In today’s day and age, there is an unnecessary disconnect between observant and nonobservant Jewish teenagers. Further, within those two demographics are subsections where the same dividing phenomenon applies. What causes Jewish teenagers to, perhaps unintentionally, defend their respective sides of Judaism is their fear of the unknown. This fear of commitment in adolescents comes from a frank and unfortunate reality: it is not easy to be Jewish, let alone Jewish and observant. The important thing to remember is that the best things in life are almost always difficult to attain.
NCSY’s Winter Regional and lastly, International Yarchei Kallah. With each week, the feeling of community and family inside of me was augmented. To spend a Shabbat at the largest Atlantic Seaboard Shabbaton in years and go directly to a Shabbaton on the other side of the country and experience the same incredible feelings of Jewish empowerment and unity was an unforgettable sequence in my lifetime. With International Yarchei Kallah as the climax of my adventure, I spent my winter break with 225 other public school teens that also elected to have a meaningful and rewarding vacation. NCSY has given public school students a reason to be proud of who they are and has provided yeshiva day school students with a vehicle to grow even further. This is why I love NCSY and am honored to be a part of it.
NCSY has figured it out. It is clear to anyone that has participated in a Shabbaton, a weekly Latté & Learning program or a Jewish culture club, that NCSY bridges the gap between religious and non-religious Jewish teens and does so exceptionally well. In my high school, I have seen students positively affected by our Jewish culture club. In my community, I have seen the numbers at our Latté & Learning grow. And in my own region and other regions, I have seen students so moved by the inspiration NCSY imparts that they take on new responsibilities to become more connected with their Judaism. NCSY is the unknown variable in reconciling the differences between people who know and those who want to know. This winter, I had the unique opportunity to spend three consecutive weekends on NCSY Shabbatons: first on Atlantic Seaboard NCSY’s Winter Regional, followed by West Coast
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Judah Joseph is a senior at Cherry Hill High School East in Cherry Hill, NJ.
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THE NCSY MAGAZINE
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eens constantly face the problem of peer pressure, specifically in terms of alcohol, drugs and driving past curfew, among endless other things. This peer pressure can manifest and channel itself in many different directions. On one side of the persuasive spectrum lays the up-to-nogood group of kids that wants you to join its biker gang and move away from any hint of a Jewish, observant lifestyle. On the other end of the spectrum lay those who want to help you make the right decisions in life, although their approaches may be misguided. Those people can include parents, teachers, etc. When the clichéd teenager defiantly exclaims, “You don’t understand!” he or she has a point. Sometimes adults simply don’t understand.