2016 -17 BESTY - Temple Beth El

2016 -17 BESTY
TEEN COMMUNITY
2016-17 Program Brochure
A soulful place for friends,
fun, and becoming the leader you
were meant to be.
Temple Beth El
of South Orange County
The Samueli Center for Progressive Judaism
2A Liberty ● Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 ● 949.362.3999 ●www.tbesoc.org
BESTY Teen Community
A soulful place for friends, fun, and becoming the leader
you were meant to be.
A SUPPORTIVE PLACE
TO BE WHO YOU ARE
BESTY’s primary value is that at
all of our events, you feel like
you can be yourself. We know
that it high school, there is a
pressure to try to fit in and to
be liked. Our teen leadership
board, youth director, and
rabbis are deeply committed
to creating an inclusive space
where your unique presence and
contribution is appreciated
A SOULFUL PLACE
A FUN PLACE
The unique opportunity of a
synagogue community is a place
to explore what is meaningful
and important in life. Our BESTY
teen leadership board will pick a
handful of topics that our teen
community wants to explore
and will offer some fun events
with our warm and spiritual
rabbis to discuss. Our Shabbat
Club experiences in our youth
lounge and at people’s homes
are informal environments for
singing and celebration.
Whatever fun activities you
envision, we can make a reality. In
addition to our monthly Sunday
program be prepared for:
A PLACE FOR LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT
Many teen programs are places to just
places to connect socially and hang out.
Our perspective is that teens have an
important contribution to make to our
synagogue community and the
wide world. BESTY is unique
in that our core programming
fulfills middle and high
school community service
requirements. In both the
8th Grade Tzedakah Board
and 9th-12th Grade Teen
Leadership Program,
teens learn the skills
necessary to transform
vision into action, supported by
the wisdom of our Jewish tradition.
COST: $395 for the year
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Weeknight Study Sessions in our youth lounge
Broomball Overnights
Professional Sport Outings
Yogurt and a Movie
Our Infamous Club Night
Anything our youth
leadership board can dream up
THE SUNDAY PROGRAM
4 – 6PM
Our Sunday once a month program is a multi-modal teen experience filled with fun, socializing,
learning with our rabbis, leadership development, and community service.
Whether you are a part of the 8th Grade Tzedakah Board, or the 9th-12th Grade Teen Leadership
Program, you can fulfill community service requirements for your school, keeping you connected to
your friends at Temple Beth El.
9-12th Teen Leadership Program Sessions
September 11, 2016 – Shopping With A Purpose
Who doesn’t love a good deal? Sometimes, the
availability of our favorite items comes with a
price that is far more significant than the money
we spend on them. What responsibilities do
companies have toward the people who make
their products? How are violations of those
responsibilities hurting all of us? We’ll discuss
these important questions and learn what Judaism
can teach us about being morally responsible
shoppers. We’ll also make tye-dyes for ourselves
and families in need.
November 6th – Gratitude + Mindfulness = <Stress
Is there an equation for happiness? Maybe not,
but Judaism is rich with lessons that help us
achieve balance and fulfillment.
November 20 – Interfaith
Thanksgiving Community
Project
We will join together with teens
and adults from the Orange
County Islamic Foundation
and Shepherd of the Hills
Methodist Church to help
people in our community
and abroad who are in
poverty.
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December 4 (10am start time) – Judiasm and
Justice: Our Tradition’s Legacy To Creating A World
of Fairness
A special session for teens with our Rabbi Allen
Krause Scholar In Residence Marc Dollinger,
PhD. Professor Dollinger is a gifted and dynamic
lecturer who is committed to inspire the pursuit of
justice through an exploration of Jewish history.
January 8, 2017 - Social Media: Promises and
Pitfalls (sessions with parents separate and
together)
Social media has become primary vehicles of
communication for teens and adults. How can
social media enhance our lives and not detract
from it. We’ll have separate parent and teen
sessions with experts from the field to help us
identify the concrete dangers and promises of
social media.
