The Teen Division at Temple Emanu-El empowers students to grow as passionate, creative leaders and role models. Through meaningful Jewish experiences, we strive to ensure that every teen feels seen, valued, and deeply connected to our community. By fostering a sense of belonging and purpose, our programs not only create lasting memories but also prepare …
By Jenny Silber When you think of what it means to be Jewish, lox and bagels on a Sunday morning or matzah ball soup on Passover may be some of the first things to come to mind. The commonality of sharing these traditions can make us feel like we know a Jewish person before we …
“When I was a Young person, I wanted to change the world. But I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my country. When I found I couldn’t change my country, I began to focus on my town. However, I discovered that I couldn’t change the town, and so as I grew older I tried to change my family. Now as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself. But, I’ve come to recognize that if long ago I had started with myself, then I could have made an impact on my family. And my family and I could have made an impact on our town. And that, in turn could have changed the country and we could all indeed have changed the world.”
Celebrate teens’ areas of strength and explore their areas of potential growth.
From the appetizer to the delicious desserts, which included Thanksgiving cupcakes festively decorated by our volunteers, cinnamon doughnuts and a chocolate and vanilla parfait topped with fresh blueberries and raspberries, this Thanksgiving meal was a special way to share the warmth of the holiday with those who would otherwise be alone. All of our guests …
By Jackie Peterson, Communications Manager Religious School is a time to learn about Jewish identity and history, to develop a sense of right and wrong, to make lasting friendships, to study for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah… and, for some, a time to meet their future spouse. Matt and Annabel Perelman did not start their …
⇑ Waking up excited and too early to go to work, Rachel turns on the TV to find A-TEEMers on every channel as they get ready to come to Emanu-El and be role models, Tribal leaders and have some fun.
⇑ Role models, teachers and leaders. Who are the teens in this video making Religious School fun? Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to be on the Monday A-TEEM.
A-TEEM student leaders work in the school office, interact with students and engage in Jewish study. School days are divided between administrative duties, hands-on involvement with students and skills training.
A-TEEM members are supervised by Emily Besthoff, our Assistant Director of Lifelong Learning. Workshops and learning sessions will be taught by temple clergy, Lifelong Learning staff and Religious School faculty. A-TEEM participants also have opportunities throughout the year to interact with other members of the teen community.
COMMITMENT
A-TEEM takes place primarily during Religious School hours. A-TEEM members will pick one day per week in which to participate throughout the school year:
In addition to the weekly hours, the A-TEEM program includes an orientation and three additional seminars over the course of the year. These skill- and community-building seminars take place outside of school hours.
A-TEEM members earn a stipend for their participation in this program. Participants may be eligible to earn community-service credit in lieu of a stipend, if approved by their school.
APPLICATION PROCESS
We are looking for creative and dedicated high school students who are interested in gaining new skills, learning about different aspects of congregational education, working as role models to younger students, and increasing students’ knowledge of and connection to Judaism. Please note, in order to participate in the A-TEEM, the applicant’s legal guardian must be a member of Congregation Emanu-El.
To apply to become a part of A-TEEM, or for more information, contact Emily Besthoff, or call 212-507-9526.
“Confirmation at Emanu-El has shaped me in becoming the person I am today. At the beginning of my years of studying Judaism, answering correctly to the question ‘what it means to be Jewish’ was near impossible. Looking back on my life, and my experience at Emanu-El, it helped me to understand what Judaism is. Even more than that, it brought me to finding the place I belong.” — Phebe, 5780 Confirmand
Temple Emanu-El offers the option of Confirmation to our high-school-age students. Our Confirmation class meets throughout the year, two Sunday’s per month, with Rabbi Davidson exploring topics related to God, Torah, and Israel.
Our year-long program culminates on Shavout in our Fifth Avenue Sanctuary, as we celebrate our students reaffirmation and commitment to embrace Jewish learning and tradition in their lives. Standing on the pulpit, leading the congregation in worship, and sharing their beliefs with the community is usually a rite of passage they will remember forever.
All high school students whose families are members of Temple Emanu-El may participate in the High School Confirmation Program. To receive a registration form, contact the Religious School Office at 212-507-9546.
For more information about the following trips, contact ">Emma Kate Lindsay, Director of Youth Learning & Engagement – (212) 507-9529.
