YOUTH EDUCATION
Youth Activities
Youth Activities: United Synagogue Youth (9-12 grades) In the Fall of 2000, Jacob Kerner and Alyssa Zaleon started a USY (United Synagogue Youth) group at Beth El under the guidance of Sally Laliberte and Leigh Zaleon. The group had 5-6 active members and now has 15-20! USY provides many Jewish opportunities for our youth, including religious education, social action and tikkun olam, social activities, and leadership responsibilities. The group usually has two or three activities a month as well as opportunities to travel to other cities for conferences. USY also provides opportunities for our youth to strengthen their Jewish identity and to become a part of Jewish life at Beth El.
Officers for the 2008-09 year: Executive Board
General Board: Anna Ruth Weston Halberstadt and Mira Kessler Raleigh Chapter Liaison: Josh Orol
Past presidents:
Membership forms are mailed in August. For more information, please contact: Talya Baiamonte or Talya Mazor Youth Activities – Kadima (6-8 grades) In 2002, Beth El started a formal Kadima group. Kadima activities had been previously organized through the Religious School. During that first year, many activities were planned and iced out. The year culminated in a very successful Busch Gardens trip (thanks to the hard work of Kira Borman and Natalie Daaka). During 2003-04, there were many more activites, under the leadership of Randi Smith, Shelah Bloom, Alyssa Zaleon and Allison Smith. The year also culminated in a successful Busch Gardens trip as a joint activity with USY. As with USY, Kadima provides many opportunities for our youth to establish and maintain Jewish identity while socializing and learning about Judaism with their Beth El friends. Kadima members also have opportunities to travel to other cities to conferences. Membership forms for Kadima are mailed each August. Aliza Zaleon and Jessica Zaleon
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Pre-Kadima is a group for 3rd – 5th graders that meets once a month during the school year. Events include a combination of religious and social activities and are usually held on Sundays from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Talya Baiamonte at bethel.principal@verizon.net or 682-1238 x.170 2008-2009 Pre-Kadima Event Dates:
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USY Project Z'Mirot: |
There is this lovely spot just around the end of the lake, towards the back way in and out of Camp Ramah, where one can turn around and see all the main buildings of camp: the chadar (dining hall), mirpeset tifilah (prayer porch), the kikar (playing field), bet am (ampitheatre/stage), pool, lake and blob, tennis courts, climbing tower, bunks...a special place that I always go when I first arrive at camp and as I leave each year. I always feel touched by that site and whenever I take visitors around it is inevitably the "wow" spot on the tour... My 7th summer at Ramah Darom and the first time I didn't have a child in residence. Rachel's group was traveling in Israel for their last year as campers and will return next year as staff. Luckily, I had my "other kids" from Beth El and Chapel Hill to enjoy... and enjoy they did! To be in the presence of 400 Jewish kids and staff, to eat and sleep, to play and learn, to pray and experience daily life in this special Jewish context together is so remarkable and joyous that just thinking about it makes me want to...well, let me try to capture a couple of those images ... Kabbalat Shabbat with all our beautiful kids who have spent Friday afternoon cleaning up camp for Shabbat...taking time and effort to prepare Torah and haftorah readings, straightening up the bunks, making special place cards and table decorations for Friday night dinner, getting dressed up, clean and shining and looking fine for all those other nice Jewish boys and girls... gathering in the bet am, bringing flowers to friends...the "Shabbat rap...oo, ah, oo, ah ah..." lighting candles together and davening as the sun goes down over the lake...led by, yes our children, who just get up there and lead several hundred campers and staff in tefilah... Shabbat dinner all together, birchat and amazing shira...still led by those shinning kids. Shabbat as "an island in time" where everyone walks and eats and plays and celebrates together...so many different minyanim to choose, special foods, free time, onegs, games, books, naps, stories, swimming,basketball, hanging out with friends and camp "family"...being Jewish in this natural place, this completely different space and time...suedah shlishit, more shira, that feeling of anticipation of the all time favorite part of Shabbat at camp...havdalah...those, still shining beautiful faces, happy, relaxedin a way that I think we rarely get to see in our kids...laughing and hugging and waiting until we count the stars and hand-made havdalah candles and bisamim and "shavua tov! "and skits and cheers and dancing and motzei Shabbat parties and programs...and that's only one day in the life of Ramah Darom! o many more images, but for another time... So, "what do we know" about Jewish camping and the impact it has on our kids? what's not to like... it's hands-on-Judiasm at it's core...it develops strong, positive Jewish identities and profoundly affects choices those kids will make as adults about marriage, raising kids and being involved in synagogues and wider Jewish communities. Jewish camping and Jewish day schools are consistently identified as primary influences in choosing to lead Jewish lives as adults. ---Sally Laliberte (October 2005) Please know that I am always happy to chat with you about camp and how to make it happen for your kids...or better yet, talk to one of our shining campers who have attended Ramah Darom over the past seven years: Hassan and Rahan Bhatti, Elliot and Kira Borman, Josh Fraimow, Ross and Zach Goldburg, Michael and Jared Goldstein, Jacob Kerner and Rachel Laliberte, Ethan Keyserling, Max and Elena Korn, Noah, Sam and Ben Marks, Jeremy Reed, Rachel Schonburg, Jonathan Schwartz, Jessie Zaleon, Josh and Rachel Zarkin Adult staff: Susan Cohen, Adam Goldstein and me (Sally Laliberte) Shabbat visitors: Sabina Sager, Judith Herman, Barbara Renner, Bob Schwartz and never to forget...all those parents who made the (enormous) commitment to their kids and dropped them off for the month... call me -- Sally Laliberte visit their website: www.ramahdarom.org Click here to download more information on Camp Ramah and the impact of Jewish Camp.
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