Thursday, August 09, 2007
Reform kids who "frum out" and kids at risk
The Jewish Week reports on the problems facing one Reform camp where some campers and counselors are rejecting the “creative experimentation” form of worship in favor of more traditional tefillah. Nebach. Now, what would happen if we got these kids who are thirsting for religion together with some of those kids from traditional yeshivos who are spending the summer hanging out in the pool halls and whatnot (see this article from yeshivaworld)? Maybe they could have a hashpa’ah? (No, I am not being facetious.)
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This is definitely possible. Back in the day, I learned for two summers at Morasha Kollel, the Y.U. summer yeshiva. There was a program for yeshiva high school boys called "Machon," there, and the vast majority of those boys seemed outwardly to be none to interested in anything relating to Yiddishkeit. Every summer, they did a program in conjunction with a BBYO camp with kids from reform and conservative homes.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting meeting for those two groups. It was the first real impression those reform and conservative kids had of orthodox kids their own age. And I had some Machon boys tell me that when the BBYO kids asked them questions about Yiddishkeit, it was the first time in their lives that they had given any thought to those kind of deeper questions.
At the end of the program, the yeshiva kids had a lot more to think about and perhaps 50% of the BBYO kids bought and started to wear tzitzis. It was a great program.
-Dixie Yid
Back in the day when I was in Morasha Kollel there was never a program like this - I am curious now if it was before my time or afterwards. If my math is right I was there in the summers of '86 and '87.
ReplyDeleteI was in morasha kollel in '89 and '90 and they had BBYO then.
ReplyDeleteIt is about time the orthodox come back to traditional prayer.
ReplyDeleteAt least someone is printing a kosher siddur without any avodah zorah or puyitim like lecha dodi that mock the delightful Shabbat: http://www.derushah.com/siddurmesoratmoshe.html