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October 3, 2003/Tishri 7 5764, Vol. 56, No.2
Meaningful messages
High Holidays provide opportunity to make Judaism real for kids
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
Jacob Miller and Rebecca Steiner decorate Rosh Hashana cards with teacher Anisah Garvey at Temple Kol Ami.
Photo courtesy of Temple Kol Ami
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While many adults see the High Holidays as a time for renewal, children don't always get so excited about getting renewed. Therefore, many organizations in the Valley are making an extra effort to make the holidays meaningful for children. In particular, Temple Emanuel began holding teen services for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur this year.
While not a new concept, it was the first time the congregation, with more than 500 member families, had space to hold a separate teen service for its approximately 200 teen members. This year's High Holiday services were held at The Bethany Community Church.
Judy Starkston, the mother of two teenagers and a teacher of 20 years, facilitated the planning of the service, which was organized by the teens in the congregation.
The teens met with Starkston, Susan Schanerman, director of education for the synagogue, and Rabbi Andrew Straus all summer. They studied traditional services and a variety of alternative services, and "they just rewrote (the service) in terms that they knew that all of the kids would really relate to and understand," says Starkston.
The holiday services include skits acted out for the Haftorah portions. Starkston says that almost 50 teens participated as leaders, actors, singers or musicians.
"Their goal was to have a service that after ... they would go into the adult service and say, 'Oh. I get this,' and they would really understand," says Starkston. "It is partly a teaching tool to grow up to be adults who really understand the High Holy Day service and enjoy it and get spirituality out of it, and it's partly to make the High Holy Days spiritual and comprehensible to them in an immediate way."
Other synagogues in the Valley held youth and teen services, while congregational and day schools prepared for the holidays with shofar blowing, apples and honey and songs and stories.
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