FAMILY EDUCATION PRESENTS Jewish Summer Programs for Children and Teens
When the walls of the European Jewish ghetto gradually came down over a hundred years ago, Jews emerged – dazzled by the new light of individual dignity and freedom which has climaxed in the American Dream. Whether you define being Jewish as a race, a nationality, a culture, a religion, “…a Kingdom of Priests and a holy nation…” [Exodus 19:6], here in America you can be who you want to be. The irony is that with such freedoms, we have become so comfortable in our American skins that we don’t always feel the need for so much Jewish identification. We often let others define who we are.
Recent census figures tell us that there are several hundred thousand fewer people who self identify as Jews than there were 1990. How do we revitalize the community? You are viewing this article because you have already made a choice for yourselves and your families. Our Beth Elohim community connects us with our ancestors and other Jews through space and through time. Abraham is Avinu – “our father”, and many of us cling to the hope that our children will “stay in the fold”. Even those of us who are not traditionally observant hope to some degree that we will not be the last Jews in our families. We may raise children in completely secular homes, yet find ourselves bothered or hurt when they grow up and have little relationship to their own Jewish communities.
Amy Sales, a Senior Research Associate of the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis*, presents us at the close of the millennium:
Modernity, Americanization, suburbanization, assimilation, and social acceptance are concepts that encapsulate the story of American Jewry in the 20th Century. Each has led to a loss of the traditional socializing agents that had previously transmitted Jewish understanding in an ‘organic’ way from one generation to the next. By the latter part of the century, children in the mainstream Jewish community could no longer learn about being Jewish simply by osmosis – from living in a homogeneous Jewish neighborhood, from being raised in a knowledgeable family committed to Jewish life, from being surrounded by a network of Jewish friends and extended family. As American Jews cross the threshold into the 21st Century, there is no question that they have been enormously successful in terms of secular education, wealth and influence. But some have asked whether they will survive their success… High rates of intermarriage, declining ritual observance and a declining commitment to Israel are evident, and serious questions have been raised about Jewish continuity in the Diaspora.
American Jewry has turned to Jewish education as the most promising vaccine against assimilation. Over the past 50 years, the Jewish community has built an impressive, multifaceted educational infrastructure embracing both schools and programs of non-formal education…. Parents have largely accepted the community’s role in the socialization of their children, relying on synagogues, day schools, and camps as the family’s partners (or proxy) in this enterprise. It is thus often the case that children acquire Jewish skills that their parents lack, and indeed, may not even want for themselves.
What can we do?
A response from Joseph Reimer (Director of Informal Jewish Education Studies at Brandeis University): “Based on what I know of the existing research…
1. When we compare Jewish adults who just attended synagogue schools to Jewish adults who attended those schools and were active in one of several forms of informal Jewish education during their teen years, we find that the latter tend to be more Jewishly committed on several measures, including choice of marital partner.
2. When these adults with strong Jewish commitments are interviewed, (adults who did not grow up in observant homes and did not attend day school) they often point to those voluntary, informal Jewish experiences as having made a key difference in their Jewish life choices.
3. We have more data on Israel trips and their positive impact on subsequent Jewish commitments. But the data on camps and youth groups are … suggestive of their long-term impact on Jewish identity”.
In her endorsement of the “Jewish Youth Databook” (see bibliography), Marlene Post, then president of Hadassah poses a query and then answers it for us, “Our young people represent one of the greatest challenges facing the American Jewish community today. How can we capture their imaginations, instill them with a love of Judaism and Zionism, and harness their energy for the good of klal Yisrael? The research findings… are clear: Jewish education, participation in youth groups, and travel to Israel increase teenagers’ commitment to Jewish life.”
The Chairperson of the Teen Task Force of the Jewish Community Centers Association, Judith Leiberman, adds, “Jewish communities must understand the psychological needs of teenagers (with emphasis on identity formation, and the changing nature of the transmission of ethnic identity)…to attract and involve teenagers”.
Barry Shrage, President of the Boston Combined Jewish Philanthropies agrees, “The Commission on Jewish Continuity…strives to ensure a vibrant future for this and future generations…[through its] long history of outstanding teen programming. We continue to be a center of vibrant synagogue and Zionist youth movements and summer camps… We are convinced that every Jewish teen should have the opportunity to participate in a meaningful Israel Experience through our ‘Myra and Robert Kraft Passport to Israel Program’.”
