Last weekend, I was in NY twice, either side of Shabbat as I spent time with the teens from CTEEN Sudbury who joined the International Teen Shabbaton with well over 4,000 teens from around the world.
Really there are not enough words to describe the experience both for what I was there for and for the entire weekend of meaning, joy and uplift.
Walking the streets of Crown Heights and bumping into CTEEN groups from Morrocco, France, England, Israel, Argentina, Uruguay, Hungary, Germany, Panama, Mexico and so many more, plus from nearly every State in the US, is something that is so empowering for the teens.
The joy of the Havdalla and concert in Times Square with thousands of teens singing and celebrating Jewish pride and joy, is something that words can do no justice for. As nine huge billboards carried beautiful Jewish images and Am Yisrael Chai signs and one even carried a beautiful picture of CTEEN Sudbury, the atmosphere was truly electric, and one of unbridled and unapologetic joy and pride for Am Yisrael Chai.
Thousands of years ago, Mordechai the leader of the Jews of Persia, gathered thousands of youth together in the public squares, as the Jewish people faced down the threat of tyranny and the threat of mass annihilation. Hunkering down and cowering and hiding would certainly have been a logical option to choose from, yet Mordechai told the Jewish people, "no way"!
Mordechai led by example, as the Megilla tells us that Mordechai refused to bow down and acknowledge the power of Haman the powerful antisemitic leader, despite the danger it involved. It was this model that he shared with the Jewish people, not to cringe in fear when facing these challenges, but to instead be proud of being Jewish, be united, and most importantly to strengthen their faith in G-d and in their journey as a people with a mission.
It was the youth that Mordechai gathered first and foremost, as their innocence, sincerity and energy, were going to be the dynamic that were going to shift things around, despite how bad they looked.
Seeing the thousands of youth gather last weekend in NY or the various teen events and groups we led this week up in the Sudbury - Marlborough area, are a powerful reminder of our focus on tuning in to the tremendous and potent energy and inspiration of our youth, to keep making a brighter Jewish future, so that we succeed in our job at making this world be the place it should be.
Please join us for our many Purim Programs next week for all ages, which you can read more about below.
Good Shabbos & Shabbat Shalom
Yisroel