Teen Educational Network - Minneapolis Jewish Federation

Welcome to Teen Education Network (TEN), a collaborative solution for community-wide teen programming. TEN helps to connect Minneapolis-area Jewish teens with the programs that best suit them, regardless of affiliation or synagogue membership. Read about each program below.

Adath Jeshurun

High School age programming will occur on Tuesday evenings from 5:15-7:00 pm, October 5, 2021–May 3, 2022. Each evening will begin with dinner (menus to be built with student input!) and minyan (student opportunities to lead available) and then split into classes by grade level:

- 9th: Big Questions on Theology, Leadership, and Life, student-directed curriculum with Hazzan Dulkin
- 10th: Confirmation, Getting Beyond your Jewish ABCs: Power, Privilege, and Responsibility in a Changing World with Rabbi Weininger
- 11th-12th: Mussar & Middot (developing soul/character traits) with Rabbi Kravitz

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Students will then be able to choose between USY Lounge (USY Membership and registration info will be sent in August), elective classes (teen band, Bible competition training, Social action opportunities, and more), or leave after their grade-level course completes. Learn more.

Heschel Society, a select group of high school students, will continue to meet with Rabbi Weininger over lunch once a month on Shabbat from 12:15-1:15pm. We study Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Sages) and explore how its ancient wisdom helps us engage the current pressures and opportunities of the world around us. Heschel Society’s select nature means participation is open to those who commit to additional learning and leadership initiatives. Contact Sue for more details & to sign up at suel@adath.net

AJC

Leaders For Tomorrow (LFT), AJC’s pioneering education program for high schoolers, is designed to empower the next generation of young Jewish leaders to advocate on behalf of the Jewish people, Israel, and human rights around the world. LFT aims to teach young adults how to be principled and vocal Jewish leaders. Graduates of the program will enter college with the knowledge and confidence to engage in the ongoing dialogue regarding antisemitism and Israel, and to serve as positive change agents for their peers and communities. Over the course of seven sessions, students will explore their connection to the Jewish people and Israel, and develop critical advocacy and leadership skills. You can learn more about LFT and apply here.

Please note, Minneapolis students should select the Chicago Region when filling out the application.

Bet Shalom Congregation

At Bet Shalom, Teen education and social programming are offered during the school year on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-8:35pm. Teens gather informally for dinner from 6:00-6:30pm and have the option to bring their own meal or purchase a meal from one of our rotating Food Trucks!

Our educational program begins at 6:30pm and consists of a three “block” structure.

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Block One: Core Classes

Block one includes grade-level core classes for all 9th-12th graders. These classes are taught by Bet Shalom teachers and clergy and explore a wide array of topics from a Jewish perspective. Students are invited to participate in learning through active discussion, reflection, and debate.

Block Two: Social Programming

Block two introduces social programming planned and led by BeSTY (Bet Shalom Temple Youth), Bet Shalom’s teen leadership board. Our youth group is about building relationships and making connections through social programming and leadership opportunities. Kids/Teens build lasting friendships, meaningful memories and lifetime connections to Tikkun Olam, community and Judaism. BeSTY is affiliated with our international Reform youth movement, the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY). NFTY hosts quarterly retreats called kallot for the NFTY-Northern region, which includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Block Three: Electives

Block three is electives, where students will choose a class that explores Jewish text and tradition through a creative medium. Some of the elective offerings will include: Cooking, Krav Maga, Cinema, Photography, Current Events, and more.

If you are interested in our program and would like to learn more, contact Ali King.

Beth El Synagogue

Informal Torah Discussion—Open to 9th-12th graders. Spend some time on Saturday mornings studying the weekly Torah portion with the Rabbi. Offered, every other week at Beth El Synagogue. (Specific times TBD)

Vaad Middot—Open to 10th-11th graders and their parents and led by Cantor Abrams, this eight-week course runs from January-March on Saturday mornings at Beth El Synagogue. Join us as we navigate the world of Middot (Jewish virtues) strengthening the relationship between parents and teens.

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Land and Spirit, a partnership with Students Supporting Israel—Explore the balance of Judaism and activism, Jewish faith and identity, and the importance of the state of Israel. Held at the Sabes JCC, dates and times TBD.

