows us to learn a portion of the history that Israel has and coming on Year Course would allow us all to learn so much more and get to experience Israel in a different way.

~ Lyndsey Lipson is a 12th grader from East Brunswick, New Jersey and serves as New Jersey Young Judaea’s Administrative Vice President

H+ was a very interesting experience for me . . . to say the least. I had heard from the people who did it before me that it is a very draining and challenging experience, but still an all around rewarding and amazing month. For me, H+, or Hadracha Plus, was one of the toughest months of my life that I will always be grateful for. The month started out with daily themed leadership training sessions such as child development, or the leadership hierarchy in camp.

Everyday was filled with discussions, fun activities and special guests from around camp. Every night we would come together in the Gazebo and spend 15 minutes journaling about what we learned that day and how we can use it to our advantage or how it made us feel. Knowing that we had such a huge impact on shaping campers lives was kind of scary at first. We were scared of messing up, or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time; in time we learned that when it truly comes down to helping campers, the training really prepared us and helped us.

The amount of self discovery and self reflection that we did took a toll of me at first. Because there were only nine of us in the program, it felt as though the spotlight was always on us. But in reality, because we were such a small group, we were stronger than ever. Knowing that there were eight other people who were going through the same experience as me, who had their own struggles, experiences and takeaways made me feel closer to my friends and to the program as a whole. When the third week came, we were spending every minute of every day with our campers, except our hour off of course.

I loved my campers so much. Because they were 11-12, they were a little bit more mature and easier to talk to then some of the other campers. I bonded almost instantly with most of my 12 girls, others took a little more time, but by the end of camp I was very close with all of them. Watching my co’s in action, and spending almost two and a half weeks learning, training, and discovering who I am helped me feel closer to the place where I spent my summers growing up. It helped me learn just how much each and every child is cared for and the impact that we have as madrichim and as influential teens. Although it was one of the most mentally challenging and toughest experience of my life, it was also one of the best and one that I will be forever grateful for.

~ Zoe is an 11th grader from Woodbury, New York and is the Pirsum (social media and communications) programmer for the LI NYC Mazkirut (Teen board).

Every summer at camp is something magical. An escape from the realities of school and stress. And yet, there was something that stood out this summer at Camp Tel Yehudah.  This summer my Shikvah (age group) at camp was called Yachad. Yachad means together in Hebrew, and quite literally sums up what the summer was all about. Yachad is the first year where campers from all four Young Judaea summer camps join together at Tel Yehudah.  I transitioned from knowing 40 or so kids I went to junior camp with to learning the names of 100 kids from all over the country and a few across the globe.

At first, the transition was quite stressful and overwhelming. The first few days everyone was attached at the hip to the kids they’d grown up with at Sprout, CJ, Midwest, or Texas. These 4 camps became what made us different and what separated us from each other. But after a while, everyone came to the same realization that we all had one thing in common: we were all Judaeans. No matter what camp we had attended we had grown up singing the same songs, dancing the same dances, and learning how to incorporate the same values into our Jewish lives. Each camp had its own spin on our classic traditions. It turned out that in the end, the camps weren’t what separated us but what brought us together, b’yachad. The bonds I made this summer were so strong and so deep that they seem to me to be unbreakable.  

I find myself these days in my room on FaceTime with my friends from Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Connecticut, Florida, New York, or Illinois. My mom tells me stories of when she would get in trouble for all the long-distance charges on her family’s phone bill because she had called camp friends from across the country. I think our love for our camp is something my mom and I can bond over. My summer at Camp Tel Yehudah created so many unlikely friendships that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do anywhere else. Friendships that were forged on the basis of togetherness and acceptance, two values that Yachad instills in its campers.

~ Manni Burach is a 10th grader from Livingston, NJ and is currently the Merakezet Pirsum (Social Media and Communications) for the New Jersey Mazkirut (Teen Board)

This I believe, that Israel is complex. That in the middle of all the conflict, the main issue lies in a difference of narrative. An inherent contradiction between the way two groups of people tell a story.

