More than 950 camp professionals, board members and funders gathered in Chicago for the Foundation for Jewish Camps’ three-day Jewish Camp Summit earlier this month.(photo credit: HOWARD BLAS)

DIASPORA AFFAIRS: Bringing Israeli campers and staff to Jewish summer camps created opportunities for North Americans to have ongoing, meaningful relationships with Israel.

By HOWARD BLASDECEMBER 20, 2024 12:48

You can view the original post at The Jerusalem Post

When more than 950 day and overnight camp professionals, board members, and funders gathered in Chicago for the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s three-day Jewish camp summit earlier this month, it had the feel of a camp reunion, academic conference, and trade show all in one.

There were plenary sessions featuring such Jewish community notables as Julie Beren Platt, chairwoman of the board of trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America and immediate past chairwoman of FJC, in dialogue with one of her famous sons, podcaster Jonah Platt, on the topic of “Scaling Jewish Joy and Identity.” Another plenary included two former congressmen – Ted Deutch (current CEO of the American Jewish Committee) and Eric Fingerhut (CEO of JFNA).

The conference included sessions extolling the benefits of Jewish summer camping and its commitment to and deep connection with Israel and Israelis (over 3,000 Israelis worked at nearly 200 Jewish day and overnight camps this summer), and others addressing a smorgasbord of camp-related topics, including building connections between North American and Israeli staff, year-round camper care, emergency preparedness, inclusion, character development, parents as partners, gender dynamics, and mental health.Top ArticlesRead More

More Diaspora Jews interested in immigrating to Israel post-Oct. 7

Participants at the 10th biennial Leaders Assembly enjoyed a welcome reception on Monday (with a band paying tunes of David Broza and other camp favorites), Tuesday on-site intensives (including sessions on “Engaging the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict at Camp: Exploring Challenges and Opportunities”) and off-site trips, and Wednesday’s “Wear Your Camp Swag” day – though attire for the conference was officially listed as “camp business casual.”

Conference attendees came together for meals, had the option to pray in a variety of styles, and had ample time to schmooze with or friend or walk through the “shuk” to gather pens, bags, candy, stickers, brochures, and other free stuff while learning about climbing equipment, luggage shipping (from Door-Va-Door Tucking), various Israel programs and Camp Medical Services. When vendors were on break, their tables featured such playful campy signs as “Preparing for the talent show – be right back,” “Tie-dyeing my socks – be right back,” and “Roasting marshmallows – be right back.”

There were plenary sessions on topics such as “Scaling Jewish Joy and Identity,” and “Scaling Leadership.'' (credit: HOWARD BLAS)
There were plenary sessions on topics such as “Scaling Jewish Joy and Identity,” and “Scaling Leadership.” (credit: HOWARD BLAS)

FJC advocates for over 300 day and overnight camps which provide nearly 190,000 campers and counselors each summer with a meaningful, personal, and lifelong connection to Judaism. They regularly bring stakeholders in the camping world together to learn of trends, new initiatives, and funding for Jewish camping.

At the conference, Jeremy J. Fingerman, CEO of the organization, founded in 1998, shared data on the importance, success, and growth of Jewish camping.

According to surveys of the 2024 camp season:

• Nine in 10 families reported that camp created an environment that supported their children’s social and emotional health and well-being.

• 85% of camp staff felt that camp connected them to feeling a part of the worldwide Jewish community.

• 94% of parents shared that camp connected their child to the global Jewish community

• 80% of North American overnight camp staff said camp helped them to connect to Israel and Israeli staff.

Fingerman and members of the FJC team reported on camping’s recovery from the recent pandemic, as evidenced by the impressive numbers of campers and staff attending and working at Jewish day and overnight camps in North America this past summer.

They noted that high enrollment is stretching camps’ current infrastructure, and at least a quarter of its camps are operating at or near full capacity. Many have been developing plans to increase their ability to serve more young people – and will surely benefit from a $15 million gift from the Gottesman Fund which Fingerman announced at the conference.