EIGHTH GRADE TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS
Join eighth graders from Temple Emanu-El, Temple Israel and Temple Shaaray Tefila as they travel together to help rebuild the city of New Orleans. Our students will experience the various foods and cultures of the Crescent City, including live jazz and a voodoo tour. And, our they will also join the volunteering effort in the Lower 9th Ward.
Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend; Thursday, January 16 – Monday, January 20, 2020
Fee and registration information, click here.
NINTH GRADE CIVIL RIGHTS TRIP
The Civil Rights Movement comes alive as ninth graders from Emanu-El, Temple Shaaray Tefila and Temple Israel head to Georgia and Alabama to learn more about this significant yet troubled time in American History and the impact it had on the Jewish Community. Students will visit The Rosa Parks Museum (Montgomery), The Names Project/AIDS Quilt (Atlanta), and The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Students will participate in a creative Shabbat Tefilah at the Edmund Pettus Bridge (Selma), experience the Freedom Walk and visit the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.
Thursday, February 27 — Sunday, March 1, 2020
Fee and registration information, click here.
Tzedek League, Teen Philanthropic Committee & Teen Leadership Council meet on Wednesday evenings
TZEDEK LEAGUE (8th Grade)
Tzedek League trains our eighth graders to be leaders in making change. In addition to providing a more frequent and deeper volunteer experience at the organization of their choice, this program teaches students about different methods of working toward social justice, including fundraising, advocacy, education and community organizing. Tzedek League meets two or three times per month, including a volunteer session and a Sunday Summit where the students learn about other methods of pursuing justice and plan the ways they intend to help the organization that they chose.
TEEN PHILANTHROPIC COMMITTEE (8th-12th Grade)
How would you use $10,000 to help New York City? This committee has been tasked with just that responsibility by Temple Emanu-El’s Philanthropic Committee. Eighth graders through 12th graders come together monthly to go through the grant-making process. Students choose an issue affecting New Yorkers about which they care, create a mission statement, and design an application that nonprofit organizations will use to request a grant. Committee members go on site visits to see what the organizations are doing and to decide who is deserving of the committee’s grant! The year culminates in a check-presentation ceremony. The committee meets one weekday evening a month. There is no fee for this committee, but teens are encouraged to make a donation of $36 or more to Temple Emanu-El’s Philanthropic Fund.
TEEN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL (9th-12th Grade)
The Teen Leadership Council, made up of representatives from each of our teen groups and general teen representatives, helps bring together our teen community. The council plans events for leaders across the middle and high school programs, organizes community-service activities for all Emanu-El teens, and facilitates engagement with such temple-wide events as Mitzvah Day and the Purim Carnival. Council members come together at monthly meetings, where they learn and utilize leadership skills to engage the Temple Emanu-El teen community.
For more information about the following opportunities, contact Em Besthoff, Associate Director of Lifelong Learning: Teen Community and Leadership – (212) 507-9526.
GOLDSMITH RELIGIOUS SCHOOL BUILDING
The Goldsmith Building is the hub of Temple Emanu-El’s Jewish educational program. Along with the Streicker Center and Nursery School, our Religious School occupies two floors of this building and has access to the resources and facilities of the temple.
OUR SANCTUARIES
Sometimes for study, sometimes to prepare for upcoming services or events, and often to gather as a school for assemblies and services, our Religious School has access to Temple Emanu-El’s worship spaces: Greenwald Hall, Lowenstein Sanctuary, Beth-El Chapel, and the majestic Fifth Avenue Sanctuary.
EVENT SPACES
Food and festivals play an important part in our heritage, and our Religious School has access to two large event spaces that offer kitchens. I.M. Wise Hall and Blumenthal Hall provide the room and resources we need to prepare challah, matzah or hamentaschen, organize for service events, or revel in each others company for family dinners following Shabbat Kodesh services.
LIBRARY
Temple Emanu-El’s Stettenheim Library is open during Religious School hours. Parents and caregivers are invited to spend time in the library and make use of the library’s online computers, study carrels and gracious Klau Reading Room. The Stettenheim Library maintains a collection of more than 15,000 items focusing on materials about Jews and Judaism. The library provides Judaica materials and relevant programming to enhance the religious and intellectual life of the congregation’s members and staff.