I love Israel, and I would support it as a Zionist state to pretty much any end, but it has its issues. I love the culture in Israel. I love the food, the community, the feeling of being home. I believe in Israel but I also believe in peace in the Middle East. As a Jew living in New York, I have so much love for Israel. But, I also believe that if I were a Palestinian in a small village in Gaza being fed twisted (if not false) news, I would have a lot of rage directed toward Israel.

Since the creation of the State, Israel has had two very different stories being told. I think the best way to sum this up is how Yom Ha’atzmaut, “day of independence,” for Israelis/Jews, comes directly before the Nakhba, “day of catastrophe,” for Palestinians. It was a time of triumph for the Jewish people, the end to a long fight for a safe home where Jews would always be welcome. While for Palestinians, it marked them being pushed out of their home and lost.

Israel is filled with so much tension. It was built as a result of a very controversial series of events.

It is true, there are Arabs or Palestinians who want all Jews dead. Within the United states, there are Palestinians, or other people (possibly pro BDS) who want something along those lines as well. There are people who believe that the Israeli government is corrupt and oppressive. There are people who believe that Jews do not deserve a state. It is also true, that there are Jews who want all Palestinians dead. Within my own school and camp community, there are people who believe that Palestinians are evil. People who believe that they are all terrorists, that they do not deserve equality.

I believe in neither of these ideas. My idealistic self believes that there has to be a way to reach common ground. I believe that peace is possible

I’m not sure I have found find a fully articulated and coherent opinion on the current situation. I believe that the key to peace is conversation. The climate and tension in Israel is one which can only be solved through civil discourse, and personal relationships. I believe that both sides have dehumanized each other. They each refuse to look at each other for what they are, human beings, and moreover, individuals.

I believe facilitating civil conversation, active engagement with people who come from different backgrounds is what is needed. As I see most conflicts, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at its core boils down to misunderstandings. I believe that a resolution must start somewhere. That it can be in classrooms, over social media, or in the Knesset. For any sort of progress I believe each side must make an effort, to reach out and attempt to make a change, this I believe.

~ Naama is a 12th grader from Brooklyn, NY and is the Bogrim (teen) Programmer of the National Mazkirut of Young Judaea

Yozma. I still quite honestly have no idea if anyone knows what the word means. Trust me, I googled it and everything. But I have a pretty good idea of what it looks like.

Who can count the days they hugged a camper close as they wept their worries away? Who can count the amount of laughs erupting from the bunk when somebody wore underwear on their head or attempted an Israeli accent? Having experienced all of these moments as a camper was one thing, but to watch other kids have them under your facilitation is the most rewarding form of hard work. From planning activities for the kids to telling them slightly-embellished stories, the look on their faces while they watch their counselor in amazement is more valuable than any tangible currency.

Yozma definitely presented its challenges, but each one was met with a reward. For example, I had the challenge of filling a surprise hour without starting every sentence with the infamous, “let’s play a game”. It can be so intimidating to view yourself as responsible for the summers of these kids, but Sprout Lake is Sprout Lake and they’ll have fun no matter what. The only thing anyone needs at Sprout is a sense of belonging, and at a place like this, nobody needs to ask to fit in.

I look back on Yozma as one of the biggest growth experiences of my life. It was the first time I was really put in a position of responsibility for other people, and every last moment was intense and pressured. However, the pressure was met with stellar rewards; it is safe to say making a kid smile is sweeter than any apple turnover!

~ Yael Asofsky is a 12th grader from Charlotte, North Carolina

This past summer I participated in Camp Tel Yehudah’s leadership program, Hadracha. I learned a lot about what it means to be a leader. One of the many things we did this summer was going to Washington D.C to lobby for issues we were passionate about. At the beginning of the session, we split into 10 different groups, called Tikkun groups (from Tikkun Olam) that were based on various problems people face throughout the world. I was in the women’s rights Tikkun group. At first, we looked at many broad problems regarding women, including reproductive rights and the wage gap. As our trip to our nation’s capital approached, we decided to focus mainly on the topics we agreed were most important; reproductive rights and the wage gap.

