On Tuesday, March 24, Moving Traditions hosted Supporting Your Teen’s Jewish Identity: Insights from an Unlikely Rabbi, a webinar for parents of Jewish youth.
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl shared her remarkable journey and insights from her book, Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging. Born in Korea to a Buddhist mother and Jewish father, Rabbi Buchdahl’s path to becoming one of the first Asian American rabbis in America offers profound wisdom for parents helping their teens discover who they are and who they want to become.
We also heard from teens participating in Moving Traditions’ Immersive Teen Programs who shared their own reflections on identity, belonging, and what it means to be a Jewish teen today.
Thank you to our featured speakers and moderator:
- Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City
- Rabbi Tamara Cohen, Chief of Program and Strategy, Moving Traditions (moderator)
- Rebecca Ezersky, Kumi Senior Manager
- Diego C.S., Kumi teen participant
- Talia W., Kumi teen participant
About Kumi Justice Retreats
Kumi Justice Retreats are for Jewish teens (10th-12th graders) who care about racial justice and want to grow alongside other justice-minded teens from across the country. Through two in-person retreats and monthly community of practice zoom calls, teens in this program will hear from expert speakers in the field, have deep conversations related to their identities and experiences, engage in skill-building workshops, and ultimately leave with the ability and knowledge to interrupt racism, antisemitism, and other forms of oppression.
Applications are open now for Kumi Justice Retreats and all of Moving Traditions’ Meyer-Gottesman Immersive Teen Experiences.
From Moving Traditions Curricular Programs
This excerpt has been adapted from Moving Traditions’ Jewish Identity & Israel curriculum for 8th-12th graders.
Jewish Identity Storytelling
SAY:
For this next section, I am going to I am going to give you three prompts to discuss together in a small group. I encourage each of you to spend 2 to 3 minutes telling a story in response to at least two of the three prompts.
SHARE or DISTRIBUTE these Storytelling Prompts to each group.
- Describe a time you felt Jewish or when you did not feel very Jewish or “Jewy.”
- Describe a time when you felt you had to choose between your Jewish identity and another one of your identities (e.g., Sandy Koufax needed to choose between his Jewish identity and his identity as a baseball player when he decided not to play on Yom Kippur).
- Describe a time when you felt you should feel or should act a certain way because of your Jewish identity.
As you tell your story, be sure to share: What happened? How did you feel in that moment about what happened? What do you think as you look back on that experience?
This excerpt has been adapted from Antisemitism Today, a Moving Traditions’ Special Edition Curricular session.
Getting to Know Antisemitic Tropes
SAY:
Next, we’re going to learn about some antisemitic tropes.* Some of these tropes might be familiar, others may be new to you.
*Depending on your teens, terms like “trope” or “dogwhistle” may need some explanation. Compare these terms to others teens may be more familiar with, such as “stereotype” or “slur.”
ACKNOWLEDGE: Learning about these tropes, seeing these images, and learning about their origins can cause a number of reactions in yourself and in your teens. Be prepared to acknowledge those reactions, and think ahead as to how you might respond in the moment or follow up with individual teens afterwards.
DISTRIBUTE the Antisemitic Tropes to your teens. Give teens 2 minutes of quiet to look at their image and read the accompanying text. Then they should be sure that they can answer the following questions:
- What is the antisemitic trope?
- What do you find surprising or troubling about the content you have read?
- If you can, think of an example you have seen online or in person or read about related to your trope.
INVITE teens to get into groups of 3 with participants who have a different trope than theirs and have them teach their group about their trope. Then within the group of three, each person should take a trope they didn’t originally have and find two new partners who have tropes they haven’t yet encountered. Then they share again and switch so that they will be teaching about a new one they just encountered and find the last two people that they haven’t been in a group with yet and share one more time.
After the third trio, bring the group back together.
ASK:
How did it feel to learn about these tropes together?
What did you find particularly surprising or troubling in the content shared?
What questions do you have?
From the Book
Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging is an instant New York Times bestseller that weaves together memoir and spiritual guidance for everyday living. Born in Korea and raised in Tacoma, Washington, by a Korean Buddhist mother and Jewish American father, Angela Buchdahl felt profoundly spiritual from a young age and sensed her calling to become a rabbi at sixteen. Despite facing naysayers and periods of self-doubt about whether a mixed-race woman would ever be seen as authentically Jewish or chosen to lead a congregation, she stayed the course through Yale, rabbinical school, and ultimately to the pulpit of one of the world’s most influential synagogues.