We are committed to providing our teens with high-quality, meaningful content that fully engages them. Our students have opportunities to socialize and create a Jewish peer group, thereby enhancing their connection to the Jewish community. We guide them as they mature and become literate, responsible, and committed Jewish adults.
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” — Hillel, Pirkei Avot 1:14
GRADE 8 – If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
Students focus on issues of self and relationships with others. Ethics and ethical decision-making, personal choices, relationships, and Jewish identity are key topics of discussion.
Core to our religious teaching is the value that human life is sacred and that each of us is created b’tzelem elohim, in the image of God. Judaism teaches us to see ourselves as sacred and our bodies as precious gifts. Our teens come to understand that the issues we discuss relate not only to their personal growth and development but are intimately tied to their identity as Jews. Core religious values serve as the Jewish lens through which students learn to see their world.
GRADES 9 and 10 – If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?
Students focus on issues of social justice, morality, and exploring interpersonal relationships more deeply. Students continue exploring the core religious values that form their Jewish lens. Our sacred obligation to tikkun olam (repairing the world) and social justice are integral components in this curriculum. Teens learn that these are not just expectations, but that active engagement will afford us Jewish lives filled with meaning.
Students engage in a less formal, but no less substantive, program of study with our Director of Congregational Learning, Lisa Friedman, and our rabbi.
Topics for discussion are driven by the students with a focus on continuing to shape their Jewish identities and ongoing emphasis on meaningful social connections.
Confirmation at Temple Beth-El is the culmination of our five-year Confirmation Academy program. Taking place in twelfth grade, the celebration of Confirmation coincides with the end of high school and formal education at Temple Beth-El. As part of this ceremony, our young adults will have the opportunity to apply the many values explored as they synthesize their Jewish learning in practical and meaningful ways. Each student will make their own contribution to the service, and as a group will lead our community in a powerful worship experience.
Overnight travel experiences are a significant highlight of our post brit mitzvah program.
Our eighth and ninth graders participate in an overnight experience in New York City where they experience Shabbat from beginning to end, explore a museum through a Jewish lens, and explore the city with friends.
Our tenth grade attends the four-day L’Taken Social Justice Seminar with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington DC. Here students experience learning sessions, Shabbat celebration, and visiting the United States Holocaust Museum, and the program culminates with a day on Capitol Hill in which our teens lobby legislators on issues important to them.
“The 10th grade trip to Washington DC not only brought me closer to my classmates but also taught me about important issues that are affecting the Jewish community. My favorite part of the trip was definitely the last day when we went to Capitol Hill and spoke to our Congressmen and Senator. I also really enjoyed meeting other teenage Jews from around the country. I still keep in touch with some people I met.”
Our eleventh and twelfth grade trips have included Atlanta, Georgia where the trip’s emphasis is on the intersection of Judaism and the Civil Rights movement, Charleston, South Carolina where the emphasis is on Jewish history, including the complicated experience of slave ownership, and St. Petersburg, Florida for an exploration of Judaism in the Arts.
“The 11th & 12th grade trip was everything I had hoped it would be. Visiting a place so rich with Jewish history that dates all the way back to the Revolutionary War was incredible. I enjoyed Shabbat services in a temple that is the fourth oldest in the United States. This trip also helped to strengthen my friendships.”