Abraham Joshua Heschel Honor Society—Beth El’s chapter of Abraham Joshua Heschel Honor Society (AJHHS) is a select group of exemplary high school students from each grade. Students are selected based on their current strengths and passions—especially within Jewish life and learning. Application process opens in June.

Ask the Rabbi—We are forming regular “Ask the Rabbi” sessions, potentially to take place at local High School(s). If you’re interested in participating or believe that your high school could be a good fit or location, please contact Rabbi Olitzky.

Congregation Darchei Noam

Teen Talmud features twice-monthly Sunday evening learning sessions for all Jewish teens. Sushi, pizza or other refreshments are frequently provided. Teen Talmud aims to provide a rudimentary exposure to Talmudic texts and commentaries while pursuing deeper than rudimentary conversations that have unfolded from these texts over the centuries. Texts include famous and infamous passages culled from both Mishna and Gemara. Passages may include famous aggadic stories as well as halachic (legal) material revolving around core ethical issues. Sessions prior to holidays focus primarily on texts with the greatest significance for the respective holidays. English translations are provided but participants are encouraged to read in Hebrew when possible.

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Darchei Café offers monthly teen “educational shmoozes” at local kosher establishments. Participants are encouraged to reflect on no more than three short sources drawn from texts, articles, poems, and online media. Themes will be based in part upon feedback from the teens as to what topics and issues are of current interest to them. The goal is to address themes through a Jewish lens, and participants should come away from the shmoozes with a sense of what Judaism has to contribute to the discussion.

For more information, including schedule and rates, contact Rabbi Max Davis.

Darchei U: Jewish foundations for high schoolers heading into the world.

Darchei Noam proudly presents Darchei U! Currently in session for grades 8-12, but sessions are open for ALL who wish to join at any time! No prior participation necessary. Dive into this innovative multi-year curriculum to sharpen your knowledge of Jewish history, philosophy, texts and traditions. Gather over dinner to explore texts with your peers and discuss Jewish perspectives on life’s big questions.

Last year’s theme was Jewish history.
This year, it’s all about Jewish lifecycle events. We will survey the Jewish lifecycle in five units with three classes per unit.
Rabbi Max Davis and Mr. Robert Portnoe will alternate teaching units.

Classes are 1-hour every other Sunday evening by Zoom. See complete schedule below. Suggested annual tuition: $150 general / Darchei members $100. No one turned away.

At least one class per unit will feature a food incentive. RSVP in advance and you will receive a delicious dinner or dessert at your door prior to class!

UNIT 1 New Beginnings – Traditions and related to birth (Bris, Zeved HaBAt, Simchat Bat, Pidyon HaBen) November 22 and December 6, 20

UNIT 2 Growth and Transition – Chinuch, Obligations, Bar/Bat Mitzvah January 10, 24 and February 7

UNIT 3 Independence and New Relationships – Leaving home, Engagements, Weddings February 21 and March 7, 21

UNIT 4 Parental Perspectives – Philosophies of Childrearing April 11, 25 and May 9

UNIT 5 Journey to the Hereafter – Petirah, Levaya, and the process of aveilut May 23 and June 6, 20

Rates: $150/yr. ($100 Darchei members)

Contact Rabbi Max Davis with questions.

HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Choir

HaZamir is an international network of choral chapters for Jewish teens in the U.S. and Israel. Annually, 400 HaZamir singers appear in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center for a performance that brings together music, community, and spirituality in a context that is dynamic, transformative, and fun. Thousands of teens have shared in this HaZamir experience.

The HaZamir Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter is conducted by Cantor Audrey Abrams on Sundays throughout the school year from 12:30-3 pm at Beth El. Auditions will be held on Sept. 8, 2019. The cost is $2,000, which includes tuition and a trip to New York. Contact Cantor Abrams or Rimon for questions and reservation details.

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HaZamir International Fees are not covered in the cost. Group fundraising through local concert will defray the cost and individual scholarships may be available. HaZamir is a program of the Zamir Choral Foundation, Matthew Lazar, Founder, and Director.

Jewish Student Union and Minneapolis Israel Scholars Program

JSU (Jewish Student Union) Clubs are student-led Jewish culture clubs running in High Schools throughout the Twin Cities (Current schools include Hopkins, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Saint Louis Park, Southwest, and Wayzata High Schools). Clubs meet weekly after school, free kosher sushi or pizza is provided and the fun, non-judgmental atmosphere allows for teens to explore Judaism on their turf.

