Teen Life at East End Temple
East End Temple is committed to ongoing learning for all ages. This is especially true for our tweens and teens who dedicated themselves to learning about, living and sharing their Judaism, from Pre-K to middle school. We have a menu of teen and tween options to choose from — please see below.
Junior Youth Group (grades 7-8)
Meets weekly in the late afternoon. Students vote on learning topics for the following week. We begin our afternoons eating together and sharing our days. Then we choose between Hebrew, t’filah (prayer) and “Ask Your Jewish Question.” We base our content on a menu of teacher- and student-generated topics. Previous topics include:
- Does Judaism dictate our politics?
- What is the Hebrew language, where did it come from, how was it resurrected?
- Why don’t Jews seem to agree on anything?
- History of antisemitism — on the right and the left
- Why would someone hate Jews?
- How did the Middle East get so messed up?
- What is genocide?
- Startup Nation — how and why does Israel create so many successful tech ventures?
- Jewish approached to gender
- What is kosher and how do different people keep it?
- Why do people say Jews are successful?
- Judaism and relationships: friendships, romantic relationships, parental and sibling relationships
We spend half an hour of social time with our Youth Group teens (grades 9-12). For more information about tuition and membership or to register, please contact our Director of Congregational Learning (educator@eastendtemple.org).
Youth Group (grades 9-12)
Meets weekly to build a strong social community through holiday celebrations, trips and other bonding opportunities during this pivotal time in their development. When so much is changing in teen lives, EET Youth Group is a constant second home for our teens. Our programing stays conscious of typical teen deadlines and stress points in the year. For more information about cost, membership or to register, please contact our Director of Congregational Learning (educator@eastendtemple.org).
Ozrim (Teacher’s Aides) (grades 8-12)
What better place to have your first professional experience than at your temple? Teens who are accepted to this program will receive four official professional development sessions. They will be supervised by our Director and Associate Director of Congregational Learning, Mindy Sherry & Tehilah Eisenstadt. Students will be guided on etiquette and expectations for professional communication when running late or needing to be absent. Ozrim learn the value of their work in the Religious School, and students in their classrooms reinforce how precious each of the Ozrim are in our community. Students can choose to be paid or to gain volunteer hours. This experience also gives teens one more potential recommendation letter for high school and college purposes. Family membership is required for teens to participate in this program. For more information contact teisenstadt@eastendtemple.org, or to register email educator@eastendtemple.org.
Genius Bar(Mitzvah)
For tech experts (a.k.a. grades 7-12)
Join us on the last Thursday of each month from 5:45-6:30pm to support adults in our community with small but persistent tech questions and needs. Students receive volunteer hours and the invaluable awe of elders in their community! Adults in the community get to connect with teens they’d never meet otherwise and get help on questions their own families haven’t had the time (or frankly, might be too/perceived as too frustrated) to help with. This experience also gives teens several more (staff and congregant) potential recommendation letters for high school and college purposes. All participant families (teens and adults) must be EET members. To get more information on accessible EET membership please contact the office (info@eastendtemple.org). If your family is already a member and your child would like to join our Genius Bar(Mitzvah) roster, please email teisenstadt@eastendtemple.org