JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 13

A Typical 
Presentation

At a typical Student to Student pre-
sentation, the Jewish students speak 
about “What Judaism means to me,” 
which, national director Fawn Chapel 
notes, also “really presents ‘who I 
am.’” The students come prepared 
to speak about the Jewish life cycle, 
Shabbat, kashrut, antisemitism and the 
Holocaust, Israel and, if time, holidays. 
Typically, the presentation about 
Shabbat begins with biblical sources, 
and then moves to practices: candles, 
kiddush, challah (with props: The stu-
dents bring challah for their audience 
to eat) and other rituals. 
Then the presentation moves to 
the personal: “What do I actually do 
for Shabbat?” Some Jewish students 
report that they do not do any of these 
rituals, that their Shabbat completely 
resembles what non-Jewish students 
would do on a Friday night; other stu-
dents report about “dinner with the 
folks;” others do not drive, turn on or 
off lights or use their phones. Such a 
range in practice highlights the diversi-
ty in the Jewish community.

Chapel said the structure of a typical 
presentation begins with “interests 
and activities, and explanations of the 
different branches of Judaism. About 
Israel, students talk about what Israel 
means to them personally.” 
When it comes to contemporary 
antisemitism, “students tell personal 
stories — what has happened to them, 
how it feels to receive negative 
stereotypes,” Chapel said. 

Bloomfield Hills where he takes a leading 
role in the Jewish Campus Club, introducing 
Jewish people and practice to fellow students, 
some of whom have not pre-
viously met Jews. He has been 
active in his family’s synagogue, 
Temple Beth Ami in Rockville, 
Maryland, and in BBYO. Citrin 
says that the Student to Student 
training program “was phe-
nomenal. They know what we 
should expect.
” 
He added, “
Almost all of my Jewish expe-
rience has been with Reform Judaism and, 
while I’ve loved being a part of this commu-
nity, I felt that I didn’t develop much of an 
understanding of the practices and beliefs of 
other branches. 
“Meeting the other student presenters has 
given me the opportunity to get to know 
students from other branches of Judaism: 
Orthodox, Chasidic and Conservative. That 
has been a high point, and I look forward to 
getting to know them better.
”

Another of the student presenters, Grace 
Kleinfeldt, is in 10th grade at Frankel Jewish 
Academy in West Bloomfield. She attends 
Kehillat Etz Chayim, the Modern 
Orthodox congregation led 
by Rabbi Lopatin. Kleinfeldt 
looks forward to presenting for 
Student to Student to “show 
teens that we are normal kids … 
we like the same music; we like 
the same activities.
” 
She finds it important to share 
about each other’s religion “in a 
peaceful way … so that people 
have the facts right.
” This could 
counteract the negativity and 
hatred that get spreads easily on 
the internet, mostly because of 
“lack of education that so many people have 
about Jews,
” she said. 
Another presenter, Gideon Lopatin, a 
15-year-old sophomore at Farber Hebrew 
Day School, also identifies as Modern 
Orthodox. He looks forward to his role as a 

presenter because “I just want to tell people 
what Judaism is.
” 

THE PROGRAM’S ORIGINS
Student to Student began 30 years ago as a 
program of the Jewish Community Relations 
Board of St. Louis. Rabbi Andrew Terkel, 
CEO of Be the Narrative, describes how a 
JCRC counselor, Batya Abramson-Goldstein, 
originated the program in response to an 
uptick in antisemitism around 
1992. 
“She started going around 
trying to talk to schools and 
churches,
” Rabbi Terkel said, “and 
she found that teenagers talking 
with other teenagers was much 
more effective. That inspired her 
to start this program she called 
‘Student to Student,
’ where she brought 
diverse teams of Jewish high school students, 
representing all the major movements, 
Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, to high 

Grace 
Kleinfeldt

GIdeon 
Lopatin

Rabbi 
Andrew 
Terkel

Ari Citrin

continued on page 14

Eight Metro 
Detroit students 
were trained in the 
Student to Student 
program last fall.

A typical Student 
to Student 
presentation

