Choice-Based Model: Havurat Torah Va'adot

Update (July 2017): Temple Israel Center (TIC), White Plains, NY

Model Description | Update 2017

Current Status:

Havurat Torah remains a vibrant model for teen learning at Temple Israel Center (TIC). A few changes have taken place over time.

• One change is that there is no longer a hierarchy of staff; everyone has the same responsibilities. In addition, the clergy has become part of the education team.
• The content and topics are always changing. The educational staff explores a variety of topics. If the educators find that something interests the teens, the teens suggest how and what they will do.
• The learning often takes on a life of its own.

Reflections of the Educator:

The educator attributes the success of the model to the team approach of the staff. They support one another and have strong support from the clergy. The team meets weekly for learning and reflection. All team members know what each of the others is doing. Everybody teaches a class, and each person can fill in for the next. The educator shared that this process of planning and reflecting together after every event is what creates a team.

The following stories are examples of the impact of Havurat Torah. In Havurat Torah, the teens constructed a Civil discourse campaign as an outgrowth of some unpleasant behavior in the congregation. They posted rules and said that the teens would be the role models for the adults. The next year, when one of the teens went to college, he began a similar campaign on his campus, based on what he had done and learned at TIC. In another case, through Westchester- Jewish Ethics and Food, the teens became interested in the hechshers that confirm that a food is kosher and what ethical considerations are part of that decision. They changed some of the foods they ordered and had to make difficult decisions based on budgetary constraints that embraced ethical issues, such as how a company treats their workers, that were important to them.

The educator shared that if a congregation wants to establish a model like Havurat Torah, they shouldn’t be afraid to ask the teens what they think and what they want.

Educators should understand that the teens really want to make a difference. It is most impactful when they get involved and choose what they want to do, and how they want to do it. For that to happen, and for the teens to take control and achieve success, the educators have to be willing to listen to what the teens are saying.