The children’s book collection serves children from toddlers through the teens as well as their parents. Through class visits to the library, teachers utilize appropriate books and media to expose the Religious School students to Jewish holidays, Israel, Bible heroes, folktales, fiction, the Holocaust, contemporary biographies, mitzvot, and other Jewish values. The library also has a media collection including recorded books, DVDs and videos, and music CDs. Parents are invited to explore the library while their children are in Religious School.
MUSEUM
The Herbert and Eileen Bernard Museum of Judaica of Temple Emanu-El features three galleries of Jewish art, religious ornaments and temple memorabilia that are noted for their striking beauty and rarity. Our teachers and museum staff create a hands-on, interactive experience using the museum’s collection to explore Jewish history and tradition. Using the resources of the museum and the temple (from a 14th-century menorah to discovering hidden spaces in the Fifth Avenue Sanctuary), we seek to enhance the classroom experience for our students as well as strengthen their link to Emanu-El’s history.
Please note: many of our family activities have been suspended or moved online to comply with COVID safety regulations. We hope to resume in-person meals and gatherings in 2022.
We believe that when our students participate together with their families in learning experiences, worship and communal holiday celebrations, they get more out of them, make more friends and simply have more fun. In all our programs, we create an environment in which families can explore Judaism together while forging strong connections to the Emanu-El community.
And for families with children preparing to become a bar or bat mitzvah, we offer a series of “mini-retreats” in the three years leading up to this life-cycle event. There are many opportunities each and every month to learn, volunteer, worship and socialize with other families.
PARENTS ASSOCIATION
Our Religious School has a long history of active parent participation and dedication. The Parents Association Steering Committee works in close participation with our clergy and the staff of the Department of Lifelong Learning to set the agenda and establish the priorities for innovation and change in our school-age programs. These volunteers provide a means by which all parents may voice suggestions and concerns about our programs. Their primary concern is to build community among the families of the school and the synagogue. To get involved, please contact the school and we will put you in touch with the Parents Association.
VOLUNTEERING
There are so many events that go on in the Religious School and temple overall, we often need a few extra hands. Not only can volunteering result in much-needed help to the temple, but it can also strengthen a family’s connection to the Emanu-El community. Parents interested in learning about the many opportunities to volunteer in the school and beyond (preparing mailings, assembling holiday gifts, running a booth at the Purim Carnival, helping with registration, chairing an event, working in the library, ushering during High Holy Days, Mitzvah Day projects and more!) should contact Em Besthoff.
SHABBAT KODESH
All are welcome at this inspirational and uplifting prayer service, which is led by our clergy, Director of Lifelong Learning Emeritus Saul Kaiserman, and members of our Religious School faculty. Shabbat Kodesh provides a stirring opportunity for families to connect through worship and builds upon the values and curriculum offered at the Religious School. Relatives and friends are welcome. We also welcome prospective families interested in applying to our school. Services are always followed by a family dinner. Click here for more on Shabbat Kodesh.
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL DINNERS
Throughout the school year we hold Shabbat dinners open to temple families and their guests. These dinners provide an opportunity for our community to meet and socialize. Dinners are appropriate for all age groups, and age-appropriate activities for the students (such as mitzvah projects, art activities, storytelling, and games) are offered at each dinner. The fee per family (up to two adults and any number of children) is $45 before the deadline and $65 after the deadline. Teens (eighth through 12th graders), if unaccompanied by an adult: $15 each. Additional Adults: $18 each. Check the calendar our next Family Dinner.
ISRAEL TRIP
Temple Emanu-El periodically organizes a trip to Israel that is designed to be equally appropriate for adults and kids, family and friends. We explore Israel from the Negev Desert to the Golan Heights, from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, and everywhere in-between. The next Israel trip will be announced soon.
All are welcome at this inspirational and uplifting family-friendly prayer service, which is led by our clergy and features familiar faces from our Religious School community.
The next Shabbat Kodesh service will take place in Beth El Chapel at 7:15 PM on Friday, April 14, 2023.
Religious School and Member families are invited to join us for a festive Shabbat dinner in Wise Hall at 6:00 PM prior to Shabbat Kodesh services. Click the link below to learn more and register!
The Shabbat Kodesh Family Worship Service is similar to the worship conducted in our Religious School and enables our students to build a prayer community with their families and other Emanu-El members. The following prayers and blessings are offered to help with preparation for the service. Listen below, or download the complete PDF file.
