Section archive - Informal Education

The Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University was funded by UJA-Federation of New York to carry out research to inform planning for The Experiments in Teen Engagement Task Force of UJA-Federation of New York (ETE Task Force). Engaging Jewish Teens describes Jewish teens, their everyday reality, and the factors that contribute to or detract from their engagement in Jewish life.

Rabbi Hershey Novack, campus rabbi and director of Chabad on Campus in the St. Louis area, raises some ideas for parents to help university students – their children – maintain a connection to Judaism by setting an example of Jewish involvement and by partnering with the agencies that bring Jewish life directly to young people.

Rabbi Jonah Pesner blogs about Rabbi Eric Yoffie's final act of leadership of the Union for Reform Judaism, the launching of the Campaign for Youth Engagement (CYE). The Campaign for Youth Engagement is a collaborative effort across the Reform Movement that is built upon the foundation laid by many groups dedicated to Jewish youth. This collective was established by a handful of rabbis and volunteer leaders,who called for a renewed commitment by the Reform Movement to NFTY, and, more broadly, to youth work as a whole.

As part of the inaugural national launch of Moving Traditions’ program for teen boys, Shevet Achim: The Brotherhood, 25 men gathered for a training seminar in New York. In the mix were professional Jewish educators (rabbis and rabbinical students, teachers, directors of teen programs and summer camps) and men that work in the wider world (two lawyers, a pediatrician, a sommelier, a yoga instructor, a film editor and a sportswriter) who are willing to serve as mentors for local Jewish teens.