RJ Blog

By Susan Klau To my family, one of the most important aspects of Reform Judaism is community. My Jewish journey through adolescence was much different than my parents’. My dad, born in New York and raised in Puerto Rico, experienced a limited and informal Jewish education. Puerto Rico’s Temple Youth Groups are associated with NFTY-NAR […]

The Journal of Youth Engagement is an online forum of ideas and dialogue for those committed to engaging youth in vibrant Jewish life and living. Join the discussion and become a contributor. By Michael Fuld Defining success is one of the key components to any organization. As a youth professional, when someone asks me, “How did the event go?” […]

The Journal of Youth Engagement is an online forum of ideas and dialogue for those committed to engaging youth in vibrant Jewish life and living. Join the discussion and become a contributor. By Rabbi Jack P. Paskoff (While this article reflects the experience of my congregation, proper credit should be given to Rabbi Bennett Miller at the Anshe […]

The Journal of Youth Engagement is an online forum of ideas and dialogue for those committed to engaging youth in vibrant Jewish life and living. Join the discussion and become a contributor. By Ellie Klein Goldman In the fall of 2013 Temple Shalom in Newton, MA launched a new weekly program for 7th and 8th graders called MINCHA.  […]

The Journal of Youth Engagement is an online forum of ideas and dialogue for those committed to engaging youth in vibrant Jewish life and living. Join the discussion and become a contributor. By Beryl Trauth-Jurman Fantasy Basketball. That is how Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation in Reston VA, decided to solve two problems. I had just started as the Youth […]

By Andrew Keene An unidentified scholar teaches us, “Blessed is the generation in which the old listen to the young, and doubly blessed is the generation in which the young listen to the old.” For 75 years, NFTY, the North American Federation of Temple Youth, continues to serve as the link between the past, present, and […]

We’ve got big news coming from our partnership with Nothing But Nets! Together with the United Nations Foundation, we are launching a new Malaria Fellowship program for the most engaged, social justice-minded college students. The Fellowship will run from January 2014 through April 2014. Fellows will learn about the plague of malaria in Africa, help […]

by Cantor Mary Rebecca Thomas I’ve had the privilege to learn from URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs on several occasions, the most recent of which was in January 2013 in Chicago. I was there, along with a lay partner, and representatives from a handful of other congregations to form the first cohort of the URJ’s […]

The Journal of Youth Engagement is an online forum of ideas and dialogue for those committed to engaging youth in vibrant Jewish life and living. Join the discussion and become a contributor. by Lindsay Ganci At The Community Synagogue of Port Washington, N.Y., all Jewish teens in the area are welcome to join our youth programs—whether […]

The Journal of Youth Engagement is an online forum of ideas and dialogue for those committed to engaging youth in vibrant Jewish life and living. Join the discussion and become a contributor. by Ellie Laycook During Rosh HaShanah this year, one of “my” teens was invited to give the High Holy Day appeal during services.  The […]

The Journal of Youth Engagement is an online forum of ideas and dialogue for those committed to engaging youth in vibrant Jewish life and living. Join the discussion and become a contributor. by Jeffrey and Amy Kagan “Busier than ever:” This is the refrain we, as youth advisors, hear over and over again about the schedules […]

by Stephen Weitzman Traditionally, the month of Elul is a period of self reflection for Jews who attempt to get closer to God. The tradition dates back to the time when Moses ascended Mt. Sinai for the second time after breaking the tablets because he believed the Israelites had violated their sacred relationship with God […]

As we begin the year 5774, and reflect on the year that has passed and our aspirations for the year ahead, it is a time to check-in on our accomplishments and hopes for all that we want to achieve in youth engagement. Our six-month strategic planning process, funded with a matching grant from the Jim […]

Just before Rosh HaShanah, the New York Times ran a story titled “Bar Mitzvahs Get New Look to Build Faith.” The piece introduces readers to the Reform Movement’s new B’nai Mitzvah Revolution, an initiative to reinvent the bar and bat mitzvah that began with 13 pilot congregations. The American bar mitzvah, facing derision for Las […]