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February 12 – Purim and Politics
While the holiday of Purim is wild and crazy with
costumes and hamentaschen, did you know that
there are deep insights about politics, oppression,
and freedom? We will connect these themes and
prepare to add an element of social action to our
yearly Purim carnival through creating our own
social issues Carnival booths.
May 7 - A Year in Review: Current Events Through
a Jewish Lens:
How does the world influence Judaism? How
does Judaism influence the world? We’ll explore
significant social, political, and popular culture
happenings that have taken place over the last
several months and interpret them from a Jewish
perspective.
March 12 – Purim Carnival
June 4 - Betzalel Arts Festival
March 26 – Addiction: What Are You a Slave To?
Many people have a relationship to certain things
in our lives that is out of balance. For some of
us, it’s food, or video games, or a certain physical
appearance, or certain kinds of experiences. What
does the Passover story have to do with addiction?
We’ll talk about how the Israelites’ journey out of
Egypt parallels our daily lives, and how to be more
self-aware.
April 23 – Anti Semitism and Yom Hashoah
Observance
Dealing with anti-semitism in schools,
workplace, or the media is the unfortunate
and annoying aspect of being a Jew. With
separate parent and teen discussion groups,
we will strive for a greater understanding of the
dynamics and reasons for anti-semitism and we
can address it. After separate discussions, we’ll
come together to spend time with a Holocaust
survivor and commorate Yom HaShoah (Holocaust
Rememberance Day).
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8th Grade Tzedakah Board
The 8th Grade Tzedakah Board is a philanthropic
foundation of eighth graders who are willing
to commit time outside of school to engage in
questions of how to fix our broken world. In this
influential and dynamic program, participants will
learn about Jewish wisdom on charitable giving
and social change, financial literacy, and modern
philanthropy, and then award $4,000 - $10,000 to
organizations that they deem effective in making the
world a better place.
it is our hope that your child be able to contribute
some or all of their own money to this fund. The
group fund will be matched by an anonymous
donor and students will have the opportunity to
participate in a group fundraising activity to increase
the fund amount.
COST: $695 for the year
Being part of the 8th Grade Tzedakah Board will give
you the following:
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Greater sophistication about money and how it can be leveraged to make positive change in the world.
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Deeper knowledge about how the wisdom
of Judaism can inform your decisions about money and how to use it for prosperity for all.
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Connection to other Temple Beth El teens around the mission of making a difference in
the world.
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A remarkable extracurricular activity on your resume to help open the door for college and other job positions when you reach that stage.
Besides registration, participation will entail a
student contribution of $100 to a group fund. While
you as parents may need to help with this amount,
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Tzedakah Board Meets Sundays
September 11 (4-7 pm)
November 6 (4-7 pm)
Nov 20 – Interfaith Thanksgiving
December 4 (4-7 pm)
December 11 (4-7 pm)
January 8 (4-6 pm)
January 22 (4-6 pm)
February 12 (4-7 pm)
February 26 (4-7 pm)
March 26 (4-6 pm)
April 23 (4-7 pm)
May 7 (4-6 pm)
May 19 (Mitzvah Recognition Evening)
OTHER PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
Madrikhim
shabbat club
September 16, January 20, March 10, April 21
Services 6 pm, Dinner and Discussion 7:15pm in
the Youth Lounge
An opportunity to stay connected to our Shabbat
community to help out in classrooms and become
mentors and build relationships with younger
students. Become a part of our Shabbat Chai team
on the following dates:
Share Shabbat evenings with BESTY and our
Rabbis to enjoy a catered Shabbat meal and lively
conversations around the topic of relationships.
We’ll gain insight from
Jewish texts on matters
of friendship, dating,
and love, and
explore important
issues related to
relationships like
communication,
consent, and mutual
respect.
BESTY Club Night
December 10, 2016 – 7:30 pm
Rock out to a professional DJ with laser lights
· Have fun with dance floor games
· Win big at casino games
· Drink mocktails
Capture memories with friends in a Photo Booth
This is a club scene, the real deal, especially
designed for you.
