Cub Scouts of Pack 13 - from left, Marcus Finks, William Marhoffer, Gabriel Lewis and Noah Weisman - show off the Cub Scout Sign they learned to earn their Bobcat Badge.
Photo courtesy of Susan Finks
The Cub Scouts is a tradition for young boys growing up in America. Now, in Maricopa County, it has the potential to become a Jewish tradition as well.
Cub Scout Pack 13, led by David Marhoffer of Scottsdale and currently affiliated with The King David School, is up and running. The second- and third-grade boys have already earned the Bobcat badge, their first. Earning this badge means the boys learned the Scout Salute, the basics of Scout laws, the Cub Scout promise and the Scout sign and hand clasp.
Although Jewish Cub Scout Packs are common on the East and West coasts, this is the first one in Maricopa County, reports David Zinder of the Jewish Committee on Scouting.
The pack meets on Sundays and Mondays, which allows the boys who observe Shabbat to participate in activities, and all food is kosher, says Zinder. He explains that the pack is different from regular Cub Scouts because the boys earn Judaism-focused badges in addition to the traditional badges.
The boys earn the Jewish badges - Maccabee and Aleph emblems - by "learning and participating in home and synagogue observances." The boys must also learn about famous Jewish people.
Most importantly, the boys love being involved.
Susan Finks' son, Marcus, really wanted to join the pack after a friend asked him to join. To Finks, the Cub Scouts are a "great learning opportunity."
"It's nice that it's in a Jewish setting," she says.
Mindy Lewis, mother of scout Gabriel, took on the challenging role of den mother. "I wanted to make sure the pack actually became a reality," she writes in an e-mail.
Her job is to facilitate meetings and plan activities that will enable the boys to fulfill their badge requirements. Lewis notes that as she learns more about scouting, she sees "that Cub Scouts reinforces the values that we are teaching our children."
Since the first meeting, three more children from other schools have joined the pack, bringing it to seven boys, and Lewis hopes the group will continue to grow. Although most of the other Cub Scout packs meet on Saturdays, there are plans for a joint activity between the Jewish and non-Jewish packs.
Pack 13 meets after school on the first and third Mondays of each month at The King David School, 12753 N. Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale and on the fourth Sunday of each month at a private residence.
