How Much Do We Value Our Youth?

An important question that members of any synagogue should regularly ask themselves is: What are the qualities that set apart our synagogue from similar institutions and organizations? If a synagogue is merely a place of prayer and Torah study, a location where people gather in order to fulfill their religious obligations, then one synagogue should not be all that different from another. However, if the congregants and learners are striving to become something greater than the mere sum of their collective presences on Shabbat and holidays, then it becomes necessary to articulate the nature and values of the religious community that they are wanting to create.

Many members of our synagogue believe that BSKI will grow and prosper only when the overwhelming majority of its members make commitments to several principles, and the most important principled commitment is to our youth.

BSKI should take seriously its responsibility to provide its adults – and also its younger members – with a meaningful, positive and inspiring synagogue experience. We understand that positive attitudes towards prayer, Torah study, participation in Jewish community, and religious observance are formed at a young age.  Therefore, the synagogue must play a pro-active role in helping foster these sensibilities among its children.

To this end, quality age-appropriate Shabbat and Holiday programming needs to become a higher priority at BSKI.  We already have a family service once each month. We need to expand this and improve on the great start we already have. We should have a Youth Service, entirely run by adolescents. This is as important as any other service in the synagogue, since skills developed in this service will encourage participants to serve as leaders in the synagogue and in the communities they eventually become a part of. We need lay leaders to step up and help with our Shaare Shalom education program. USY and Kadima programs need to be supported and nurtured by the entire congregation.

We need a commitment by the staff, lay leaders and the congregation as a whole to do what it takes to improve upon our youth programs. The youth of our community are the future not only of our synagogue, but at least in some part, Conservative Judaism, and we must expend every effort to positively contribute to that future.

B'Shalom,

Ricky Kodner