Confirmation is the next major milestone in Jewish life after Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Working with our clergy, you will experience a year of exploration where you will wrestle with some of life’s big questions, such as “Who am I? Where do I fit in? What do I stand for?” Discover your own answers as you experience eye opening study sessions and a trip to Berlin, the birthplace of Reform Judaism and Rodeph Sholom’s roots. Your year culminates at the Friday night Confirmation service and celebration.

The options listed below will only run if a minimum of 5 students sign up.

• Teens Talk Race
  • Join us as we continue our summer series on racism in America. We’ll learn from diverse guests from a plethora of fields and engage with a variety of mediums from film, to Instagram. Drop in for one session or attend them all for continued learning and critical conversation on race in the U.S.
• Cup of Joe & The 5 Books of Mo’
  • Once a month, students venture out to local coffee shops* and dessert venues for a fun snack and a pop culture infused discussion of the weekly Torah portion. What do the Kardashians and Joseph have in common? How does the Women’s March echo concepts seen in the Torah centuries before? What do the matriarchs and patriarchs have to say about the Astro’s cheating scandal? First drink or snack on us! *During COVID19 restrictions this group will function in-house or virtually as needed.
• Harry Potter & The Sacred Text
  • Are you an HP fan grappling with JK Rowling’s recent unsavory tweets? Or just love the HP stories? Or have NEVER read them? In this group inspired by the podcast of the same name, we’ll view the Harry Potter Series together through a Jewish and modern lens and through textual analysis. Magic abounds!
• Sacred Arts
  • Explore the intersection of art and Jewish life. Hear from and learn with a variety of cool Jewish artist and be inspired to create and share your own artwork with other teen artists in the CRS community.
• Oy Vey Improv Group
  • What’s Jewish about improv and drama?! Have you MET my mother? Join us for Jewish and dramatic fun once a month!
• Community Service Tutoring Network
  • Need some more community service? Sign up for our tutoring network and we’ll help match you with a student in our community in need of a little extra help in an area you excel in.
• One-off Events based on Current Events & Pop Culture
  • Guest speakers, social action opportunities and more!

OR…

• Start Your Own Interest Group (11th & 12th Graders)
  • Have an idea for a fun group with your CRS peers with the same interest? Need a space to meet? We’ll help you set up your own interest group, just email and let us know what you want to do!

• Connect with our clergy members like never before as they share multiple 3-session series on topics near and dear to their hearts! Teens can choose based upon their schedule and/or interest area and join for an opportunity to learn and connect with the clergy who make CRS tick!
  • The Art of Protest with Rabbi Juli Karol
    Mondays, October 19th, 26th & November 2nd @ 6:30 PM
  • Light In the Darkness: Searching for Hope When the World Falls Apart with Rabbi Ben Spratt
    Wednesdays, November 4th, 11th & 18th @ 6:30 PM
  • CRS Teens Take Action with Cantor Shayna DeLowe
    Wednesdays, December 2nd, 9th & 16th

With more topics and sessions in the Spring!

Use the wide network of Rodeph Sholom to your advantage! Get paired up with a teen who’s been in your shoes before! BONUS: Parents, you can be buddies with a parent of a teen who’s gone through the same experience too.

• High School Application Process
  • Get paired with a student who attends/attended your middle school or attends or is interested in the high school you attend. Older student buddies will receive community service credit for the time they spend connecting with their 8th Grade buddy.
• Freshmen Year
  • Freshmen year can be scary at a new school—connect at the end of 8th grade with an older student who attends your new school. You’ll get insider knowledge and know a friendly face in the halls come Fall! Older students receive community service for serving as a buddy.
• College Application Process
  • We’ll connect you with CRS students at the schools you’re interested in to get to know the real scoop before you make your decision!
• College Decisions
  • Once you’ve made a decision we’ll connect you with a CRS alum attending your chosen school so you’ll have a friendly face on campus in the Fall!

11th and 12th Grade teens have the opportunity to be paired with a congregational mentor based on their interests to gain valuable résumé-building skills, a unique Jewish experience and insight into what it means to be a professional who is Jewish out in the real world.

Mondays, Tuesdays and/or Wednesdays from 3:50-6:15 PM 8th–12th Graders have an opportunity to build community by working and helping in the Religious School. These years are the most impactful for our Kindergartners through 6th Graders, and our teens make a positive impact upon the children with whom they work. The program is a perfect way to contribute to CRS, allowing our teens to act as Jewish role models and leaders for our younger youth community. Madrichim can support teachers in the classroom or teach Hebrew. Teens may choose to receive compensation or community service hours for their participation in the program.

Affiliated with the international movement, our chapter is one of the best places to meet other 8th–12th Grade Jewish teens at CRS. Our group meets every other Tuesday from 6:30–8:00 PM and offers a diverse array of activities ranging from social nights to community service projects. BBYO also hosts a number of regional events that take place regularly throughout the year including leadership development workshops, dances, community service days, sports events, and weekend-long conventions.

To Join our BBYO Chapter please click here

When completing this registration form, please be sure to select ‘CRS BBYO’ in the Chapter Preference category.

High School is a challenging time in any teen’s life but it can be even harder for a teen questioning their gender identity and seeking peers to relate to. That’s why we’ve partnered with Moving Traditions and a number of area synagogues to provide this small-group, safe, monthly experience with similar-minded peers. Your teen will build confidence and strengthen connections with other teens and the broader Jewish community as they continue their own gender journey. Students will have the opportunity to form new friendships, express their fears, self-doubts and struggles, find reassurance and strength from their peers and connect with a young adult mentor who’s been through it all themselves too. Meets once a month on select Saturday afternoons.

The Mitzvah Team Leaders is the social action-focused arm of our teen programming at CRS. Leaders will function as a board to learn about the non-profit world and a variety of important causes. Together, they will also plan initiatives and one-off events to support causes of their choosing and offer community service opportunities and social action engagement to their peers. All while building their résumé too!

March 12–March 15, 2020

8th Graders have the opportunity to take a service learning adventure with us to New Orleans in order to help repair the world, explore the Jewish culture of the South and tour one of the coolest cities in the world! Of course there will be jazz, beignets, and gators too!

January 24th–January 27th, 2020

CRS teens along with Rabbi Karol will be visiting the Religious Action Center for their L’taken Seminar, an initiative designed to teach teens all about social justice and legislative activity at the heart of where it all happens—Washington, D.C. Teens will discuss issues that are important to them, learn how to lobby for those issues, and have an opportunity to actually go to Capitol Hill and meet with our congressmen and women.

February 13th–February 18th, 2020

There are few cities quite as evocative for modern Jews as Berlin—the city of the Enlightenment which helped give birth to Reform Judaism and the city of emancipation where Jews confidently rose to meet the challenge of life in the modern world. It is an energetic city that demonstrates the high points of integration and success, as well as the low points of persecution and destruction. Rabbi Greg Weitzman will lead you through encounters with people and places that will have you explore who you are as we visit the birthplace of Reform Judaism and Rodeph Sholom’s roots. Enrollment in the Confirmation program is required to be part of this trip.