The club advisor is Mindy Daitchman and discussions and interactive activities revolve around a variety of topics including Israel, current events, and Jewish holidays. JSU sponsors activities outside of school as well including retreats, monthly dinner-and-learns, community service projects, Friday night dinners, and other exciting events.

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Minneapolis Israel Scholars Program is a 12-week course, launched last year by JSU, designed to empower local Jewish public school teens to serve as Israel advocates, while also strengthening their bond with the Land of Israel and their Jewish heritage. The program was developed in response to the rise of BDS and anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses nationwide. The teens explore a variety of topics, including ancient Israel, the history of Zionism, Israel’s Rebirth, its wars, the peace process, and Israel’s political system. They also learn to understand and analyze media bias, Israel and Jewish stereotypes, Israel on college campuses, Boycott and Divestment issues, Israel’s shared values, and her contributions around the world. Meeting weekly at the Sabes JCC, kosher dinner is served and the program will be re-starting in November 2019 (Program deposit is refunded with weekly attendance). Register here.

Please contact Mindy Daitchman for more info regarding JSU and NCSY activities.

Minnesota Online Jewish Ulpan (MOJU)

The Minnesota Online Jewish Ulpan is offered through the Talmud Torah of St. Paul. We offer synchronous, small-group Zoom classes for teens, in grades 8-12. We are reaching out to Jewish teens in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Dakotas and beyond! Courses are available in Hebrew and a variety of electives on topics related to Jewish life and culture.

Our Hebrew classes are college-level courses that cover a semester’s material over the course of nine months of study. Most of our students get advanced placement in college Hebrew classes, and most receive high school credit for their Hebrew language learning.

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Classes for the 2021-2022 school year begin Wednesday, September 13. All times are Central.

Our classes are substantive, text-based, interpersonal, and exciting. We are open and welcoming to students from all religious backgrounds. Elective courses range in subjects including, but not limited to, Torah/Jewish text study, Music, Science, History, Social Justice, Israel and Current Global Events.

If you want to know more or to enroll, please visit (www.ttsp.org), or email Heidi Tarshish, at: heidi.tarshish@ttsp.org

Or call Heidi at: 651-698-8807

RAJMN Teen Fellowship

RAJMN is the only Jewish-Russian program for young families in Minnesota, working to connect them to the larger Jewish community in Twin Cities and provide a deeper understanding of Judaism and Russian-Jewish roots and culture since 2003.The RAJMN Teen Fellowship Program is a school-year long program for High School students which starts in September and runs for 10 months. Participants will explore and expand their understanding of who they are, who they want to be, and how they want to make a mark on the world.

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Participants will be challenged to define their strengths, challenges, and personal leadership goals. RAJMN will provide the tools, feedback, and mentoring they need to experiment, collaborate and learn from their experiences.

Teens will have leadership opportunities in fundraising, events planning, marketing, recruitment and volunteering in the RSJ community. Fellowship participants also have the option of attending Jewish conferences in the US and worldwide. RAJMN will provide stipends for teens to attend the conferences (families will make their own travel arrangements).

Learn more here.

Keren Or contest: Call for submissions

Calling all Minnesota teen Jewish writers and photographers!

Keren Or (Ray of Light) announces its 18th annual creative arts contest for Jewish youth. Minnesota Jewish students in grades 7-12 are invited to submit original poetry, creative prose, and photographs. The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 18, 2022, 5 p.m. All submissions must be submitted using the online forms provided at www.kerenorcontest.org.

Prizes in each category are awarded to two separate groups: students in grades 7-9 and grades 10-12. The prizes are $100 for first place, $50 for second and third places, and $36 for Honorable Mention. Nearly 200 teens have won prizes since the contest began. Winning entries will be published at the Keren Or website and in a special supplement to The American Jewish World in spring, 2022.

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Keren Or was founded in 2004 by Jerry and Eileen Siegel (z’’l) to honor the memory of their daughter, Karen Siegel-Jacobs. Siegel-Jacobs grew up in Minneapolis and attended the Minneapolis Talmud Torah. She was an active member of Adath Jeshurun Congregation and USY and as a teenager wrote poems and short stories.
Keren Or is managed by Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council (an initiative of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation) and is funded by the Karen Siegel-Jacobs Fund at the Adath Jeshurun Foundation. For additional information and contest rules, visit www.kerenorcontest.org or call 952-381-3449.

