Let’s engage our teens in their Jewish journey and support them to live vibrant Jewish lives.
Journey for Identity (JFI)
JFI is a hallmark program of the Rochester and Modi’in Partnership2Gether program. Over three weeks, 32 teens from Rochester and Modi’in travel together to three continents. They are joined by local second-generation participants and learn about the Holocaust through guided exploration, examine their Jewish identity through shared immersive experiences, and gain an understanding of each other’s community through home-based hospitality.
Program details:
- Open to students who have completed 10th - 12th grade
- Registration opens in October and closes in December
- Pre-trip preparation includes eight (8) two-hour seminars beginning in March
- Program travels to United States, Poland, and Israel
Peer Leadership Fellows
This immersive, national “by teens for teens” leadership development program enables fellows to participate in seminars and one-on-one sessions that provide opportunities for skills-based training, mentorship, and reflection. Utilizing relationship building, program design, and implementation, fellows work collaboratively to build a robust community for teens in the Rochester Jewish community.
Program details:
- Monthly time commitment is approximately 10 hours per month
- $500 stipend will be earned for full participation
- Registration opens in October and closes in November
Zikaron
This complete learning experience includes a trip to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., in addition to other sites and monuments. Through participation in this program, students in 8th and 9th grade have the opportunity to learn about the lead-up to the Holocaust through a Jewish lens. Participants experience personal stories of Holocaust survival, dive deep into their Jewish identities, and take a closer look at how we can take knowledge from the past to change the future for the better.
Program details:
- Registration opens in January and closes in February
- Pre- and post-trip classes run March - April
- Cost is $180 (financial assistance is available)
IsraelNow
IsraelNow is the perfect Israel experience for Jewish 8th graders. The purpose of this program is to nurture and strengthen a long-lasting connection and commitment to Jewish life among our community's youth. Every trip is an educational program designed to give eighth graders an immersive, emotional and memorable taste of Isreal and their Jewish heritage through a week-long, hands-on experience.
JROCBand
JROC is a group of Jewish teenagers in 8th - 12th grade who all share a love for music. They meet once a week to hang out, chat, and create music together. There are no auditions and all students, regardless of skill level, are welcome. JROC teens grow by learning from each other musically, as well as in other ways, and perform several times a year throughout the Rochester Jewish Community. (Performances are optional.) JROC participants also have the option to attend the Song Leader Boot Camp in St. Louis in February.
Program details:
- Meets Wednesdays from 6:30 - 7:45pm
- There is no cost to participate
- Program is facilitated by Mike Miller and Leah Sherman
Songleader Boot Camp (SLBC)
SLBC is an annual national conference that features a teen-only track that focuses on Jewish leadership. Hundreds gather every February in St. Louis to learn from nationally-renowned Jewish thought leaders, educators, and musical artists. The SLBC National Conference experience is filled with inspirational Jewish music and communal singing. Participants do not need to sing or play an instrument to fully experience all that SLBC has to offer.
Program details:
- Open to students in 9th - 12th grade
- Subsidies are available for those who actively participate in JROCBand
Contact Us
Rachel Kest
Director, Jewish Education & Engagement
rkest@jewishrochester.org
585.461.2000 ext. 1011
