Rabbi Stuart Gershon Teen Program

"This has been a phenomenal year for my son at Temple Sinai. He has grown spiritually, solidified his Jewish roots, and had so many rich, memorable experiences with his peers. And the L’Taken Social Justice seminar in Washington DC wasn't just a highlight of his year, it was a significantly moving event that strengthened his connection to the Jewish community and I'm certain will stay with him as he enters adulthood."

~Parent of Temple Sinai High School Student

The Rabbi Stuart Gershon Teen Program supports our Grade 8-12 students as they grow in their independence and inquiry. We seek to create an environment of comfort and challenge — new and challenging ideas and experiences within the comforting embrace of their Temple family and teen community. The RSGTP offers a flexible “buffet-style” program in which teens can choose from an array of options based on their interest and availability:

• ANAFIM (“branches”): Our core program — offered in partnership with our Summit neighbors, Congregations Ohr Shalom and Beth Hatikvah — creates space for our teens to grow individually as they widen their circle of Jewish community while continuing to be nurtured within their Temple Sinai home. Teens enjoy informal dinner together, followed by core class with their grade-level cohorts, followed by eclectic and engaging elective offerings, informed by the teens’ own interests. Click here to learn more and to register.

• Madrichim (“leaders”): Teens serve as teaching assistants in our K-5 classes. This affords our teens an opportunity to learn and grow in leadership, while serving as role models for our younger students and forming bonds across age groups. Click here to learn more and to register.

• Masa’ot (“journeys”): Immersive travel experiences with our Summit consortium that expand our teens’ horizons in many ways — socially, in creating interpersonal bonds through experiential learning; and in humanity, through our site-specific social justice-themed trips. Our 2024-2025 trips include: Gr 8-9 Civil Rights Journey (Georgia and Alabama), Gr 10 L’Taken Social Justice Seminar in Washington, D.C. (open to Gr 11-12 if space available), and Gr 11-12 weekend trip exploring Jewish Philadelphia.

• Hitnadvut (“volunteerism”): One-off opportunities to volunteer at the Temple (e.g., High Holy Day children’s activities, Purim Carnival, and more).

Financial assistance is available to help cover trip expenses for families who need it. Please reach out to Rabbi Gluck directly. All financial arrangements will be confidential.

Open to all Temple Sinai members in 10th-12th Grade

Temple Sinai’s 10th-12th will join hundreds of teens from Reform synagogues around the country for a social justice seminar in Washington, DC. In partnership with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (“the RAC”), our teens will have the opportunity to learn about social justice issues from a Reform Jewish perspective and then advocate for these issues on Capitol Hill. The program is designed to both expose them to a variety of public policy issues and explore the Jewish values that inform the Reform Movement’s advocacy around these issues. We will also visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org, the Smithsonian National Mall and celebrate Havdalah at the Jefferson Memorial.

See a video of the L'taken weekend here
Learn more about the RAC and L’taken here
and see a sample itinerary for the trip here.

***If your teen has already participated in a L'taken Seminar they are welcome to come again! The RAC offers a track for returning students so their second L'taken experience will be as enriching as their first.

Open to all Temple Sinai, Ohr Shalom, and Beth Hatikvah Members in 8th and 9th Grade

Temple Sinai’s 8th/9th graders will be joining with 8th/9th graders from the other Summit synagogues for the Civil Rights Journey. Through this immersive experience, the teens will become empowered and inspired to come back home and get involved by realizing they currently have the power to make a difference. They will meet with Reverends who worked and strategized with Dr. King as well as people who participated in the march from Selma to Montgomery. These are primary sources. Each of our speakers ensures the teens understand that they can make a difference today. We will also discuss Jewish involvement in the Movement and how our Passover story correlates so strongly with the Civil Rights story. Our teens will visit the Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration, museumandmemorial.eji.org/museum  and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial in order to understand that civil rights is not an issue that only impacted a specific group of people in the 1950s & 60s but is an ongoing issue today.

Learn more about the Civil Rights Journey here and see an itinerary and FAQ’s for the trip here.