This past Sunday, our Federation building was buzzing with life and excitement. More than 130 teens filled the building as five of our teen initiatives launched their year of programming all under one roof for the first time.
Programs included Madrichim Teacher Training with Moving Traditions, Interfaith Teen Leaders, Iris Teen Tzedakah, Diller Teen Fellowship, and Student to Student.
For most of the day, each program focused on its own goals—strengthening leadership skills, exploring identity, learning how to have hard conversations, and building Jewish knowledge. Each program is uniquely designed to nurture a different piece of our teens’ journeys. However, what this year brought was a first. A moment that elevated the day to what I would call a “shechayanu moment” (blessing said in moments of newness).
During lunch, everyone—all 130 teens—went outside into the bright, sunny field behind our building. They ate together, laughed, shared stories, made new friends, and reconnected with old ones. For years, our programs have been scattered across different days and times. We’ve rarely had more than 30 teens in the building at once. But seeing so many teens gathered in one place, side by side, made something click.
The future of our community is not just in the leadership of each teen individually. It’s what happens when we bring them together.
No matter how strong a single program is, our community only thrives when it creates opportunities for connection.
While the teens were learning and connecting, over 75 parents, and even a few grandparents, came together to learn more about their teens’ experiences. What started as a simple info session quickly became much richer. Parents leaned in, sharing where they were from, what brought them here, and what brings them to Jewish life.
One parent shared that half their family is from New Jersey and half from the Philippines, and they spoke about how powerful it was to bring both cultural perspectives into a space that welcomed them fully. What we are doing together is more than running programs—we are creating a shared sense of peoplehood.
As I reflect on this past Sunday, I am struck by what it represents about where we are in 2025. Families and teens are searching for meaning, belonging, and ways to take action and lead. Our responsibility isn’t just to give them programs. It’s to give them community.
When we bring people together—teens and parents alike—we allow them to see, feel, and experience that they are part of something larger. In that moment, the idea of being “greater than the sum of its parts” becomes realized.
In Judaism we teach: כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה—all of Israel are responsible for one another (Talmud Bavli, Sh’vuot 39a). I like to think of it this way: all Jewish people are supports for one another. To beערבים (responsible) is not just to be a guarantor financially—it is to be reliable, present, and the support someone can lean on. This is the value that we are building one person at a time to shape our shared society.
This Sunday, in one building, in one sunny lunch hour, we saw what it means to be part of something bigger. And that is where the future of our community begins.
We welcome all teens to come find their place at Federation. For more opportunities to volunteer or learn more about our cohorts, feel free to reach out.