Youth
Programs |
Adventure
Rabbi is proud to offer programs for youth, including several
hour Shabbat programs, day hikes, weekend retreats or weeklong
wilderness trips.
We
run trips for youth groups, bar/bat mitzvah classes, high-school
groups and even younger children and their parents. We will
tailor the terrain and timing to the needs of your group.
Our
unique adventures provide opportunities for your kids to deepen
their relationship with themselves, the community, and the
Creator. |
Click here to
have someone contact you about youth programs
| The
Spirituality of the Wilderness:
7-day backpacking Adventure
|
Sample Trip Proposal for a Congregation
High School Group
Imagine a week backpacking trip in the rugged mountains of Colorado
or the red rock canyons of Utah. In the wilderness, students have
an opportunity to realize their personal strengths, work together
as a group, and come face to face with the awesomeness of God’s
creation. We use the outdoors as our classroom and the mountains
as our sanctuary. Here, surrounded by the raw beauty of creation,
we realize on a very deep level the meaning of “Shema Yisrael
Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad.”
What: A 7-day backpack trip through Colorado or
Utah (depending on time of year) combining wilderness travel with
Jewish study and practice.
Who: Twelve students, 10th - 12th graders in good
physical condition.
Staff:
- Congregation will provide one adult whose primary responsibility
will be driving the van. S/he may choose to come on the hiking component
or not as is appropriate.
- Adventure Rabbi will provide two staff persons including a Judaic
Guide (generally our Youth Program Director) and a Wilderness Guide.
- Rabbi Jamie Korngold is also available to lead trips, however
this increases the cost of the trip.
Gear: Adventure Rabbi provides Torah, tents, stoves,
first-aid supplies, food, photocopies, and all other group gear.
Students provide personal camping gear. Congregation provides van
rental and a Gates of Prayer or other prayerbook for each student.
Jewish Components of the Wilderness Adventure
Study and Practice During the Trip
1. Morning and evening services will be held daily. At
the beginning of course students, will be divided into three groups
and each group will take turns leading the services. Students are
given resources so that they may supplement the service with Jewish
texts that highlight our relationship with the wilderness.
2. We travel with a small Torah and students will read from
the Torah on Monday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. (Students
often are invited to prepare before the trip.)
3. Text Study of Genesis 1 – 2:4
and Genesis 2:4-23
Students learn how the two different creation stories give us different
mandates in terms of our relationship with the earth. Then -- by
looking at the two together -- we learn that although we are masters
of the earth we have a responsibility to care for it rather than
misuse it. The earth belongs to God, and we serve as caretakers.
4. Blessings
In a workshop on blessings, we study the importance of blessings.
Students notice that blessings force us to slow down and notice
what is around us, to appreciate our world and to realize we are
not all powerful. Students learn various blessings related to the
outdoor experience and take a turn at writing their own.
5. Sabbath and the Holiness of Time
Students study selected texts from Abraham Joshua Heschel’s
The Sabbath. Students will explore how the Sabbath can be a weekly
opportunity to turn from our technological civilization to God.
Students discuss what Heschel means by “awe” and how
“awe” can redirect us back to our Creator.
6. Bal Taschit
An introduction to Jewish Ecology: We look at some of the contemporary
Jewish trends linking ecology to Judaism and their early rabbinic
roots in Talmudic and Midrashic texts. We also examine some of the
less popular Jewish texts that are not so ecologically minded!
7. Shabbat Practice
The group will not move camp on Shabbat but rather will
enjoy a leisurely Shabbat service and a day hike. Either the Judaic
Guide or one of the students will prepare a drash and discussion
for the group based on the parsha.
Price:
Depending on location, time of year, number of students on trip
and length of trip, the estimated tuition for a 7-day trip for 12
students is approximately $495-$575 per student. This does not include
transportation costs. This trip could also be run near the congregation,
lowering transportation costs for the students. (Congregation would
then cover transportation from/to Colorado for the Adventure Rabbi
guides). If you would like Rabbi Korngold to be one of the staff,
the price increases $500/day. If the trip is in Colorado, Rabbi
Korngold can come in for either the entire trip of just part of
it.
Summary:
A Jewish wilderness trip is a unique opportunity to teach Judaism
in a way that is relevant, meaningful and accessible. The students
come away with an enhanced sense of self, incredible bonds with
their peers and a powerful connection to their Jewish practice.
Click here
to have the rabbi contact you about leading your group on a journey
of prayer, study and song, while exploring the wilderness.
 |
| B'nai Mitzvah Class from
Congregation B'nai Havurah on a peak with Rabbi Korngold |
Come, let the wilderness awaken
your Judaism!
|
