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in
the

Raising
The Bar

A

New curriculum
for b’nai mitzvah
students provides
tools for mental
well-being.

STACY GITTLEMAN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

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tlight o
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mental health

26

May 24 • 2018

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s Jewish children have
Just like many other men-
prepared for Jewish
tal health initiatives and
adulthood through-
resources that have emerged
out the decades, the clergy
this year, RTB was spurred
and educators in their lives
on after the results of a 2016
traditionally equipped them
Jewish Community Health and
with skills like lead-
Social Welfare Needs
ing prayers, making a
Assessment confirmed
speech and chanting
the high rates of anxi-
Torah. Thanks to an
ety and stress among
emerging curricu-
teens in the Jewish
lum being developed
community, according
by Jewish leaders in
to Todd Krieger of the
Metro Detroit called
Jewish Federation of
“Raise the Bar” (RTB), Todd Krieger
Metropolitan Detroit.
Jewish kids from as
“Information that
early as grades 3 or
was gathered about
4 will also be given
the state of our youth’s
tools such as effective com-
mental health was both sur-
munication, meditation and
prising and chilling,” Krieger
stress management. So, when
said. “More than half of the
it is time for them to finally be
youth who responded to the
counted as a Jewish adult, they community survey indicated
can approach it from a place of that they, or someone they
mental well-being.
know, struggle with anxiety.”
“We want to
According to Shere, “In the
give our ado-
years leading up to a child’s
lescents skill
b’nai mitzvah, we have this
sets that will
perfect opportunity when par-
prepare them
ents spend a lot of time shut-
to become the
tling their children to syna-
best mentsh
gogue, and they are getting lots
they can be,”
of exposure to congregational
said Adat
life and their rabbis.
Rabbi Rachel
Shalom’s Rabbi
“This may be the last con-
Shere
Rachel Shere,
centrated period in a child’s
who created
life when parents spend such
and coined the name of the
a great deal of time with them
curriculum. “Kids need to
before the teen years set in,”
not only be grounded in the
she added. “RTB will take
wisdom of Jewish texts and
advantage of these years and
prayers, but also given sound
forge stronger bonds among
coping skills in mental health
parents, children and syna-
— caring for themselves first
gogues by teaching commu-
— so they can in turn give
nication and coping skills and
back as caring contributors to
impressing the fact that the
their Jewish community.”
b’nai mitzvah learning process

can and should be
“Throughout the RTB
challenging, but it
program development
should not be exces-
process, updates and
sively stressful. It is
opportunities for feed-
a holy opportunity
back are provided to all
that needs to be opti-
clergy through Michigan
mized.”
Board of Rabbis meet-
Shere added that
ings,” Krieger said. “Our
Dr. Jeremy Baruch hope is that each syna-
the Jewish commu-
nity must move away
gogue will adopt all, or
from idealizing the
portions, of the RTB
child during the b’nai mitzvah
curriculum.”
service. Instead, what would
Baruch said over the gen-
have a greater lasting impact
erations, the b’nai mitzvah
upon the child and his or her
ceremony has been used as a
involvement in Judaism is to
placeholder of examining the
show that in becoming a full-
values of the Jewish American
fledged Jewish adult, he or she
family. From being civic
is “part of something awesome minded to now concentrating
and bigger than themselves
on mindfulness, the desire to
and they have reached this day implement a curriculum such
because, through coping skills, as this reflects how the story of
they have succeeded under
the Jewish American is chang-
pressure to stand poised and
ing through the generations.
prepared before their congre-
“For new immigrants, the
gation,” Shere said.
values were about civics and
“Becoming a b’nai mitzvah
becoming American. For gen-
should teach children that
erations after that, a value was
they are never alone,” Shere
placed on materialism and
continued. “If the b’nai mitz-
making it in America as Jewish
vah feels that their clergy and
Americans,” Baruch said.
synagogue have their back
“Now, we are coming into a
when they are 12 and 13, they
time when we are moving a bit
will continue to return to syna- away from materialism, and
gogue and seek out that feeling we are placing the values on
of support and belonging when health and mental well-being.
they face the challenges of
“As American Jews, we
being 16 and 17.”
have proved over the genera-
tions that we can take care of
Backed with a grant from
the Hermelin-Davidson Center ourselves. For this next gen-
eration, the challenge will be
for Congregational Excellence,
how to take advantage of all
Shere and Krieger consulted
the opportunities of the 21st
with Dr. Jeremy Baruch, a
century without being over-
rabbi and a child psycholo-
whelmed and crushed by the
gist resident at the University
process.” •
of Michigan’s Department of
Psychiatry.