This Week
Necessary Reinvention
Decline of youth groups forces new thinking for teen outreach.
JULIE WIENER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
New York
111
argarita Beznosov thought
about enrolling in her temple's
confirmation class after her
bat mitzvah, but it conflicted
with a dance class she wanted to take.
Now 15, Beznosov, of West Hartford,
Conn., performs in plays at her local Jewish
community center and will be working this
summer — for pay — as a technical assistant
on the JCC's children's shows.
While her rabbi speaks a little mournfully
about never seeing Beznosov at her Reform -
synagogue, the experience of this teen can be
read two ways.
Some will say that without continuing her
formal Jewish education or participating in a
youth group, Beznosov is "at risk" and will be
lost to the Jewish community.
Others will see the opportunity that institu-
tions like the JCC, which appeal to interests
that are not specifically Jewish, have in keeping
teens engaged — at least on some level — in
Students from Jewish communities across the country come to
Jewish life.
Washington for Panim el Panim seminars.
Synagogue high schools and year-round youth
groups, long the mainstays of Jewish teen pro-
"We need to engage youth, instead of demanding
gramming, today appeal to a limited audience of
they fit our model, and we need to go to where they
teens. Leaders in both the Reform and Conservative
are," said Jonathan Cohen, one of the staff people
movements estimate that fewer than 25 percent of
involved in planning a Youth Initiative for the Reform
the teens whose parents are synagogue members par-
movement's
Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
ticipate in youth groups.
"We
believe
that all kids in a congregation would
Although no comparative figures exist, those
like
to
have
something
Jewish in their grand portfo-
working in the field say they have a strong sense that
lio of life and we haven't offered it yet," said Cohen.
Jewish teens today are less interested in year-round
The Youth Initiative, like other new efforts, uses
youth groups than their predecessors were.
what JESNA's Vernon calls a "boutique" approach:
programs that have Jewish content but use other
Short And Intense
activities — Scholastic Assessment Test prep courses
Over the past few years, as the American Jewish
in which teens also talk about how to stay connected
community has focused on promoting "continuity"
to Jewish life while in college, camping trips and
and renewal, local federations, the Jewish communi-
wilderness retreats that also involve Shabbat celebra-
ty centers movement and the religious movements
tions — as a "hook" to attract teens.
are trying to find new ways to reach teens.
One of the largest of such efforts is the Jewish
Although no one plans to eliminate the year-
Community Centers Association's Maccabi Games,
round youth group, which attracts a small, commit-
an annual teen olympics that attracts more than
ted cadre, those involved with the new initiatives are
6,000 teens, many of whom do little else under
finding the majority of Jewish kids more likely to
Jewish auspices.
participate in shorter, more intensive experiences
The JCCA, which is now talking about creating
such as summer camp and Israel trips, as well as
year-round teen sports programs that build on
ones tailored to their interests.
Maccabi's momentum, also runs Israel trips specifi-
Rabbi Art Vernon, the staff person at the Jewish
cally for Jewish athletes, with sports training and
Education Service of North America responsible for
competitions.
teens and informal education, has an explanation for
"The carrot is the sports," said Lenny Slberman,
the declining interest. "Kids are busier, with many other
continental games director for the Maccabi Games.
things to do, and they're prioritizing activities," he said.
But when kids were asked what the best part of the
Israel trip was, they didn't say "this game or
that game, but they said planting trees and
seeing Masada."
Among the other programs that use the
hook approach are Genesis, a summer
school at Brandeis University. It combines
academic courses and art classes with
Jewish programming. The Jewish Civics
Initiative teaches teens about social action
and community service from a Jewish per-
spective—travel to Washington for semi-
nars, and a social action project in their
own communities.
Through the civics program, sponsored
by the Washington Institute for Jewish
Leadership and Values, teens in South Palm
Beach County, Fla., organized a "homeless
fair" to collect household and personal-
hygiene products for homeless people. Teens
in San Antonio, Texas, got involved with a
campaign against a state school voucher bill.
Rabbi Sidney Schwarz, the Washington
Institute's founder and director, describes
the strategy of the civics program as well as
a shorter seminar on social justice, Panim
el Panim, as an "outside-in approach to
Jewish learning." Instead of sitting down
just to learn about Jewish philosophy or
texts, he said, "you start with an issue they
have an interest in, like abortion or
refugees, and then look at what Judaism
has to say about it."
Youth Clubs Changing
Long-standing youth groups are also trying
to look beyond the core of kids who take lead-
ership roles and attend every event.
The National Conference of Synagogue Youth,
which is sponsored by the Orthodox Union, serves
30,000 to 40,000 teens per year, half of whom are
not Orthodox. It offers a range of activities, includ-
ing Shabbat retreats, sports activities, summer
camps, trips to Israel and Israel culture clubs in pub-
lic schools.
And today, the group expects most kids to pick
and choose which activities they'll attend.
But some youth organizations prefer to fine-tune
the yearlround club rather than developing a differ-
ent approach.
Jules Gutin, director of the Conservative move-
ment's United Synagogue Youth, said the clubs work
when synagogues make them a financial priority.
USY is focusing on persuading more kids to become
members at younger ages, rather than providing
alternative activities. "When you take certain pro-
grams out of a year-round context, the long-term
impact is not as successful or enduring," said Gutin.
While Gutin says membership in Kadima, USY's
pre-teen division, is now at an all-time high of
10,000 participants; it is not yet clear how this will
affect the older group.
Young Judaea, which is sponsored by Hadassah,
the Women's Zionist Organization of America, has
seen its numbers jump for Israel trips and camps
over the past decade, but has had "limited success"
with its year-round clubs, said Doron Krakow, the
7/7
2000
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