NFTY High Holiday Programs

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Join Reform Jewish teens for a meaningful, month-long High Holidays experience! Through fun and engaging virtual programming, we will focus on the core theme of betterment – of yourself, your community, and the world.

We will begin Rosh HaShanah with the intention of becoming the best version of ourselves, and will have a mindful and meditative Tashlich experience as well as the opportunity to find compassion for ourselves as we strive to do better. Next, we hope to see you as we work to better our communities through connection with older generations.

To culminate our High Holidays offerings, we will lead directly into bettering the world through civic engagement, and we will join together as a community for a dessert breakfast. Throughout, there will be smaller supplemental experiences that you can take part in on your own time from the comfort of your own home.

We look forward to observing High Holidays in a non-traditional yet equally important way this year and can’t wait to make memories with you!

Register for all programs at RJ on the Go.

Big Questions for 5781
September 9, 2020, 7:00 pm ET
Jewish tradition teaches that the month of Elul is a time of soul-searching and reflection to prepare oneself for the magnitude of the Days of Awe. Join us as we prepare together and meet other Jewish teens as we explore some big questions together.

Tashlich
September 19, 2020, 7:00 pm ET
Reflect on your past year, engage on a deep level with peers, and cast off past misdeeds. We will begin with a mixer session to set intentions and then connect through an innovative Tashlich experience. We will say goodbye to Shabbat together with a short and sweet Havdalah service.

Finding Compassion for Yourself with Here.Now.
September 20, 2020, 5:00 pm ET
As we embark on the Days of Awe and reflect on how we can be better in the new year, sometimes we are too hard on ourselves.  In this session, we will learn from Pam Schuller from Here.Now about being compassionate to ourselves as we also work to do better.

Shanah Tovah Card-Making
September 24, 2020 – 7:00 pm ET
COVID has led to increased isolation for the elderly, especially in nursing homes.  We will spend time making Shanah Tovah cards and writing letters to elderly nursing home residents while connecting with each other. It will be a meaningful experience for everyone and we hope you’ll join us!

Dessert Break-Fast
September 29, 2020 – 9:00 pm ET
Even though we will already have broken our fast after Yom Kippur, let’s come together as a teen community to have dessert, close out our High Holidays experiences together, and hang out with other teens.

Days of Awe Through Civic Engagement
September 21-25, 2020
for Reform Jews of Every Age + National High School Voter Registration Week Regional Competition

The ten days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, otherwise known as the Days of Awe, challenge us to live the values of teshuvah, or repentance, by reflecting on what we can change in the coming year, t’filah, or prayer for the things we cannot change, and tzedakah, or pursuing justice. Therefore, Every Voice, Every Vote: The Reform Movement’s Civic Engagement Campaign must not be halted; rather we must challenge ourselves and each other to do the work to pursue justice more than ever in these Days of Awe.

In the spirit of the High Holidays, the Civic Engagement Campaign, and social justice, allow this week to be a competitive manifestation of that challenge for yourselves, your family, and your community (past and present). If you would like to participate in the NFTY Regional Competition, you can add your region to your name during the following activities and each region will receive points for every participant in each event. The winning region will receive a one-of-a-kind personalized trophy and bragging rights until the next civic engagement competition!

Vote 5781: A High Holiday Program for Teens
This digital, highly interactive program specifically designed for the High Holidays helps connect Reform Jewish teens to the importance of voting. Through exploring the history of voting rights in the U.S. and our responsibility as Jews, participants will recognize why voting matters and learn about ways to get involved in the RAC’s 2020 Civic Engagement Campaign: Every Voice, Every Vote. The program is designed to allow congregations to run a program for their teens as part of, or in anticipation of, their High Holy Day  offerings.  To access the program, please fill out this form and the PDF will be automatically emailed to you.

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