Santa Rosa synagogues join forces to create new youth group
Friday, September 14, 2007 | by stacey palevskyOne is anything but the loneliest number for Santa Rosa teens.
The city's existing Jewish youth groups have bridged the gap between their two organizations to establish a new, inclusive group open to teens in Santa Rosa and the surrounding area.
The new youth group, called Chaverim, is the product of Santa Rosa's two synagogues: Conservative Congregation Beth Ami and Reform Congregation Shomrei Torah.
"After six years of competing programs, Chaverim combines the best of both, eliminates the worst of each, and creates something better and more unified," said Rabbi George Schlesinger of Beth Ami.
"Teens don't think in terms of Reform and Conservative — they just want to be with other teens," added Rabbi George Gittleman of Shomrei Torah.
While local programming will shift its focus toward Chaverim, the Santa Rosa synagogues will continue to operate their USY and NFTY chapters for regional and national events.
Membership for United Synagogue Youth and North American Federation of Temple Youth has lagged in recent years, the rabbis said, because there usually aren't enough teens in either group to coordinate local programs. Chaverim will provide a bigger community and therefore more opportunities for Jewish learning and leadership.
Congregants have talked about creating a unified youth group for several years. Chaverim's long-awaited first event Aug. 26 attracted 60 teens. They spent the day in a local park playing games, eating and getting to know one another.
Rick Concoff, co-director of Chaverim, said he hopes having a greater local focus will give the teens ownership and pride in the new group.
"This honors the idea of being a Jew in their community, the larger Bay Area, the state, country and world," he said.
Eighth- through 12th-graders can attend monthly social events on the weekends, which will include camping trips, dances, holiday celebrations and social-action events. Twice a month, teens will gather for a weeknight dinner and discussion.
Those gatherings will be more classroom-based. Concoff will go grocery shopping instead of ordering pizza, and the group will cook together. While they're eating, they'll socialize. Afterward, Concoff will facilitate a group talk about what Judaism has to say about big ideas such as the death penalty, conversion, atonement, fate and identity.
To maintain Chaverim's "around the corner" vibe, as co-director Sharon Benson described it, the structure will be different than USY and NFTY. Instead of electing a president, two teens will plan each event, expanding leadership opportunities for youth group members.
So far, Chaverim has attracted a variety of teens.
"We didn't expect this, but other synagogues signed up a few of their teens, and some unaffiliated teens have signed up. We're very excited about that," Benson said.
The rabbis hope a unified youth program will have a ripple effect on the adult Jewish community. Schlesinger said in the six years he's worked at Beth Ami, he's felt a quiet competition between the two synagogues.
"I think ... we're sending the message that we may have different opinions and approaches, but we're too small a community to be at each other's throats," he said.
"We want to demonstrate that the two congregations are really ready to work together for the betterment of community and kids."
For more information about Chaverim, contact Rick Concoff at (707) 823-3916 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or Sharon Benson at (707) 703-4244 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).