Bringing One Shabbos to Every Teen
More than 1,000 teens participated in NCSY’s virtual “One Shabbos” initiative, part of the “Shabbos Project” celebrations held globally in November, to bring the magic and beauty of NCSY Shabbatonim to teens around the world. Eighty-five programs took place in forty-three cities across Canada, Israel and the United States.
The four-day weekend event included virtual programming such as a challah bake for Jr. NCSYers and their families with famed kosher cookbook author Naomi Nachman; a panel for parents on “Making the Shabbos Table Engaging,” featuring Rabbi Judah Mischel, Elisheva Kaminetsky and Rabbi Efrem Goldberg, and a special mishmar program for NCSY advisors.
“We have brought the allure of the NCSY Shabbos experience to every teen and their families this past weekend. Each program was carefully designed to offer similar inspiration and opportunity for spiritual connection that you would find at any of our Shabbatonim,” said NCSY International Director Rabbi Micah Greenland.
Celebrating Unsung Heros at Torah LA
At the Trustee’s Melave Malka during OU West Coast’s Annual Torah LA weekend—both held virtually this year—OU West Coast honored Senior Los Angeles Police Department Captains Shannon K. Paulson and Jonathan Tom with the “Community Shield Award” on behalf of their police divisions, for going above and beyond to keep the Los Angeles Jewish community safe through these trying times. From left: Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean, Director Global Social Action Agenda of the Simon Wiesenthal Center; Captain Tom; former OU West Coast Director Rabbi Alan Kalinsky; and Rabbi Adir Posy, National Director, Karasick Department of Synagogue and Community services, at the pre-recorded, socially-distanced award ceremony.
Higher Education Course Pilots with OU Women
In partnership with Women’s Institute of Torah Seminary & College (WITS) in Baltimore, Maryland, in October the OU launched the Torah Higher Education Course, a certificate course to train and support Orthodox Jewish women to become effective Torah educators. Tailored to the needs of women in the fields of informal and formal education, the year-and-a-half long course, which is accredited by the Association of Institutions of Jewish Studies (AIJS), features classes in education, Jewish studies, and pastoral counseling as well as other psychology-oriented topics that may confront the Jewish educator.
“We are excited to offer women a specific course where they can acquire the skills and tools necessary to be Jewish educators in a variety of settings,” said Rina Emerson, Managing Director of NCSY.
With the inaugural class comprised of twelve female professional staff members from NCSY and Yachad, WITS hopes to expand the program to provide training to Jewish women educators across the country.
Pictured: OU women participants in WITS Torah Higher Education Course attending Rabbi Dovid Hochberg’s “Introduction to Counseling” class on Zoom.