“This new funding will facilitate field growth and enable camps to boost enrollment at a time when so many are seeking positive Jewish experiences and Jewish camp is playing an even more important role,” Fingerman reported.

Diane Eidman, director at the Gottesman Fund, added, “We’re thrilled to partner with Foundation for Jewish Camp to offer funding for capital improvement projects so that camps can enroll more campers, hire more staff, and deliver higher-quality experiences to every member of the community.

“One of our top priorities is enhancing and perpetuating Jewish life in the United States – and it’s hard to think of an experience that’s more formative for young Jews than camp.”

With the generous support of The Gottesman Fund, FJC will be able to offer the funding for capital expansion projects through 2027, with individual grants of up to $750,000 per camp to cover up to 50% of the total project cost. The funding will focus on three areas: $5m. for staff and family housing to increase staff retention, $7m. for program spaces to modernize infrastructure and bolster climate resilience, and $3m. for camper bunks to help increase capacity.

Jamie Simon, FJC’s chief program and strategy officer, offered, “This summer and beyond, we’re committed to ensuring that every camp has the resources they need to provide fun, safe, and meaningful experiences for tens of thousands of young Jews.”

THIS PAST summer, 3,000 Israelis worked at over 200 Jewish camps in North America, and campers from the Gaza border communities and evacuees from northern towns also participated in summer camping.

FJC’s commitment to enhancing personal connections between Diaspora and Israeli Jews was apparent at many conference sessions.

In a session titled “Building Connections Between North American and Israeli Staff,” Or Pode of Kibbutz Zikim and director of youth for the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, said, “The relationship between Israel and the Diaspora works. We are from the same womb and nurtured on the same values. When I was in pain, you were hurting; with antisemitism, we are here for you, building bridges.”

Pode helped bring 200 campers to six different camps as part of Campers2Gether, a new initiative of the Jewish Agency and Mosaic Teens, a division of Mosaic United, in partnership with the Foundation for Jewish Camp. The program sought to bring 1,500 Israeli teenagers who have been displaced or otherwise affected by the war to Jewish camps in North America and across the Jewish world in the summer of 2024.

At Tuesday morning’s “Summer Camp in Israel and Jewish Agency Campers2Gether” breakfast, Carly Weinstock, director of Camp Tamarack in Michigan, shared the artwork created in an art elective by Israeli campers who came to her camp from Gevim and Be’eri.

She noted that the camp social worker found the first week to be particularly challenging, and added that camp was extremely beneficial and therapeutic. “It was interesting to see the transformation in the children from the first week to the last,” she observed, and added that, for the Israelis who lived through October 7, “five days in camp was like five years in therapy.”

Bringing Israeli campers and staff to Jewish summer camps this summer in particular created opportunities for North Americans to have ongoing, meaningful relationships with Israel and Israelis and to more closely connect to the war and to the plight of the hostages.

Hanoch Greenberg, director of the Summer Shlichut Program for North America at the Jewish Agency, and Dan Tatar, director of engagement and strategic partnerships at the iCenter, shared a nuanced presentation on the emissary experience this summer.

While most camps enthusiastically brought emissaries to their camps and carefully and thoughtfully prepared them for the unique summer ahead, Greenberg acknowledged that at least one camp “had a vocal donor opposed to emissaries” and refused to bring emissaries to camp this summer. In contrast, he noted, “Some camps said, ‘now more than ever we need them.’” Greenberg and Tatar noted that this was a summer where the discussion partially moved from the “how” of bringing emissaries to the “why.”

Greenberg reported on the experiences of emissaries this summer as compared to past summers, noting, “Israeli staff were grieving over the ongoing crisis. The continuation of the war put the emissaries in a tough place.” To help them, some camps had Hebrew-speaking social workers on-site, which Greenberg noted was “a tremendous act of support,” along with a Jewish Agency hotline offering help and support for the emissaries.

The FJC audience was somewhat surprised to learn that some emissaries were nervous about coming to camps after following the rise in reports of antisemitism in North America.

“Parents of some of the emissaries – even of those who just returned from fighting in Gaza – were nervous and called me to say they were not letting their children come,” Greenberg shared. “I had never before heard this concern about antisemitism.”

