At Temple Emanu-El, we teach our teens that Judaism is supposed to extend to all areas of life. We should not confine our Jewish identity to the home or the synagogue; rather, we should bring our Jewish values to school, work, and even in Congress! For over twenty years, Temple Emanu-El has brought countless teens to Washington for a weekend conference called L’Taken. The name of the conference comes from a core tenet of Reform Judaism, “L’Taken et HaOlam b’malchut Shaddai,” to heal the world in God’s name—or as we say, “Tikkun Olam.” As Jews, we are obligated to take our world from a place of brokenness to wholeness. The work of Tikkun Olam must happen on a personal level, and we are responsible for the healing of our world on a grand scale. We know that one of the most effective ways to influence positive change in our country is to exercise our rights to lobby our elected officials. Throughout the weekend, our teens learn how to view the problems we face as a nation through a Jewish lens. At the end of the weekend, teens prepare policy statements to present to our congressional representatives.
This weekend is a big deal. The programming throughout the four days has influenced teens to pursue careers that will make our world a better place. Whereas teens typically only meet Jews from their city or region, during L’Taken our teens make friends with other Jews from around the country. What’s more, all of this is done with the guidance of their rabbis. The connections teens make together and with their Judaism is priceless.
We are sending eight teens in our confirmation class with Rabbi Rachael and Beth Blick this weekend for L’Taken. When they return you will hear all about their experiences in an upcoming Kesher Quick. If you want to learn more about L’Taken, please reach out to me, Rabbi Rachael, or Rabbi Spike—we love this program and the positive impact it makes in the life of our synagogue.
