Teen Education

At Temple Israel, our teens are part of a meaningful, joyful, and connected community as they explore and deepen their Jewish identity. Our teens learn to become leaders, advocate for their ideas, and gain ownership and agency over their education and their Jewish journey.

For more information about the program and how to register, please contact Fallon Rubin (frubin@tisrael.org), Director of Teen and Youth Programs.

The Tent

The Tent is a Jewish Learning Community for Greater Boston Teens at Temple Israel of Boston. In partnership with our Jewish neighbors, we connect teens with a diversity of voices to strengthen them as learners, as thinkers, and as young American Jews.

Learn More About The Tent

Madrichim Program

In the Classroom:
  • Every year, a cohort of teens in 8th-12th grades serve as student teachers. The goal of the Madrichim Program is to help our teens develop as leaders and teachers, and to provide our Religious School students with excellent role models. Teens apply to the program in the spring and are offered positions over the summer. Each student receives a small volunteer stipend each semester.
  • Throughout the year, Madrichim focus on developing skills in small group facilitation, classroom management, and experiential lesson-planning. In addition to hands-on learning in the classroom or on Zoom, Madrichim will also receive targeted support and training on differentiated instruction in a series of eight development meetings led by experts in the field.
In the Library:

Teens also have the opportunity to work as library assistants in the Dr. Arnold L. Segel Library Center on Sundays. Working with our librarian, library assistants learn the basics of working in a library, such as shelving, checking items in and out, assisting library users with research questions, as well as other projects that may come up. The application process and stipend are the same as mentioned above.

RYFTI – Reform Youth Federation at Temple Israel

RYFTI is the teen-led youth group of The Tent and Temple Israel. RYFTI teens join together for fun, informal, Jewish experiences. Along with the monthly social programs, there are two weekend Kallot held each year: Fall Kallah (November) and Clergy Weekend (May). These weekend getaways are a time for the teens to bond, have fun, and engage in excellent peer-led learning. RYFTI is led by a teen board elected by their peers each Spring. RYFTI is an affiliate of NFTY- North East.

Confirmation

Temple Israel of Boston 10th graders spend a year together building community and grappling with the questions that help them define their personal relationship to Judaism. The Confirmation Year is crafted as a choose your own adventure program and includes: Monday classes at The Tent, God Talk lunches with Clergy, monthly Shabbat Torah Study, a Teen Civil Rights trip to Alabama, and so much more. Finally, the year culminates with the Shavuot Confirmation Service where our confirmands share their ideas and are celebrated by the whole community.