Greenberg and Tatar noted the importance of a pre-camp connection between emissaries and the camps. This relationship begins in February with emissaries training in Israel and often continues beyond the summer as meaningful, caring relationships form between Israelis and North Americans.

Greenberg shared stories of Americans reaching out to emissaries post-camp to ask “Is there anything I can do?” when they heard that sirens went off in their hometowns. He reported on emissaries who returned home feeling that “someone cares about me” and feeling “part of a larger family.”

Greenberg and Tatar encouraged camps to carefully plan for the summer by anticipating potential issues and problems that might emerge around the topic of Israel. “They should consider, if there is a clash, who handles it?” The two said unsurprisingly, “Those camps with plans in place had fewer clashes.” Greenberg noted that camps tended to “fall into three categories: those who plan for the summer; those who say ‘let’s not talk about Israel – it is too controversial’; and those who have no plan.”

Greenberg, who spent 19 summers at Union for Reform Judaism’s Camp Coleman in Georgia, is pleased with this past summer’s emissary program “despite all the challenges.” He added, “We can’t ignore all the great things the emissaries achieved.” He stressed how the emissary experience is “mutually beneficial” and that “each side benefits – both the Israelis and the North Americans.”

FINGERMAN is proud of FJC’s initiatives to promote and teach about Israel, and reported that FJC has already awarded $370,000 in Israel education grants to 72 day and overnight camps. At the conference, Fingerman announced several new opportunities designed to elevate Israel education, programming, and resources at Jewish camp for summer 2025 and beyond.

They include the Teaching Israel at Camp initiative, where FJC will provide grants to 60 camps to fund the salary and programmatic efforts of a dedicated head of Israel education. This represents an extraordinary investment of over $1.5m. in Israel education.

Shalom Bayit will offer workshops and coaching to provide camp leaders with the tools to create communities of trust and mutual understanding.

Elevate Israel, a collaboration with the Spertus Institute, will offer seminars and virtual sessions to camp professionals to deepen their knowledge of Israel and its history.

Jewish Camp Israel Trip Incubator will provide 10 overnight camps that do not currently run an Israel trip with the know-how to create trips that align with their values and goals.

Expanding North American-style Jewish summer camping

Meanwhile, back in Israel, Shawna Goodman is working to expand North American-style Jewish summer camping. She created Summer Camps Israel and brought 17 Israel camp directors who operate a wide variety of programs to experience the FJC conference in Chicago.

Goodman, a chef by training, playfully noted that she is a “bridger and a blender,” and offered that her camps have five key components: They are immersive; they mix populations together for “tikkun” (repair); they have a volunteer component; they feature “joyful Judaism”; and they are device-free.” This summer, they provided camping experience to 14,000 Israelis, including over 1,000 evacuees. She hopes to offer camping to over 18,000 children next summer.

Jewish summer camping is alive, growing, and evolving, as camps provide meaningful Jewish and Israel experiences to children and young adults in both North America and Israel.

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LEAD GUITARIST Trey Anastasio (C) performs with his band, Phish, during the 2010 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York.(photo credit: LUCAS JACKSON/REUTERS)

The book, clearly written for a very narrow audience of Jewish fans – many have seen several hundred shows – details every possible point of connection between Phish and Judaism.

By HOWARD BLAS DECEMBER 15, 2024 20:26

You can view the original article here at The Jerusalem Post

Jewish Phish “phans” are gearing up for their favorite band’s annual Madison Square Garden run in New York City. Perhaps thanks to divine intervention, none of the four shows falls on Shabbat. The home stand starts on Saturday night, December 28, which is the fourth night of Hanukkah. The 7:30 p.m. start time means Shabbat observers will have plenty of time to get to the world-famous concert venue after Shabbat ends at 5:08 p.m.

Observant Jewish fans of the four-member band, which has been touring on and off since forming in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983, have decades of experience navigating complex scenarios that sometimes put seeing their favorite jam band and adherence to Jewish law and tradition at odds.

