The Charlotte Jewish News - August 2008 - Page 9
Teens Find Their Place at Or Olam in
Cabarrus County
Teenagers can have a hard time
finding their place in many areas
of their lives, and the synagogue is
no exception. Think about the
most hackneyed Bar or Bat
Mitzvah speech proclamations.
“Today I am a man!” Really?
You’re not even as tall as your
mom yet! “This is not the end of
my Jewish education, but the
beginning.” If only that were
always true.
Unfortunately, for many teens,
what they feel at the conclusion of
their Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremo
ny is a sense of relief - the lifting
of responsibilities. Ideally, of
course, it should be the opposite -
the assumption of greater respon
sibilities in the congregation.
At Temple Or Olam, our teens
are finding their places with grace,
individuality, and enthusiasm.
Instead of a traditional confirma
tion program, we welcome teens
to take on genuine leadership roles
and to continue their Jewish edu
cations in the ways most meaning
ful to them.
Prayer and Torah
For many of us, the only time
we chanted from the Torah was on
our Bar or Bat Mitzvah. That is
not the case at Temple Or Olam.
Almost every month, at the Fourth
Friday service, you’ll find a
teenager performing one of the
most important roles in the syna
gogue: chanting Torah. This
serves several purposes. The teens
are required to keep their skills
sharp, the congregation gets the
benefit of their hard work, and
younger kids get what is often in
short supply: real role models who
show by their actions that Torah is
“cool.”
Teens also routinely lead
prayers at services, sometimes
individually and sometimes as a
group. The key is that they do
what they’re comfortable doing,
and our warm and appreciative
congregation helps to make them
more comfortable.
Anyone who’s attended our
Friday night services knows how
integral the musical contributions
of teenagers are to the spirit of the
congregation.
Community
Coming up are seminars from
some of the adult members of our
congregation on life lessons that
they have learned. Just as our
teenagers serve as role models for
younger children, the adult mem
bers of our congregation will share
their wisdom and experience with
the teens.
Teaching and Learning
We couldn’t do without the
contributions of our teenagers at
our religious school. They bring
energy and freshness to Hebrew
teaching. An adult might think of a
clever mnemonic to help young
students remember new Hebrew
letters, but a teen will group letters
into a silly family, get the kids
laughing, and help them remem
ber even better. Teens also help to
create the hands-on Hebrew mate
rials that make our religious
school so much fun.
They frequently tutor students
who are a little older than typical
new Hebrew learners so that they
Thirteen-year-old Kyla Mace (right) plays bass at the community
Seder. Also pictured are Dr. Barbara Thiede and Stan Mace.
o O
0
h
can join their age-mates as soon as
possible.
But they are learning too. At
religious school this fall, teens
will have their own Torah study
group, where they will tackle hard
questions and gain a deeper under
standing.
Several teens are doing further
study into Torah trope. Instead of
learning by studying recordings,
they are focusing on the music of
the trope symbols, the Hebrew
phrasing, and the relation of the
trope symbols to each other. One
teenager is researching and docu
menting a little-known middle-
Eastem trope system. Other teens
are just now learning Hebrew for
the first time. We welcome teens
with any and all Jewish back
grounds to join us. We will meet
them where they are.
The teens also get together to
watch and discuss movies with
Jewish themes. And of course
nosh a little too.
What else can teens learn at
Temple Or Olam? It’s really driv
en by the individual teenagers. As
our congregation grows and we
find out about the interests and
gifts of new teens, we look for
ward to encouraging and helping
them to follow their Jewish inter
ests. And of course we can’t wait
to find out what they will teach us.
If you’d like your teen to have a
Jewish place where he or she can
truly be him or herself and feel a
sense of belonging, please visit us.
We have services the 2nd and 4th
Friday of the month, at TPM at
McGill Baptist Church, 5300
Poplar Tent Road, Concord. Our
website is www.or-olam.org. Any
questions? Contact us at info@or-
olam.org or 704-720-7577.
“Chapel in the Oaks”
FUNERAL DIRECTORS
500 Providence Road Telephone 704-332-7133
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