Graduation and Mitzvah
Recognition Evening
May 19, 2017
A Friday evening dinner and Shabbat service
celebrating our teen leaders, the work of the 8th
Grade Tzedakah Board, and graduating seniors.
Our teens will be recognized for their commitment,
creativity, teaching skills, ability to connect with
younger students, and contributions to the
community.
Passport to Regional
Youth Events
As Temple Beth El is affiliated with both Reform
and Conservative National Movements, the BESTY
community is both the local NFTY Reform teen
chapter and the USY Conservative teen chapter.
All BESTY members are able to participate in the
Regional Youth Events, allowing them to make
friendships with an even wider group of teens. In
addition, BESTY and
Bureau of Jewish Education’s TALIT program have
synergistic programming, allowing our teens
access to the wider Orange County Jewish Teen
Community.
PARENT/TEEN LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Social Media: Promises and Pitfalls (sessions with
parents separate and together)
January 8, 2017 4 - 6pm
Social media has become primary vehicles of
communication for teens and adults. How can
social media enhance our lives and not detract
from it. We’ll have separate parent and teen
sessions with experts from the field to help us
identify the concrete dangers and promises of
social media.
Anti Semitism and Yom Hashoah Observance
April 23, 2017 4 – 6pm
Dealing with anti-semitism in schools, workplace,
or the media is the unfortunate and annoying
aspect of being a Jew. With separate parent and
teen discussion groups, we will strive for a greater
understanding of the dynamics and reasons for
anti-semitism and how we can address it. After
separate discussions, we’ll come together to spend
time with a Holocaust survivor and commemorate
Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Rememberance Day).
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BESTY TEEN CALENDAR
September
3 – Havdalah
and Outdoor Movie Night 7 pm
11 – Sunday Program 4-6 pm (9th-12th Grade and
Tzedakah Board)
16 – Shabbat Club (Services 6 pm, Dinner 7:15 pm)
October
23 – Sukkot Pool Party
November
6 – Sunday Program 4-6 pm (9th-12th Grade and
Tzedakah Board)
12 – Broomball Sleepover – 9 pm
20 – Interfaith Thanksgiving Action Project
December
3 - Movie Night at the Town Center and Sleepover
4 – Sunday Program 10 am – 12 pm (9th-12th
Grade and Tzedakah Board)
10– Club Night – 7:30 pm
11 – Tzedakah Board Only 4-6 pm
April
21 – Shabbat Club (Services 6 pm, Dinner 7:15
pm)
23 – Sunday Program 4-6 pm (9th-12th Grade
and Tzedakah Board)
May
2 – Elections – 6:30-8:30 pm
7 – Sunday Program 4-6 pm (9th-12th Grade and
Tzedakah Board)
19 -20 – BESTY Shabbaton (Mitzvah Recognition,
Sleepover, Jerusalem Shabbat)
June
4 – Betzalel Arts Festival
11 – New Board Retreat – 10 am – 4 pm – Irvine
Outdoor Education Center
25 – Beach Party 11 am – 2 pm – Aliso Creek
Beach
January
8 – Sunday Program 4-6 pm (9th-12th Grade and
Tzedakah Board)
20 – Shabbat Club (Services 6 pm, Dinner 7:15pm)
22 – Tzedakah Board Only 4-6 pm
28 – Cosmic Bowling
February
12 – Sunday Program 4-6 pm (9th-12th Grade and
Tzedakah Board)
26 – Museum of Tolerance/Laser Light Show at
Observatory (9-12th Grade)
Tzedakah Board 4-6 pm
March
7 – Stand With Us – Defending Israel and
Judaism on College Campuses
10 – Shabbat Club/Purim Party
12 – Purim Carnival
26 – Sunday Program 4-6 pm (9th-12th Grade
and Tzedakah Board)
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949/ 362.3999
2A Liberty
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
www.TBESOC.org
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