JESNA (Jewish Education Service of North America) Executive Vice President, Dr. Jonathan Woocher explains more completely, "Adolescence is a critical period for identity development. It is also a period when participation in quality Jewish education programs – in high schools, youth groups, camps, or Israel – has a demonstrable, dramatic effect, promoting lifelong Jewish commitment. Yet, it is just during the period that the involvement of a majority of Jewish youth in Jewish education decreases precipitously. The best estimates are that three-quarters or more of Jewish thirteen year olds participate in a Jewish educational program of some type. But by age eighteen, fewer than one quarter of these young people will be involved in any organized Jewish activity. If even half of the fifty percent who end their Jewish education during their adolescent years were to stay involved, the impact on their lives and on the future of the Jewish community would be enormous. This is the challenge that faces the Jewish community today: Can we keep these young people involved in programs that will make a difference for them and for us?”
Amy Sales, in her own introduction to the Databook, quotes the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development,
“Adolescence is one of the most fascinating and complex transitions in the life span: a time of accelerated growth and change second only to infancy; a time of expanding horizons, self-discovery, and emerging independence; a time of metamorphosis from childhood to adulthood…The events of this crucially formative phase can shape an individual’s entire life course and thus the future of the whole society.”
She outlines many challenges to our community that impact how we develop programming for Jewish teens, among them:
• Teens want independence • Teens want to practice adult behaviors • The teenage years are marked by experimentation • Being Jewishly identified may sometimes seem “not cool” • Jewish Teens are concerned about building their resumes, vis a vis college and career considerations • Jewish Social networks are implicated in strengthening Jewish identity and values • Teens want unstructured, unsupervised time just to hang out • Teens want to be with their friends • Teens could be treated like young adults and others who give and do not just take; they can be active contributors to the Jewish community
Some of her conclusions around addressing these challenges:
• The parents’ level of Jewish education is key • Day schools have a greater effect on building strong Jewish identities than other educational models • Participation in youth groups and travel to Israel make a difference in teenagers’ commitment to Jewish life • Continuity commissions are concluding that a strong Jewish family is the antidote to assimilation • A combination of observance in the home, formal and informal education provide multiple Jewish experiences for teens and that the more Jewish experiences teens have, the more Jewishly involved they become and the more they integrate Judaism into their lives. (From her paper on camping she explains: “Adult outcomes appear to be linked to an accumulation of positive Jewish experiences”). • Teens who return from a summer in Israel are more likely to begin following news stories about Israel
The Cohen Center has also been studying Jewish camping as yet another vehicle for identity development, both for young campers and their teen counselors as mentors and role models. Dr. Sales calls camps “cultural islands” at which kids and adults of all ages are Jewishly engaged to some extent, depending on the particular program. Currently in the United States, there are over 80,000 Jewish campers who are having fun with 20,000 staff members. Key to the camping experience is that “most children love camp, a sentiment not often evoked by religious school”! Camping (as well as trips to Israel) offers a Jewish immersion experience in a voluntary, rather than parentally coerced environment.
Some of the study’s summary thoughts:
• Campers love camp…the experience …touches campers to the core. • Many of today’s community leaders – rabbis, educators, writers and spokespersons – were formed, motivated or rejuvenated by their own camping experience. • Camps offer a special role in helping to clarify the Jewish choices of the young adults who work at camp during the summer. • Camp, like a pebble in a pond, ripples out to have consequences for adult Jewish life, including marked reduction in interfaith marriages, because it influences friendship patterns and dating behaviors • Camp has been shown to produce ‘good feelings’, a heightened sense of Jewish identity and an emotional attachment to Jewish things as well as a cadre of Jewish friends • Form many children, camp is their first exposure to a community dedicated to Jewish living • For emerging adults (staff older than high school – e.g.; 18-25), this is a time of crucial identity exploration – more so than adolescence • Jewish life at camp works because it is fun
The age old question of “Who’s a Jew?” can now be turned on its head in the post war comfort of Western society. It may no longer be about who your grandmother was that determines if you are a Jew, but if your grandson is a Jew. The Sh’ma tells us “… you shall teach them [the mitzvot] diligently to your children”. Think about what services and programs are available in the broader community to help you do just that.
Bibliography:
“Jewish Youth Databook; Research on Adolescence & Its Implications for Jewish Teen Programs” by Amy Sales Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies Institute for Community and Religion at Brandeis University. Co-Sponsored by Hadassah, JESNA, JCCs Accoc. CJP, Boston 1996
“How Goodly are Thy Tents: Summer Camps as Jewish Socializing Experiences” by Amy Sales, Leonard Saxe, Matthew E. Boxer and Mark I. Rosen Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University January 2002
“Who is a Jew; A Reader” compiled and edited by Rabbi Solomon S. Bernards, ADL 1960
* The Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University is a multidisciplinary research center dedicated to bringing the concepts, theories, and techniques of social science to bear on the study of modern Jewish life. Work at the Center explores how contemporary Jewish identity is shaped and how Jewish cultural expression and religious practice are manifested. Research focuses on issues such as Jewish education, family life, intermarriage and assimilation, Jewish identity and the role of synagogues, community centers and camps as socializing agents.