viewpoints » S end letters to: letters@thejewishnews.com DETROIT JEWISH NEWS essay theJEWISHNEWS.com “This means going to the school play, meeting teens at the Menchies frozen yogurt store, attending graduation parties and providing the Compelling new report speaks to key benchmarks. opportunity for a study break during AP testing,” Harr said. ewish teens embrace their Jewish Based on the study, released in “Once our teens feel we are truly identity, but less as a religious journey April, Bryfman imagines a new invested in them as people, and not and more as a pathway to Jewish lit- paradigm for how the Jewish Robert Sklar only as Jews, the dynamic shifts and eracy, experiences and connections. community views teen education Contributing Editor the door opens so that we can help Initiatives that truly engage will yield and engagement. reach the Jewish Education Project teens with: a strong sense of self; a sense of “We should develop Jewish outcomes. ” pride about being Jewish; values and ethics opportunities in concert with teens and that Weavers routinely share with each other expressed in relation to Jewish principles address all aspects of their lives,” Bryfman what works during the school year; they’re and wisdom; the desire and commitment to maintains. “As a whole, teens want to learn, not limited by turf. be part of the Jewish people; and a positive want to be challenged, value family and relationship to the land, people and state of friends, and they often seamlessly blend all BOLSTERED PATH Israel. facets of their identity and personality.” In addition to hiring a weaver last year, Teachers, mentors and role models mat- Temple Israel of West Bloomfield is large ter for Jewish teens. So do family traditions. IN CONTEXT enough to dedicate a full-time rabbi, Jewish teens see “doing good” as a universal Torah learning, Jewish history and Israel as Jennifer Lader, to teen engagement via its value. And they like spending time with the Jewish ancestral homeland are pillars of Roots high school program. their parents. Judaism. JEP’s study found teens are more Via Roots, the Reform Against this wide-ranging backdrop, our apt to respond if such pillars are presented synagogue has increased teens are peeking beyond the margins of in language “commonly associated with eth- its number of engaged organized peer engagement to find mean- nicity, culture, heritage or tribal affiliation” teens by more than 25 ing, purpose and expression as young Jews. as opposed to religiosity. percent in the last two So reveals a new Jewish Education Project Some of the biggest names in Jewish years (from 157 to 204) (JEP) report on Jewish teens and their feel- philanthropy — Jim Joseph Foundation, thanks to a vision of ings about Jewish life. The national findings Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family youth work affirmed by underscore the importance of family, knowl- Foundation, Lippman Kanfer Foundation JEP’s target outcomes, edge and challenge to Jewish teens — they for Living Torah, Marcus Foundation — are Rabbi Lader Lader says. want to be uplifted and make a difference. behind the study, elevating its value as teen Temple Israel teen initiatives include: Making Jewish life inviting for teens, who engagement data. • Creating a high school program that are at a pivotal formative stage, is one of the In the study’s wake, Bryfman challenges features Jewish learning, leadership training North American Jewish community’s tough- the Jewish community — “our organiza- and relationship building while deepening est obstacles, especially amid the glare of the tional leaders, our funders, our visionaries.” connections with clergy, friends and com- well-documented drop-off in Jewish involve- He urges working alongside Jewish teens to munity. ment post-b’nai mitzvah. create Jewish moments that appeal, resonate • Understanding the value of identity- and empower. building travel experiences such as the teen NOVEL OUTLOOK Anyone active in teen engagement mission to Israel and the Alternative Spring That drop-off is “entirely revers- should echo the question he deems Break, which this year went to Prague and ible,” writes the catalyst behind critical: “What do we need to con- Poland to explore their Jewish heritage. the JEP report “Generation Now: sider if we want to engage a Jewish Understanding and Engaging teen today?” FORGING AHEAD Jewish Teens Today.” “Generation Now” recommendations In a JTA commentary, David WEAVING ANEW acknowledge there’s no guarantee to engag- Bryfman, chief innovative offi- Barrett Harr, Jewish Federation of ing a teen Jewishly. Teamwork is the best David Bryfman cer for the New York-based JEP, Metropolitan Detroit’s teen engage- approach. Effective initiatives, according writes that change will come ment coordinator, first heard about to Bryfman, will engage teens intellectu- provided “the Jewish community Bryfman’s research while attend- ally, physically and socially; will be relevant approaches teen engagement in a ing the Summit on Jewish Teens, a to their lives; will offer something worth new way — one that recognizes national gathering in Baltimore, in sharing with friends; will enrich everyday the whole teen and values her or February. skills; and will instill pride in being Jewish. him as an equal partner in creat- She believes the recent addition of Initiatives also will help make the world a ing experiences that add meaning three Jewish Teen Network Weavers better place. to her or his life.” better positions the Detroit Jewish In pursuit of a new attitude toward teen Locally, Jewish day schools, community to accomplish much of Barrett Harr engagement, let’s remember current teen synagogue schools, youth groups, what Bryfman envisions. Temple leaders may be prime candidates to sit at the summer camps, mentorships and the bien- Israel and Temple Beth El, both Reform Jewish communal leadership table. They’re nial teen mission to Israel all help link our synagogues, have each added a weaver. bound to be a positive influence on peers. teens to their Jewish and ancestral roots. The Conservative movement weaver serves Hitting on a fundamental and pressing “Generation Now” and its 14 Jewish edu- Shaarey Zedek and Beth Shalom and as dynamic, David Bryfman insists real change cation and engagement outcomes serve as United Synagogue Youth’s local adviser. in teen engagement “will come from exist- a guidepost for the Jewish world as it mines The positions are funded by a Federation ing organizations that can adapt and do innovative ways to engage teens through two-year matching grant awarded through things differently, and from the creation of initiatives and outreach and to enable them the Hermelin Davidson Center for new organizations ready to engage 21st- through programming and opportunities. Congregation Excellence. The match calls century Jewish teens.” To formulate meaningful teen engage- for congregations and Federation to split the ment metrics, JEP researchers not only cost of each weaver. More on “Generation Now: Understanding and arranged focus groups, but also conducted Weavers aim to be where teens are and Engaging Jewish Teens Today” is available online at hundreds of teen interviews across North to treat them as whole persons, not just as JewishEdProject.org/GenerationNow. America over 2½ years. Jewish teens, Harr told the JN. Engaging Our Teens J Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher / Executive Editor ahorwitz@renmedia.us F. 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