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:
- For students who have completed 10th, 11th, or 12th grades.
- Applications are due by October 15. Interviews and cohort selection to be completed by November 15.
- Pre-trip preparation includes eight (8) two-hour seminars that begin in January 2024.
- Program travel to United States, Poland and Israel.
Contact Director of Partnership2Gether Programming at 585.461.0490 or info@jewishrochester.org for more information.
ROCTEEN Mitzvah Corps
ROCTEEN Mitzvah Corps is a program for high school teens in grades 9 – 12 that incorporates social action, community building, Jewish learning and FUN!
Each meeting will include:
- Socializing with friends – building new friendships and strengthening exiting ones.
- Volunteering at local social services agencies
- Learning about Jewish values related to the agency’s work
For more information contact Solomon Zisser at solomon.zisser@rochester.edu or Rachel Kest at rkest@jewishrochester.org.
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