The night we arrived in Washington D.C., President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace Judge Kennedy in the Supreme Court. This nomination played an important role in our trip because we educated ourselves on some of Judge Kavanaugh’s ideas for the future, as we already knew he was in the running to replace Judge Kennedy. We discovered that many of his plans would be very detrimental to women’s reproductive health for generations to come.  The next day was “Organization Day”. Each tikkun group split up and went to different organizations that were scattered throughout Washington. These organizations focused on some of the issues we were learning about.

The women’s rights tikkun group went to the National Partnership of Women and Families, Planned Parenthood and the National Council of Jewish Women. Each organization provided us with information about what they specialize in and gave helpful tips on how to lobby and speak to government officials. This was super helpful for the next day when we spoke with the staff of Representative Rosa DeLauro and Senator Susan Collins. These meetings were particularly important because we had the chance to try to persuade the staff of these significant representatives to vote against the appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Because of this, as a group, we did our best to try and mention the important issues that could result if Kavanaugh is confirmed. Receiving this opportunity to have the chance to help shape the future of women was unique and something that doesn’t happen every teen.  

~ Hannah is an 11th grader from Plainview, New York and serves as the Administrative Vice President of the LI NYC region of Young Judaea.

During this past summer, I spent two weeks at Szarvas, an international Jewish sleep-away camp in Hungary. The camp brings together Jewish children and teens from the ages of 7-17 from across Eastern Europe, the U.S., Israel, and India; unites people who probably would never have otherwise met on the basis of one characteristic about themselves: Judaism. It was an incredible experience filled with singing, dancing, conversations with new friends from around the world, and more than a little bit of trying to pronounce words in tons of different languages.

While there I took note that as a Jew living in America, I’ve had the incredible opportunity and freedom to express my Judaism. I live in a peaceful community where I am surrounded by Jews of all ages, I go to a thriving synagogue, and have attended summer camp and Jewish youth events for my entire life. However, the same cannot be said for many of the other chanichim at Szarvas. Many came from small, struggling, or shrinking Jewish communities, and some shared with me that they’ve faced harsh antisemitism. For many, the only Shabbat that they would celebrate during the whole year was at Szarvas.

There was one moment that particularly stood out to me. During Shabbat prep, music was playing over the loudspeakers. Initially some traditional Jewish Shabbat tunes like “Hava Nagila” or “Shalom Aleichem” could be heard. But then, I heard songs that were really out of place. Things such as “Chanukah O’Chanukah” and even the tune to the “Four Questions” from Passover were played. This confused me and most of the other Americans as well. Then, our group leader explained that for many of the chanichim, they don’t know that some of the songs that were played were traditional for holidays that were months away. To them, they were simply Jewish tunes.

So, on the 4th of July, my American delegation and I delved deeper into what it means to be Jewish and American, and how to express that in an international setting. Through our discussion that day we identified how we could bring our knowledge of Judaism to the camp community. We discussed our role in helping to lead others in areas they may not have as much experience in, such as tefilot or shira. Meanwhile, we had to open ourselves up to new traditions and thought from our fellow chanichim. That day, we also received a privilege check. While many of us Americans could afford the cost of camp this was not the case for all.

In conclusion, Szarvas truly was an incredible experience. I experienced the diversity of the Jewish community on two levels. The first was just within the American delegation, which represented varying levels of observance and diversity of opinion. The second was on the global scale, representing various cultures from four different continents. Through the interaction and exposure to Jewish teens from many unique cultures, Szarvas successfully celebrates the vast and amazing diversity of the Jewish people.

~ Evan Ressel, National Mazkir 2018-2019