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February 13, 2004/Shevat 21 5764, Vol. 56, No. 21
Continuing education
East Valley teens participate in pilot class
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
Temple Emanuel's Post Confirmation Class celebrates Hanukkah with Council for Jews With Special Needs.
Photo courtesy of Temple Emanuel
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Many synagogues find it a challenge to keep teens active in Jewish life throughout their high school years. Temple Emanuel has found a solution to the problem in their Post-Confirmation Program for teens in 11th and 12th grade.
"We started the program because we want to encourage our post-confirmation students to stay engaged in Jewish learning and mitzvot," explains Susan Schanerman, director of education. "Many of them are active in our youth group, but we want to offer them a more formal opportunity to gather monthly to study, to discuss and do tikkun olam."
The teens meet once a month to alternately participate in community service projects and participate in interactive classes on Jewish topics. Eileen Brill Wagner, who developed and teaches the program, says the goal is to tie discussions into service projects.
The two service projects that have already been held were a Hanukkah party with Council for Jews With Special Needs and a visit with families who are part of Welcome to America, a project that welcomes refugees to the Valley. The teens gathered supplies and toys and took them to the refugees, members of the Bantu tribe from Somalia.
"They brought them toys (but) the (Somalian) kids didn't even know how to use the toys, so our kids were showing them how to use them," recalls Wagner. "They were just so friendly and warm and everyone left just falling in love with the organization and the kids wanting to come back again."
Wagner calls the program a success and says despite the teens' busy schedules, they find a way to come to each meeting, and they leave each month "begging for more."
Catherine Miller, a junior, says her experiences have been very rewarding and she will participate again next year.
"I've learned a lot more about current issues, like racism, and how we as modern teenagers deal with being Jewish and other people's perspectives of the Jewish religion," she says. "I've always loved Jewish life and culture and being part of it. Coming to temple and seeing (my) friends, as well as learning about (my) heritage is something that I would miss tremendously if I couldn't participate in it."
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