Moving Traditions’ Curricular Program for Rising 8th–12th Grade Campers offers a plug-and-play curriculum designed to help Jewish teens grow into their fullest selves. Rooted in the Jewish values of shleimut (individual wellbeing), hesed (connection), and tzedek (just action), the program creates space for teens to explore big questions about identity, belonging, and responsibility at a life stage when those questions feel especially real.
The curriculum includes 38 one-hour, experiential sessions built for use by clergy, educators, or camp staff. Each session is ready to implement and is thoughtfully structured, featuring dialogue prompts, interactive games, Jewish texts, rituals, and hands-on activities.
Through honest conversation and shared exploration of Jewish wisdom, teens practice communicating bravely, listening deeply, and caring across difference. Along the way, they strengthen their sense of self and their connection to Jewish life, discovering who they are and who they want to be as emerging adults.
In this program, Jewish teens ask big questions about where, why, and how they belong while exploring issues of identity, equity, and justice with Jewish wisdom as a guide. More important now than ever before, this program will help teens to reconnect with each other in brave, safe spaces that foster open and honest discussions.
I like how the curriculum made participants ask, ‘Where do I belong and why do I belong?’ [This program] allowed the teens to communicate and express opinions about topics that were uncomfortable.
– Camp Participant
Educational Objectives
When teens participate in this program, they will…
- Experience a sense of belonging and feel connected to their Jewish community
- Have fun in a Jewish space with other Jewish teens
- Feel connected to Jewish wisdom
- Actively participate and share their thoughts with the group
- Reflect on their identities
- Feel equipped to develop healthy relationships
- Be inspired to make a positive difference in their communities
- Gain insight into current social issues in the world around them
Logistics
Who: The curriculum is for rising 8th-12th grade campers. Single-grade classes are certainly easier to handle, though we have seen partners pilot this program successfully in multi-grade settings.
How: There are 30+ sessions available for our partners. We recommend that partners use nine or more sessions over the course of the summer. These sessions are themed around three concentric circles: Me/The Self, Relationships/Family, and Community/World. These sessions are written for use in-person. If you are planning on offering them online, we would be happy to consult with you individually to adapt them for online use.
Year 1
| Circle 1: Me/The Self (Shleimut) | Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will… | Jewish Text |
|---|---|---|
| Standing Together | — Establish guidelines for themselves to make the space a place for honest conversation — Feel more connected and comfortable with the rest of the group — Describe what to expect from these curricular sessions — Describe more than one aspect of their identities | Torah |
| A Listening Heart | — Identify the difference between empathy and sympathy — Identify where empathy is reflected in Jewish values — Practice reframing sympathetic situations they might encounter with an empathetic response — Articulate where and why it is important to practice empathy | Kings |
| Stressed Out? Tune In! | — Learn more about the body’s physical response to stress and brainstorm some de-stressing techniques. — Discuss how their physical response to stress and stress relief techniques might be informed by gender and gender stereotypes. — Use Jewish wisdom to help remind them that they can take action to reduce their stress levels. — Reflect on how they responded to the prolonged stress and uncertainty of the pandemic. | Jewish Folklore |
| Jewish Identity | — Explore the personal experiences and emotions that are connected to Jewish identity. — Reflect on the relationship between their Jewish identity and their other identities. — Support their peers in connecting to Jewish identity. | |
| Self-Care Does a Body Good | — Deepen their understanding about the many dimensions of self-care — Read and reflect on Jewish texts/wisdom to explore the meaning of self-care and its relationship with their body and their community — Nurture empathy and self-awareness by identifying obstacles to practicing self-care, by sharing self-care strategies they use, and by learning new strategies from their peers | Torah, Pirke Avot |
| What’s Your Purpose | — Explore the meaning of “purpose” and articulate some ideas of what their life’s purpose might become in the future. — Consider the components that can guide them as they pursue their life’s purpose. — Create a visual representation of their purpose. | Rabbi Zusya |
| Circle 2: Relationships/Family (Hesed) | Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will… | Jewish Text |
|---|---|---|
| Risk Taking and Courage | — Explore the messages that teenagers receive about risks and courage from media, society, and Judaism, including messages about gender norms and risk/courage — Reflect on their personal relationship with risks — Reflect on their personal “fallback setting” and how to check in with themselves in a new or stressful social situation in order to make thoughtful, healthy, and safe decisions | Talmud |
