Bet Torah Teen Talk
Keeping you in the know  about our exciting post-B'nei Mitzvah programs!
In This Edition:  Celebrate Purim!  
Annual Fund Marking Internship and Blood Drive
New Spring TLC Mini-Course: Hunger Awareness and Cooking for the Needy 
and Programs for 11th and 12th Graders with Rabbi Brusso
Including  Interfaith, J-Teen Leadership, LGBTQ*, and METNY USY Programs
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Helpful Links:  Find Your Summer Join Youth Group 
Celebrate Purim!
Purim Prep Pizza Parties - Monday, March 6, and Wednesday, March 8 
Purim Evening Megillah Reading -  Saturday, March 11
Purim Carnivals: For Children and Families  and For Community Friends Sunday, March 12
Purim Prep Pizza Parties
Monday, March 6 and Wednesday, March 8
6:10 - 8:00 p.m.
Join us to help get ready for the carnival. We need to make signs, clean up games, and works on some new games we're excited to introduce this year! 

Pizza will be served. Please email youth@bettorah.org ASAP if you have any dietary restrictions. 

Purim Evening Megillah Reading 
Saturday, March 11
7:00 - 9:30 p.m. 
The whole congregation will enjoy dinner from Ben's Deli, followed by reading of the Megillah, starting at 7:30, and some fabulous 50s fun! If you want to attend the dinner at 7:00, RSVP to ltavares@bettorah.org. Dinner is $18 for a teen alone, or $54 for a family. 

We need teens to help us "kidnap" the Megillah scroll, which we'll hold ransom to raise money for the USY tzedakah, Tikun Olam. Teens leaders have decided that this year our funds will be allocated to the Abayudaya Community in Uganda and Chai Lifeline's Camp Simcha.
Purim Carnivals 
Sunday, March 12

Carnival for Children and Families
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Teens, in 7th-12th grade, volunteer  to serve your community.  We need volunteers in 8th-12th grade to run booths, and 7th graders to serve as booth assistants (this is a change from last year, but this year we're having more games 5th-7th graders will themselves enjoy). 

It's first come, first serve, so  sign up  ASAP. 

Carnival for Community Friends
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Adults with developmental disabilities from  WJCS' Partners in Caring Havorah enjoy our free Purim celebration, part of Bet Torah's commitment to building a better world.

We need teens in 7th-12th to sing and dance with our guests, act out the play with Rabbi Brusso and Cantor Herman, run the booths, and guide our guests in enjoying the carnival games. 
Adults, we need your support!
To ensure the success of both carnivals, we need your help! Please  sponsor a booth. Your sponsorship helps keep our Youth Program vibrant. 

Return  this sponsorship form to the Bet Torah office by Monday, March 6, along with your check to Bet Torah Youth.

We need adults to help set up in the morning before the carnival, help prepare the food, sell the food, sell tickets, and distribute prizes. Please sign up

We also need help getting local business to donate items for us use as raffle prizes; if you have connections with any small businesses, please email Loen Amer. learning
Teen Learning at Bet Torah
Spring TLC Mini-Courses 
New Offerings for Spring Semester 2017!
We've redone our spring 2017 courses, and postponed the entrepreneurial panel discussion and interfaith experience to build further relationships with our partners.

Hunger Awareness and Cooking for the Needy, with Diana Binger
Sunday, March 5, 19, 26, and April 2, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
The upcoming holidays of Purim and Passover include commandments to feed the hungry:  matanot l'evyonim and maot hittin. Without helping the less fortunate, observance of the holidays are incomplete.

Sunday, March 5
Purim cooking and learning to benefit our friends Neighbor's Link with Diana Binger.

Sunday, March 19 
Matzah baking with Eden Village, the innovative Jewish organic farm camp. We'll turn wheat into matzah!

Sunday, March 26 
Passover cooking and learning about giving wheat to the poor for the holiday with Diana Binger.

Sunday, April 2 
What is being hungry and homeless really like? Hear from Dale Williams the executive director of Midnight Run, who was homeless in New York City between 1987 and 1990.

Meeting Hate with Humanity: The Holocaust 75 Years Later
Sunday, April 23 and 30
Explore the lessons from the Holocaust we can apply to combating hate and standing up for justice today.

Hot Topics, with Rabbi Brusso
Sunday, May 7 and 14, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Explore current events and their effects on our lives with Rabbi Brusso. Course will be tailored to events in the world today.

Photography Reception
Sunday, May 7, 12:00-12:45 p.m.
Members of the Bet Torah community will be invited to view photos taken by our teens, exploring the meaning of being Jewish. Your votes will select a photo to submit to the Jewish Lens @ Beit Hatfutsot Photo Competition.


Registration is open and ongoing for all TLC programs. 
For 11th and 12th Graders, with Rabbi Brusso
Tuesday, March 21, April 25, and May 16, 6:15-7:45 p.m.
We offer our 11th and 12th graders the opportunity to discuss their lives and Judaism with Rabbi Brusso over dinner, once a month, at his home, 9 Mountain Avenue, Mt. Kisco. 

Once in a Lifetime Movie Screening and Panel 
Sunday, March 19, 12:00 p.m. at the Jacob Burns Film Center
Once in a Lifetime tells the story of a history teacher at a French, Muslim-majority, underprivileged high school who presents her students with a face-to-face encounter with a Holocaust survivor, dramatically changing the students' attitudes. 