However, religious fans have done such creative things as erecting an eruv (enclosure) at three-day festivals, which always take place over Shabbat, to enable the carrying of tickets and other possessions. And they have no doubt tackled such questions as the permissibility of seeing shows during the traditionally music-free weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av.

Jews – from the fully observant to the somewhat traditional to the nostalgic – many of whom were first exposed to Phish at Jewish summer camps, have always had a close relationship with the band and with the entire fan experience. Many even look forward to lighting Shabbat candles and making Kiddush before Friday night shows.

This relationship between Phish and their Jewish fans is carefully and somewhat repetitively chronicled in the fun-to-read book This Is Your Song Too: Phish and Contemporary Jewish Identity, edited by Oren Kroll-Zeldin and Ariella Werden-Greenfield, with chapters written, unsurprisingly, by rabbis, cantors, academics, and music writers who, expectedly, are diehard Phish fans.

PHISH PERFORMS ‘Avinu Malkeinu’ at Madison Square Garden, 2022. (credit: Screenshot/YouTube)
PHISH PERFORMS ‘Avinu Malkeinu’ at Madison Square Garden, 2022. (credit: Screenshot/YouTube)

The book, clearly written for a very narrow audience of Jewish fans – many have seen several hundred shows – details every possible point of connection between Phish and Judaism.

Detailing every possible point of connection between Judaism and Phish

The editors, both of whom are Jewish studies professors and big phans, give credit for the idea for the book to Stephanie Jenkins, organizer of the 2018 Phish Studies Colloquium at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Quincy, Washington, and the 2019 Phish Studies Conference at Oregon State University. I admit to not having known about these scholarly undertakings prior to reading the book. 

Contributors and their intended readers likely know the words to every song in Phish’s extensive catalog, chiming in at the right times with the necessary call and response during songs such as “Wilson” and “Harry Hood.”

They can also tell you how many times the band – which consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, keyboardist Page McConnell, and two members of the tribe, bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman – has played the classic Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur favorite, “Avinu Malkenu” (according to phish.net, 83 times since 1987, or 4.08% of all Phish shows).

It is fairly safe to say that no other book appearing in English or Hebrew (including the High Holy Days prayer book) contains more references to this traditional prayer. Another unlikely song of interest to Jewish fans, “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” has been played only a handful of times, only in 1993 and 1994.

The book sets out to answer one simple question: What is the connection between Phish and Jewish identity? 

In Chapter 1, “From Summer Camp to Summer Tour: Phish and the Cultivation of Jewish Cultural Identity,” Kroll-Zeldin describes his first encounter with Phish at summer camp in 1984. “For many, meaningful Jewish experiences cultivated at camp often extended to the Phish experience… Phish provides an alternative venue to build Jewish community, and a Phish show becomes a site where fans can have meaningful Jewish experiences outside the confines of traditional Jewish life.”

Chapter 2, “Performing Jewish Identity and Community through Phish’s ‘Avenu Malkenu’” by musicologist Jacob Cohen – all 25 pages plus six pages of footnotes – recounts his first Phish show in 1997 at age 16 and is devoted to the song usually performed seasonally by cantors in synagogues.

Other somewhat self-referential chapters, like “Finest in the Nation: The Food of Phish and the Jewish Experience” by food journalist Evan Benn, begins by describing his bar mitzvah trip to Israel in 1995, where he first discovered falafel and tahini. He updates readers on his rediscovery of falafel – along with Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream – at Phish shows.

He movingly writes, “The nostalgia and sense of family and identity that I felt from tasting the familiar flavor of tahini on a falafel as a Jew, a reminder of my bar mitzvah experience in Israel, brought it all together. In that moment in the Phish lot with my falafel sandwich and new friends, I was where I was supposed to be.”

The 240-page book includes 10 full pages of index. The 17 chapters are broken up into Set 1, Set 2, and Encore – familiar terms for live music fans. Set 1 addresses such topics as queerness, race, and cancer with such titles as “Exploring Jewishness and Queerness on Phish’s Dance Floor,” “I’ve Been Wading in the Whitest Sea: Reflections on Race, Judaism, and Phish,” and “Feeling Weightless in the Sea:  Phish and Overcoming Cancer.”

