Youth Group

Our Junior Youth Group (BIC= Beth Israel Chaverim)is an integral part of our middle school programming. Its program provides both social and service projects. BIC also operates the Queen Esther’s Cafe at the annual Temple Purim Carnival.

Our High School Youth Group

This year we are very focused on combining the High School class efforts with building our Youth Group activities.  The theme this year for NFTY (our regional Youth group) is “What makes a Jew Jewish?”  In our classroom, we are focusing our year on the preparation of a Modern Worship Service from scratch.  Combining historical understanding of the history of worship (as taught by the Rabbi, as well as through our own research), with an exploration of how other cultures throughout history have worshipped, we will be creating a worship service that will only contain things that are of relevance to the members of our high school.  In fact, part of the service itself (to be held on the May 14, 2011 Shared Shabbat), will be that the personal relevance of each piece included in the service will also be explained by at least one student.   We are exploring many diverse paths to a relationship with Judaism, God and the Spiritual Journey: classes held in the Metroparks, at the Cleveland Museum of Art, many ongoing service-oriented community projects, introduction to meditation and more.  We are also connecting with the greater Cleveland Jewish community — as well as the national Jewish community — through NFTY events, Panim el Panim in Washington, DC and our Junior/Senior New York City trip.   As we get more involved in our community, NFTY has become an adventure the students have decided to really dig into.  The mighty and strong Beth Israel Youth Group is actually in the process of hosting a Cleveland-area NFTY get together before the first Kallah so that all of the area’s kids can get to know each other!   Onward!