Rabbi's Message

Rabbi Elyse Wechterman
Read about the Rabbi
December 2007

Our super-fantastic young people

In Isaiah (54:13) it says: “All your children [banayich] shall be taught by the Eternal, and great shall be the peace of your children [banayich].” The Talmud asks, why is the word “your children” [banayich] mentioned twice? Because, it answers, “We do not read [the second occurrence of [banayich] as your children, but rather as your builders [bonayich]” (Berakhot 64a).

Our children, when taught carefully and lovingly by us, build our future.

I happen to believe that Congregation Agudas Achim has a very bright and well-built future ahead because our young people contribute to the building of our community in many wonderful ways.

A number of years ago, the congregation voted to create two teen representative positions on our board. These positions are full board positions with all of the rights (voting) and responsibilities of other board members, offering d’vrei torah at board meetings, bringing snack and engaging in special projects. The first teens to hold these positions, Suzie Brothman and Randy Oster, paved the way for remarkable contributions of young people to our community. Suzie was a member of the committee that drafted our new mission statement and Randy was part of the board that worked so hard to get our finances under control. Currently, Lucas DeForest and Sarah O’Connor serve as valued and contributing board members.

As you may know, teenagers who have graduated from our Hebrew School have the opportunity to volunteer their time as madrichim (aides) in Hebrew School. In the past few years, this has become a coveted privilege and opportunity. Right now, six teens volunteer (that means no pay!) in our school. Lucas DeForest has been volunteering in our school for almost four years. He has done everything from cleaning the kitchen and making copies to providing childcare for younger children and teaching Hebrew. Lucas is so well regarded by some of the younger children that they complain (loudly) when he is not able to attend. Lucas is our oldest madrich and is a leader of our teen community. He is joined this year by Sarah O’Connor, Vanessa Lubiner, Julia Levine, Samantha Kroll, and Kayla Hindle.

Sometimes, our graduates are asked to take on greater teaching responsibility. Rachel Ide, also a graduate of our program, is co-teaching Kitah Hey (fifth grade) with Kim Bodemer this year. Rachel is a bright, talented and gifted young woman who takes her responsibility as teacher very seriously – far more than you might expect of such a young person. It is wonderful to watch her bloom in this new role.

If you come to a Saturday Shabbat B’Yachad, you may be fortunate to see some of our young people in action. Several of our teens – most recently Jennah Jacobs and Lucas DeForest – often chant Torah for us. Last month, Sarah O’Connor and Rosa Congdon led an elective in which they discussed their experiences living and volunteering abroad.

In addition to acting as a madricha, serving on the board and volunteering to work in a variety of programs, Sarah is also heading up our teen group Achim vAchayot (Brothers and Sisters). She and several of the other youth group members have come up with a plan to paint the rear area of the parking lot with a giant map of Israel.

This is only one of many projects the teens have embarked on to help our synagogue and broader community. Every year, the teen group participates in Mitzvah Morning with their own project – last year they did gardening for and visited with the residents of Christopher Heights Assisted Living Facility in Attleboro. There are always a number of teens who help out at Sturdy Hospital during our Christmas Day volunteer effort. I know that Arielle Cohen, another graduate of our program, is an active and regular participant on our Social Action Committee.

Other teens participate in our community in a variety of important and valuable ways. Micah Levine has sung with the choir on a number of occasions. Aaron Rudnick and Vanessa Lubiner attend classes at Midrasha, a learning program for Jewish teens in Providence. Many, many teens come to help out with High Holy Day childcare, at the Fall Fair, the Purim Carnival and many other synagogue events.

In January, some of our graduates who have gone to college will return to speak on their experiences on campus during a Friday night service for a second annual “Campus Report.”
Our teens are impressive – what they do in our community is amazing - even more so given that the time they spend at synagogue could just as easily be spent IM’ing, Texting, Downloading or whatever it is that teens do these days.

The most valuable aspect of our teen involvement is the model they create for our younger children. It’s one thing to see your parents participate in the activities of synagogue – it’s another to see the cool teenagers do it.

The next generation of teenagers coming up behind our current crop is equally as impressive and already looking for opportunities to be involved in our synagogue. Just last month, the board listened to a proposal from Tessa Rudnick (6th grade) and Rachel Bodemer (7th grade) to build an outdoor prayer space. It isn’t clear yet where this project is headed, but the very fact that these two girls drafted the proposal, brought it to the board with maturity and grace, and are continuing to research and refine their ideas, is testament both to their sense of themselves as stakeholders in this community and our wisdom as adults who have created a community that values and encourages our super-fantastic young people – the builders of our future.

Hag Urim Sameach – Have a wonderful and joyous Hanukah!

B’Shalom
Rabbi Elyse

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