abin Fever

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

NFTY's Winter
Conclave
addresses teen
issues.

PHOTOS BY BILL GEMMELL

n the day before
her 15th birth-
day, Leslie Zack
led a group of 11
of her peers on a
flea market-like
tour of the Jew-
ish ideas of the
afterlife.
Starting with
Olam Haba (the world to
come) and making stops at
rooms titled Reincarnation
and Heaven and Hell, she
led her group through a por-

The weekend began as about
150 teens, some traveling from
as far as Petoskey, gathered Fri-
day evening at Temple Israel. Af-
ter registration, the participants
had Shabbat dinner with their
host families and attended ser-
vices and a forum on divergent
Jewish views of body piercing,
tattooing and personal grooming,
concerns paramount to some
teens today.
On Saturday, the participants
attended services, a song session
and forums on the afterlife and
sexuality issues. A semiformal
dance and dinner capped off the
day. Breakfast was served Sun-
day morning to the youth-group
members before they headed _\
home.

Youth-group
members came from
all over the state.

Top: Youth-group members learn a Jewish
folk tale about heaven.

Above: Participants play "Duck, duck,
goose" to illustrate a point.

Left: Leslie Zack tries her luck in the
reincarnation room.

14

All of the activities were
planned and orchestrated by
Temple Israel's youth group
members who met two to three
times a week for the past month
to iron out the details.
tion of a 10-room tour as part of
"The kids are dealing with is-
the festivities at the annual Win- sues they think are important,"
ter Conclave of the North Amer- said James Rosenberg, Michigan
ican Federation of Temple Youth regional director of NFTY. "It re-
(NFTY).
ally follows the Reform move- —`
"This has been a lot of fun so ment in making a Judaism that
far," she said while shepherding is meaningful for them."
her group between rooms. "I
"We wanted to make sure
came here because I wanted to everyone had fun and learned
meet new people and I have."
something while they were here,"
Hosted this year by the youth said Nicole Scaglione, a co-chair
group at Temple Israel, the con- of the conclave. "I think everyone
clave for Reform youth-group did. I know I did."
members featured educational
The annual spring conclave
forums and spiritual enhance- will take place May 12-14 at
ment in a jam-packed 48-hours Temple Emanu-El.
of activity.