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Jewbilee 2006:
It's All A
Juggling Act
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Recent Happenings
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February 3
Pre-Jewbilee Shabbat Dinner
February 4-5
Jewbilee, Milton Academy
February 7, 21
Jewish Student Union Meetings,
Phillips Academy Andover
February 7
Rites of Passage Open School Night,
Riverdale Country School
February 8
Jewish Student Club Meeting, Concord Academy
February 8
Holocaust Survivor, Helen Farkas Speaks to 9th Grade Religion Class, Menlo School
February 9
Co-curricular Program on Arab-Jewish Culture with Yoel Ben-Simhon and Adam Gaynor,
The Dalton School
February 10, 17, 24
Jewish Club Meetings, Dana Hall School
February 13
Love and Judaism Discussion and Cookie Bake,
Miss Porter’s School
February 14
Hipster Judiasm Discussion, Cheshire Academy
February 17
Discussion on Jewish Culture in School,
Phillips Academy Andover
February 23
New Orleans Trip Parent-Student Meeting,
Ethical Culture Fieldston School
February 28
New Orleans Trip Parent-Student Meeting,
Kew Forest School
February 28
Jewish Student Club Meeting, Menlo School
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A low din buzzed through the cavernous Wigglesworth Hall at Milton Academy. Cozy pairs of students scattered across the floor, musing over an ancient text.
The short text-study from the Jewish work, Pirkei Avot (The Ethics of the Fathers), weighed the values of study and of action, and jumpstarted the bonding that would be the hallmark of Jewbilee 2006. Held February 4th-5th in Milton, MA, TCI’s signature conference drew 70 teens from 23 schools in seven states, record numbers on all fronts.
Jewbilee’s theme was juggling Jewish identity, touching on the “balancing act” Jewish students at independent high schools often negotiate in order to integrate their “Jewishness” with the other parts of their lives.
Jewbilee 2006 engaged students in hands-on learning and social activities, all infused with content to deepen student connections to their Jewish identities.
Learning and Fun Abound
Saturday’s programs centered on creating spiritual and social bonds between the students. Team-building activities challenged students to establish trust among one another, and a melodic havdallah service, led by Lenox Memorial High School student, Adam Ross, brought the group closer through traditional songs and a soothing nigun (wordless melody).
Saturday night, “Big Wig” (Wigglesworth Hall) was transformed into an Arab-style tent, setting the stage for The Sultana Ensemble, an ecumenical and multicultural band that got students dancing.
Sunday was a day of experiential learning, headed off by a keynote address from Cara Kahn Nussbaum of MTV’s The Real World. Nussbaum brought to light her experience as a television personality and her realizations about the complexity of identity. She described her efforts to combat her narrow characterization as the “Jewish woman,” a role cut for her by the show’s directors.
“I felt like I had to represent the Jewish people [on the show], and Jewish women specifically,” said Nussbaum. It was a lot of pressure, but I am very proud of my identity as a Jew,” Nussbaum said.
Cara’s speech propelled the students into the afternoon workshops — intensive presentations and discussions on student-driven topics and issues. Students chose among interactive sessions that addressed Israel’s complexity as a state, independent journalism and alternative media; the construction and “faces” of American Jewish identity, and Jewish LGBTQ identity.
Click here to read on! (PDF)
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East and West Fusion Brings Bonding to Shabbat Dinner
It might have from been the glimmering candles. Or the glow from the students and teachers. But an undeniable warmth filled the air at the pre-Jewbilee Shabbat dinner, a special evening organized for San Francisco Bay Area conference participants on February 3.
Gathered in the lovely home of Harriet and Joe Uretsky (the parents of TCI’s Adrien Uretsky), the nine students and three teachers from California joined TCI staff to experience Shabbat’s celebratory candle lighting, songs, and share personal stories on connections to Shabbat, Jewish life, and friends and family.
“After seven years at Catholic school, it’s really meaningful for me to have times like this to connect with the Jewish side of my family,” shared Grace, a junior at Mercy High School in San Francisco, who is of an interfaith background.
The bonding and shared reflections led the easy flow of dinner conversations on college and extracurricular Jewish programs. Louise Grotenhuis, diversity director at the Menlo School in Menlo Park, California, probed students at her table about academic rigor, competition and the socio-political climate in school.
Before setting off to respective local homes and hosts at Milton Academy, the group discussed the week’s Torah reading, Parashat Bo, in which the laws for commemorating the festival of Passover are set out. This developed into a discussion on intellectual and metaphysical themes — order of time, how we interact with solar and lunar calendars, and how these ideas might be in conflict or in congruence with the Torah.
“I just love seeing people, my students especially, explore religion and things that are important to them. It’s really been a beautiful evening,” commented Mercy religion teacher, Jim McGarry.
Finally, with more songs, a few hugs -- a few snowballs -- and new sense of community, the TCI staff and their California friends departed to rest before Jewbilee’s official start on Saturday.
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TCI Directors:
Eileen Gress, Executive Director
Adrien Uretsky, New England Regional Director
Adam Gaynor, New York Regional Director
Adrian Schrek, Bay Area Regional Director
For additional information or to unsubscribe, please contact mkay@tcionline.org |
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