| FOMO & Filters & Facetime, Oh My! | — Inquire into the role that social media plays in students’ own lives — Understand the pressures that they and their peers feel related to using social media. — Reflect on ancient Jewish wisdom, and consider how it may speak to the adolescent challenges and experiences related to social media use. — Create a resource of Jewish wisdom, for self and/or fellow-students, to draw on when considering social media use | Proverbs |
| Friendship: “I’ll Be There for You!” | — Identify the characteristics of healthy and supportive friendships — Describe what they value most in friends — Apply Jewish wisdom to the participants’ understanding of their own friendships | Torah |
| Conflict Resolution | — Reflect on the ways they feel about conflict. — Identify their personal style when addressing moments of conflict. — Practice ways to work through conflict in order to create positive relationships. | Talmud |
| Boundaries | — Practice how to set boundaries and communicate their needs. — Understand why setting physical, emotional, material, and time boundaries is important to their well-being. — Identify the importance of boundaries in Judaism. | Talmud |
| Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better | — Examine their feelings about competition and jealousy. — Reflect on the drawbacks and benefits of the various competitions (academic, athletic, artistic, etc.) that they are pursuing or might pursue in the future. — Practice healthy ways of dealing with competition and jealousy. | Torah |
| Circle 3: Community/World (Tzedek) | Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will… | Jewish Text |
|---|---|---|
| Jewish Peoplehood | — Reflect on their own sense of belonging and connection to the Jewish people. — Understand the roles of the Diaspora and the Land of Israel in the formation of Jewish peoplehood. — Grapple with the idea of engagement with Israel as a facet of Jewish Peoplehood. | Midrash |
| Antisemitism | — Explore the personal experiences and emotions connected to antisemitism. — Describe what antisemitism is and how it manifests in the wider world along with the Jewish world. — Reflect about their role in responding to anti-Jewish hatred. | Esther, Liturgy |
| Challenging Sexism | — Reflect on the ways that sexism shows up in their own lives or communities. — Probe a Torah text for modern wisdom on challenging sexism. — Participate in a ritual to help prepare them to confront sexism in their own lives. | Torah |
| Understanding Implicit Bias | — Be able to define “implicit bias”. — Analyze how implicit biases show up in their personal relationships and daily interactions, and consider how their biases affect themselves or others. — Differentiate between biased statements and non-biased statements | Modern Jewish writer |
| Exploring the Many Genders of Judaism Around the World | — Understand that gender diversity has existed for centuries across different cultures around the world. — Engage with Jewish wisdom about gender diversity. — Use learned strategies to support trans and non-binary peers. | Talmud, Torah |
| Dreaming Better Futures | — Imagine the future with hope and optimism. — Identify obstacles in the way of positive change. — Choose small changes that can make their own lives happier and closer to their ideals. | |
| How Smart is Artificial Intelligence? | — Deepen their understanding of the limits and opportunities of current artificial intelligence technology. — Explore ethical frameworks for using artificial intelligence in particular cases. — Connect the ethics of artificial intelligence to traditional and modern Jewish wisdom. | |
| Closing Session: The In-Between | — Reflect on the past year including what they’ve learned and how they’ve changed — Consider the challenges they have faced over the past year individually and as a group — Explore the concept of liminal spaces using the Israelites as an example | Torah |
Year 2
| Circle 1: Me/The Self (Shleimut) | Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will… | Jewish Text |
|---|---|---|
| Happy Self, Happy Brain | — Explore their own personal definition of “happiness”, comparing it with modern researchers’ views on happiness and traditional Jewish wisdom. — Learn one framework for happiness based on positive psychology (Martin Seligman’s PERMA+). — Practice concrete strategies to promote mental wellbeing | Rabbinic thought |
| Who Do You Think You Are | — Recognize some of their personal identities. — Consider how others can make assumptions about us based on our social identities. — Explore how identity norms can be challenged and can change over time. | Torah |
| X Marks the Spot: Navigating Towards Long-Term Goals | — Reflect on their own “why” and “how”, relevant in their own lives, for achieving specific long-term goals, based on Jewish text and modern psychological insights. — Identify effective strategies for achieving long-term goals, while recognizing common obstacles that may hinder progress. — Understand the significance of enduring short-term challenges in pursuit of long-term goals that resonate with their core values. | Talmud |
| Me, Myself, and I: How to Be Alone | — Explore their feelings about being alone. — Differentiate between aloneness and loneliness. — Appreciate the Jewish practice of hitbodedut. — Identify concrete ways they enjoy spending time alone. | Likutei Moharan, Shulchan Aruch |
| Some BODY to Love | — Understand that self-talk creates, strengthens, and perpetuates our perceptions of our bodies. — Reflect on the ways in which physical appearance is valued in Jewish texts. — Explore and practice various frameworks for relating to one’s body. | Modern Jewish thought, Proverbs, Pirkei Avot |
