“Maybe I’m just a wanna-be teen,” says Bruce Landgarten, executive director of the Contra Costa Jewish Community Center, when asked why he’s spearheading a new East Bay coalition of Jewish youth.
Landgarten certainly has the get-up-and-go of your average teenager.
His eyes light up as he describes his efforts to join middle- and high school students from several communal organizations and synagogues, in order to create a first-ever area social, cultural and spiritual youth alliance.
“This is the first time all these organizations are getting together,” declares Landgarten. “This is an experience for Jewish tweens and teens to meet other Jewish kids.”
Havurat Ruach, meaning “spirit of the community,” will bring together Jewish youth in grades six to 12. To date, the participating groups are: CCJCC,
Contra Costa Midrasha, Beth Chaim Congregation in Danville, Temple Isaiah in Lafayette, Congregations B’nai Tikvah and B’nai Shalom in Walnut Creek, BBYO, United Synagogue Youth and the North American Federation of Temple Youth.
“I’m not trying
to compete with local youth groups,” Landgarten explains. “And this is not about the CCJCC owning it. I’ve invited all the local Jewish groups to participate. I’m offering my venue, since we have a pool and a gymnasium here.”
Group organizers had been meeting since May. The kick-off party in September included a pool party with games and relays, dinner, Havdallah under the stars and “S’lichot Chat.”
But this isn’t just about partying. In addition to the holiday celebrations and dances, young people will be watching films, putting on plays, playing sports, attending sports events, going to the theater, and participating in community and social services.
On Monday, Dec. 15, Jewish rock musician Rick Recht will be giving a concert for Havurat Ruach, and Landgarten expects the event to be well attended. Over the last two summers, Recht has played at some 70 Jewish camps from coast to coast including Ramah, UAHC, JCC and private camps, gaining a feverish following among the national Jewish youth movements.
“This is the first thing of its kind,” says Kim Greenhall of Danville, the mother of a 13-year-old who has joined Havurat Ruach. “It goes across every congregation.”
Last year, after switching synagogues — from B’nai Shalom to Beth
Chaim — Greenhall’s daughter, Lauren, did not see her friends from Hebrew school as regularly. So the new group presented an opportunity “to see those kids again.”
When her daughter first heard about Havurot Ruach, “the first thing she did was call all her friends on the phone,” Greenhall says. “They all have it on their calendars.
“As a parent I’m really excited,” she adds. “It’s hard to keep a Jewish connection if you’re not affiliated.”
Asked if her parents had encouraged her to join the new youth group, Lauren, an eighth-grader at Diablo Vista Middle School, says, “It went both ways. My parents had mentioned it, but so had my friends.”
Lauren’s mother is also excited about the fact that middle school students are part of the group. “They’re not in high school yet, so they’re not stuck in their ways.”
On a tour of the JCC gym, where campers are shooting baskets, Landgarten nods his head toward the teenagers who are milling in small groups in the shade, before heading to the outdoor swimming pool to show off the waterslides.
“I’m just very happy that we’re in the teen business,” he says.
Information on Havurat Ruach: (925) 938-7800.