The screening will be followed by a discussion with  Dr. Mehnaz Afridi, the director of Holocaust, Genocide & Interfaith Education Center, Religious Studies at Manhattan College. RSVP by  emailing ltavares@bettorah.org. service
Community Service at Bet Torah
Annual Fund Marking Internship 
Do you have marketing or design skills? Do you want to network with local businesses? 

Our Annual Fund is making a yearbook of the amazing work we do that will serve as a fundraiser. They're looking for interns looking to develop all kind of business and entrepreneurship skills. If you're interested or know someone else who would be interested, email Bart Sokol at bart@sokols.net . 
Blood Drive
Sunday, April 2, 8:30 a.m.
Teens, we need your help running registration, donor flow, and giving donors snacks. 

Teens who are over 16 can give blood themselves with parental permission. Download the permission form here. Donating blood fulfils the important mitzvah, commandment, to save lives. 

Questions? Want to sign up to donate?  Email Michele Posner at miposner@optonline.net. partner
Community Partners
Join the Jewish Delegation at PrideWorks 2017
Wednesday, March 15, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. 
at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY
PrideWorks 2017 is a full day educational conference for and about LGBTQ youth, their allies and the adults in their lives. 

Our friends at Mosaic of Westchester, Keshet, and Solomon Schechter School of Westchester have put together an LGBTQ and ally Jewish teen "delegation," and you're invited! 

Register ASAP to get your top session choices!
LGBTQ Parent/Guardian Gathering  
Thursday,  March 30, 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.  
Our friends at Keshet are offering any parents or guardians of Jewish individuals a place to build connections and community, knowledge and resources, at a private home in New Rochelle. 

For more information and to RSVP, contact email Avi Edelman at avi@keshetonline.org .
METNY Palooza
Saturday, April 1, 11:00 p.m. - Sunday, April 2,  10:30 a.m. 
Palooza is going to be an all night program, in which 8th-12th graders will join us at LazerLand Long Island for an overnight of unlimited laser tag, dodgeball, laser obstacle courses, arcade games, and more! 

This event will have various competitions where you can show why your grade is the best, Tikun Olam opportunities and competitions, grade bonding, snacks, and so much fun to be had. Get ready for an overnight of awesomeness!  Register here .
Youth Interfaith Gathering
Sunday, April 2, 11:45 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
at UWMS in Thornwood, NY 
The Upper Westchester Muslim Society (UWMS) welcome the middle and high school students to learn about Islam, have a delicious lunch and ask as many questions as they would like with us at their masjid.  Register here .

They also recently published this press release, condemning all of the anti-Semitic acts that have happened recently both here in Westchester as well as in other parts of our country.
J-Serve International Day of Jewish Youth Service
Break the Barrier
Supporting Mental Health Awareness
Sunday, April 2, 2:00 - 4:30 p.m. 
at Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains, NY
J-SERVE is an annual day held during April, coinciding this year with Good Deeds Day. During J-SERVE, Jewish teens around the world create service experience for themselves that serve their home communities. 

Here in Westchester, teen volunteers, led by our own Dina Sokol,  will help lead and participate in a community day of Mental Health Awareness, in advance of May's Mental Health Awareness Month.

Teens will work with families with teens and pre-teens to develop skills to recognize and alleviate pressures of mental health challenges. Participants will build personal wellness toolkits through activities such as yoga, soap making, art and more, and will also contribute to advocacy campaigns to lobby for better mental health care services and support in our schools. Learn more here or register here.
Jewish LGBTQ and Ally Teen Gatherings
Sunday, April 2, Sunday, May 7, and Sunday, June 11,  5:45 - 7:30 p.m. 
at Congregation Emanu-El in Rye, NY
All Jewish LGBTQ and ally teens are to join our friends at Mosaic of Westchester for their monthly gatherings! This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know one another. 

Each gathering includes an open peer support group for anyone interested in a safe space for discussions f rom 5:45 - 6:30 p.m. and kosher dinner and a fun activity from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

For more information, contact Mosaic's Teen Engagement Coordinator, Avi Edelman, or Executive Director, Bina Raskin.
Stepping Up Detroit! with J-Teen Leadership 
Friday, May 5 - Sunday, May 7
in Detroit, MT 
Teens in 8th and 9th grade and their parents are invited to travel to Detroit, MI with J-Teen Leadership to engage in meaningful service and learning with Repair the World, Detroit Volunteer in and explore one of the most dynamic and complex cities in the country and see first hand how it is recovering from severe economic decline. 

Experience a walking tour of downtown Detroit as well as an amazing show, The Defiant Requiemon Saturday night. Step up your service -- and your dance moves -- for a literal stepping routine to be used in our projects, and join J-Teen for an awesome adventure!  Learn more!

Thanks to a grant from the UJA towards further engagement of Northern Westchester Jewish families, Bet Torah teens are able to enjoy this program at a reduced price. Attend a meeting on the program right here in Mt. Kisco on  Thursday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m. at our local  UJA Office, 27 Radio Circle Drive (1st door on the right).  Call the J-Teen Leadership office at 914-328-8788 for more information.contact
Contact Us
Loen Amer 
Director of Youth Engagement 
youth@bettorah.org 
Karen Allison 
Youth Chair karensallison@yahoo.com

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Jill Heller
Youth Chair 
jbheller@optonline.net