Set 2 is subtitled “God on Tour: Judaism and the Live Phish Experience.” Its six chapters address “Avenu Malkenu” (again), “How Phish Brought America to Shul,” sacred pilgrimages, and more.

Encore consists of interviews with five people – from a religious female super fan to Jewish bassist Mike Gordon.

While the book captures the Phish scene, it only offers a scattered taste of an actual concert. It is a bit “inside baseball,” assuming the reader is familiar with the structure and shtick of a Phish show.

They are entertaining, unpredictable, gag-filled marathons, which may include set lists with hidden themes, covers of songs by other artists, costumes, and possibly the Jewish drummer playing a song on an Electrolux vacuum cleaner. Shows will always feature Fishman wearing the same donut-patterned muumuu he has worn at nearly every show since 1985. 

This Is Your Song Too: Phish and Contemporary Jewish Identity makes for a fun, though somewhat exhausting, read, which I completed over long summer Shabbats. The purple cover with blue and white big print letters also got some attention while sitting on my table at a Manhattan kosher pizza and bagel store. While the book is way longer and more detailed than necessary, the editors have no doubt made their case.

Jews and Phish are inextricably linked.

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Rabbi Scott Kahn, left, Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, and Howard Blas

Children under the radar

Fair Lawn shul to host panel on developing talent in each student

By Leah Adler December 5, 2024, 9:59 am

You can find the original article here at JewishStandard.com

Ilona Bravman was about 3 years old the first time she was evaluated for an augmentative communication device. She had been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at 11 months and couldn’t move any part of her body except her hands, “so we had to really dig deep to figure out how to help her maximize her potential,” her mother, Nancy Fish Bravman, said.

The communication device turned out to be very helpful. By the time Ilona was 5, “she was very articulate on her device,” Ms. Bravman said. It became clear that she was very bright. “Ilona actually spoke at a speech therapy conference when she was 8,” her mother said. She also used the device to email, to go on Facebook, and later, to complete her college assignments.

The speech therapist who evaluated Ilona for that initial device ultimately worked with her for about 10 years. “She was Ilona’s biggest fan and always told us how brilliant she was,” Ms. Bravman said.

Years after that initial consultation, after Ilona had made significant progress, the therapist confessed to Ms. Bravman and her husband, Larry Bravman, that she had thought “they were nuts” when they first brought Ilona in, and she had wondered what they had expected her to do. “At the time, Ilona had almost no movement and no ability to speak, so really it was a challenge,” Ms. Bravman said. “And then it ended up being one of the therapist’s most rewarding experiences.

“Ilona was somebody whose strengths were very easily overlooked,” Ms. Bravman added. With the proper help, “a child who looked like she had no strengths became an incredibly vibrant, high-functioning person.”

Ilona died in 2021, when she was 28. The following year, the Bravmans, who live in Fair Lawn, started an ongoing educational series in Ilona’s memory that focuses on embracing differences. The series explores situations where people may not be noticed, or when they have needs that the community might not know how to address. The goal of the series is to make people aware of the issues and start communal conversations. The programs also are designed to help people feel less alone and to offer ideas on how parents, educators, and community leaders can help. Earlier panels in the series have focused on topics as disparate as physical disabilities, family members who choose different religious paths or identify as LGBTQ+, and children with learning or behavioral challenges.

The next program in the series will focus on “Children Under the Radar: Strategies for Noticing and Maximizing Varied Strengths and Abilities.” Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, Howard Blas, and Dr. Rayzel Yaish will speak at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Fair Lawn on December 14. (See box.) Rabbi Scott Kahn will moderate the discussion.