| The Limits of Ability | — Understand that people have a diverse range of abilities and limitations, and recognize degrees of ability and limitation within themselves. — Fully welcome and include people with disabilities in their communities, families, and friendships. — Recognize the advocacy that has been done, and is still being done, for a fully inclusive society. | Torah, Talmud, Modern Jewish writers |
| Circle 2: Relationships/Family (Hesed) | Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will… | Jewish Text |
|---|---|---|
| Reinventing Family | — Understand the similarities and differences in different models of family. — Relate their own family model to others in the diversity of Jewish families. — Imagine their own ideal future family. | Torah |
| When Friendship Isn’t Forever | — Evaluate the healthfulness of their friendships — Consider their current needs in a friendship and how those may have changed over time — Understand different ways to go about distancing themselves from a friendship that no longer serves them | Talmud |
| Consent and Communication | — Understand what consent is, in terms of relationships and sexuality. — Understand and discuss pressures, including gendered pressures, that impact how people communicate about consent. — Recognize signs of an abusive relationship. — Develop skills for communicating about consent. — Learn about Jewish wisdom about consent and communication in relationships. | Rabbinic thought |
| Disagreement For the Sake of Heaven | — Fluently use the skills of “Disagreements for the Sake of Heaven.” — Engage in dialogue with others whose beliefs differ from their own. — Develop a plan for talking with members of their community about a topic of personal importance. | Midrash, Hillel & Shammai |
| Desire: Do You Know What You Want? | — Reflect on what they might want and not want in romantic relationships. — Reflect on their own boundaries within potential or actual romantic relationships. — Understand and discuss pressures, including gendered pressures, on how people should behave in relationships. — Learn Jewish wisdom about boundaries and relationships. | Torah, Talmud |
| The Pressure to Be Perfect | — Discuss achievement culture and its effect on teens’ mental health. — Examine approaches to perfectionism from religious and psychological sources. — Brainstorm about how to respond to the pressures associated with achievement culture. | Rabbinic thought |
| Circle 3: Community/World (Tzedek) | Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will… | Jewish Text |
|---|---|---|
| Home/Land 1: Exploring Israel Through the Theme of Home | Explore the idea of home: Where is home for you? What or who connects you to home? Reflect on what it means to call America home, and like other Jews from all over the world, what it means to have a “home” in Israel. Describe the concepts of am, eretz and medinat Israel. | |
| From Noah to Now – Finding Resilience in an Era of Climate Change | Understand key facts about the threat that climate change poses to an equitable society and healthy natural world. Explore Jewish wisdom about modern environmental challenges. Cultivate healthy reactions and coping strategies regarding climate change. | Torah, Liturgy |
| Living in an Era of School Shootings | Engage in open, honest conversations about safety in schools and fear surrounding gun violence. Share their experiences with news about school shootings or lockdown drills. Explore Jewish wisdom around coping with living in an era of school shootings. | Mishna |
| I’ve Got the Power | Explore a definition of power. Consider hierarchies of power and how it operates in their lives. Differentiate between individual and collective power and consider how to wield each of these powers in the future. | Esther |
| Media: Can You Believe It? | Develop and apply strategies for discerning bias and misinformation in the media. Employ skills learned to examine real world media Learn historical and modern examples of misinformation about Jews | Talmud |
| Home/Land 2 | Reflect on the values of the State of Israel, as expressed in its national anthem, and explore how those values relate to those of the United States or Canada. Deepen their understanding of worldwide Jewry’s sense of “home” in Israel, as well as the factors that shape this sense of belonging. Gain foundational knowledge of the concepts of Am (people), Eretz (land), and Medinat Israel (the State of Israel). | |
| Touchy Subjects | Discuss sensitive topics in a safe and supportive space. Understand new perspectives on difficult subjects. Model approaches to discussing controversial and/or emotional topics in the future. | |
| Closing Session: Mapping the Journey | Reflect on the past year and describe what they’ve learned and how they may have changed. Consider the challenges they’ve faced over the past year individually and as a group. Develop a plan for how to use their programmatic learning going forward in their lives. | Rabbinic thought |
Become a Partner
Funding Partners
Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Jewish Social Justice Roundtable
Jewish United Fund / Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
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Your gift to Moving Traditions helps Jewish youth discover who they are through the pursuit of personal wellbeing (shleimut), caring relationships (hesed), and a Jewish and feminist vision of equity and justice (tzedek).