Shir Tikvah Youth

Ninth and tenth-grade programming is held on Sundays at 9:30-11:30 am. Ninth graders spend a year exploring modern-day hot topics through the lens of Jewish ethics, taught by Jim Cohn. Tenth graders learn about and embracing Jewish moral courage with Dave Snyder and Rabbi Michael Latz, while also utilizing the iEngage Project from the Shalom Hartman Institute, where young students and adults meet to learn about and discuss Israel and Palestine, with discussions rooted in Jewish values and ideas.

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Juniors & Seniors Rosh Chodesh Minyan. Shir Tikvah teens come together over meals and around the lunar transition to talk about important issues, explore Jewish identity and leadership, and learn practical skills to prepare for post-graduation. Facilitated by Forrest Yesnes. Held on various dates at various locations.

STiFTY – Shir Tikvah’s high school youth community (9th—12th)
Our high school youth group comes together to build and strengthen the teen community, support the Shir Tikvah mission and vision, and fuse Jewish practice with social justice issues important to them. Meets on various dates and at various locations and times.

Learn more. // Find us on Instagram

ConnecTEEN Program, 2020–2021

Traveling to Israel might not be feasible right now, but Federation’s Israel Center can still keep you connected to your peers on the other side of the world! Sign up for a new virtual program that will begin this fall and will feature monthly Zoom sessions on timely, interesting topics about Israel, featuring a teen cohort from Minneapolis and Rehovot each. Registration is here and open until October 8th! If you have more questions, email Amanda Feigin at afeigin@jewishminneapolis.org.

The Letters Project: Conversing Across Narratives

Join The Letters Project: Conversing Across Narratives, a course for high school students based on Yossi Klein Halevi’s book Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor: With an Extensive Epilogue of Palestinian Responses. Our Spring 2021 Contest is now underway.

To be eligible for the contest, the writer:

Must live in the US or its territories or the District of Columbia and be 14 years of age or older.
Read the book.
Write a letter to the author responding to the book and submit the letter here.

Writers will be invited to participate in a virtual conversation with JCRC and Letters participants, to which Yossi Klein Halevi will also be invited.

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Please click here to learn more about the project.

For questions about the contest or the submissions process, please contact info@minndakjcrc.org.

The Letters Project premiered in Spring 2020 and is supported by a grant from an Anonymous Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation.

Temple Israel’s JEWL (Jewish Experiential Whole-Person Learning)

JEWL’s High School Years provide opportunities to deepen connections with peers and Temple Israel’s clergy. Learners build their personal Jewish identities as teens while tackling the challenges of being a citizen of the world. Each Wednesday evening session begins time spent together with all grades and then splits into classes by grade. Sessions are held on Wednesday evenings. Learn more.

TIPTY (Temple Israel Program for Temple Youth)

TIPTY is a unique Reform Jewish youth community combining social and educational events for 9th-12th graders! Participate in innovative programs and creative worship, take action with Tikkun Olam, and take part in year-round weekend events and summer opportunities. At TIPTY, our teens lead programming and create a safe space for their peers, learn from each other, and inspire our community to think about Judaism in new ways. Learn more.

U of M Modern Hebrew no longer offered through College in the Schools

As of March 2019, the University of Minnesota announced that it will no longer be offering Modern Hebrew through its College in the Schools program. Learn about other options for Hebrew learning at the University of Minnesota, or see the below online course.

U of M Modern Hebrew online course

Beginning spring 2020, a 5-credit Modern Hebrew course will be offered online through the University of Minnesota. The course will consist of weekly Zoom meetings on Monday evenings with flexible readings and assignments. For more information, please contact Director of Hebrew Language Instruction Dr. Renana Schneller.

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Hebrew 1002 Online—Second Semester Beginning Modern Hebrew

HEBR 1002 Second Semester Beginning Modern Hebrew is planned for fall semester 2020 as a University of Minnesota online course. Prerequisite HEBR 1001 or placement by the course instructor. Interested students are requested to contact Dr. Renana Schneller for further information. Juniors and seniors in high school who may be interested in taking HEBR 1002 (or any other Hebrew course offered face-to-face) through the University of Minnesota Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) Program are advised to apply to PSEO by the April 15 deadline. More information here.