Related Blog Posts on NFTY, Summer Youth Experiences, Journal of Youth Engagement, and Youth Engagement

9 Principles to Help You Engage Jewish Youth

Michelle Shapiro Abraham, MAJE, RJE
Miriam Chilton

These nine guiding principles to engage youth were developed by numerous congregations and synagogue professionals in our collaborative work with them. We share them with congregations and use them to inform our own ongoing efforts to develop new camps and year-round programming.

Counting, Questioning and Creating

Barrett Harr

The themes of searching, accepting, believing, and more are just a few of the concepts from the holidays (and that teens are often wrestling with in their lives) that are present in our texts during the hagim. How can we use these themes to deepen experiences for our teens during the High Holy Days as well as throughout the rest of the year?

Top 5 Reasons You Want Your Youth Team at Youth Summit

Rabbi Leora Kaye

The summit, happening February 17-20 in Chicago, IL, is a gathering of a community of adults who are professionally invested in the future of our Reform Jewish youth. Read through these five reasons your team needs to attend - and then get registered. We can't wait to see you there!

How the Last Words of Moses Prepare Us for an Election Season

Miriam Chilton

At the end of the book of Bamidbar, which we just completed reading, it seemed that Moses’ career as a leader had come to an end. His successor, Joshua, had already been determined, and it would be he, not Moses, who would lead the people into the Promised Land. Still, in the midst of transition and the last month of his life, Moses assembles the people and delivers a series of addresses. This week’s parasha begins with the phrase Eleh ha-d’varim, meaning “these are the words.” As the children of Israel assemble in front of him, Moses prepares them for a new beginning. He ceases to be the liberator, the miracle worker who parted the sea, and the redeemer who was called upon to replenish a depleted well. The people gain responsibility.