“No one ignores a child on purpose, but human nature being what it is, it often happens without our conscious knowledge,” Rabbi Kahn said. The CEO of Jewish Coffee House, he founded and hosts its “Orthodox Conundrum” podcast, and co-hosts its “Intimate Judaism” podcast. “In a group setting, it’s almost inevitable that some people will receive more attention than others,” he continued. “In a classroom, for example, a student who participates, or who gets the best grades, or is disruptive, or is the class clown, will likely get more of the teacher’s time and attention. On the other hand, there are likely those who blend into the background simply because they’re doing fine — that is, their grades are fine, they don’t misbehave in class, and the teacher can (perhaps unconsciously) think, ‘That’s one student I don’t have to worry about too much.’”

While that is understandable, Rabbi Kahn said, “it also leads to kids falling between the cracks. They might have incredible talents that will never be discovered or actualized because no one took time to notice, or to encourage them, or to make them feel that they have real worth.

“We owe it to our children to ensure that just because they don’t demand positive or negative attention, we don’t end up ignoring them.”

Rabbi Kahn, who used to run a gap-year yeshiva in Israel, recognizes that he has “fallen into this trap.

“The fact that it’s so common, the fact that it’s just the way group dynamics work, ironically makes it harder to identify.”

Rabbi Krauss, the principal of SAR Academy in Riverdale, grew up with Ilona’s parents, so being part of an event in her memory is particularly meaningful for him.

Like Rabbi Kahn, he stressed the importance of “making sure that you’re reaching all the kids.

“The question of which kids we’re reaching and which kids we might not be reaching, or how we make sure to be reaching everybody, is something that I think every educator should be concerned about and should be focused on,” Rabbi Krauss said. “It’s something that we try to do at SAR, but it’s always something that needs to be reinforced and reinvigorated.

“Schools are thoughtful about issues in general, and especially about our responsibility to each and every student in particular,” he added, and feels this becomes particularly important as schools get bigger. “There’s always a focus on what I would call the extremes — enrichment or support” — which can result in a reduced focus on kids who are “doing fine. But all our kids should be not doing just fine, they should be thriving.”

Dr. Yaish, a clinical psychologist and the director of guidance at Ma’ayanot High School in Teaneck, also is concerned about the effects focusing on the extreme can have. “There are children who are quiet by nature, and therefore sometimes may not get noticed in a school setting or even in a camp setting but are still longing for connection and want to be part of their communities,” she said. “They just kind of have a harder time naturally being noticed.” She also sees “sort of a bias toward children not being quiet” since teachers tend to “want children to participate in class.”

Others might wind up ‘under the radar’ because their interests are not a natural fit in a school or camp setting, Dr. Yaish continued. “So for example, that might be someone whose passion or interest is not as clear cut let’s say as sports or academics, maybe it’s a kid who’s really amazing at the creative arts or the performing arts or a kid who is extra sensitive or extra kind or extra respectful, but it’s just not as easy to spot or nurture.

“It’s not a flashy topic, because it’s by nature being someone that may fall under the radar, so we as a community need to be reminded on behalf of those kids to sort of try to pay attention to them in a healthy and better way.”

Not every child is going to have a passion or an area where they shine, Dr. Yaish added. And that’s okay. What’s important is that they feel appreciated and that they are part of a community. At the same time, “there is a way to help them sort of look at options and potential paths. I don’t have to be, let’s say, a passionate, creative writer, but maybe I do want to try my hand at the school newspaper just to see if that could be interesting to me. A little bit of push to try things feels to me like an adult obligation. To notice and point out opportunities even to a kid who’s not searching them up themselves.”

She also feels it’s important to “help them be heard in a way that will help them be part of the community. So to exercise their voice, to try some new things.” She stressed that the goal is not to ensure that they shine at something “but I think there is a piece of feeling valued in the community that really could fall at risk, even for a kid who’s content by nature to be quiet, if we are not supporting them to say that you have a role and we want to hear you also. I think it’s a very fine line.

“This is an area that I think schools do struggle with because no one wants to push someone when they’re not ready to come out of their comfort zone, but we also don’t want to make the mistake of ignoring an opportunity to help someone grow, develop, explore.” She sees kids in her office “who are experiencing pain, who sort of feel like they haven’t cracked the code on how to become part of their communities.” In school, she sees quieter kids “who are really happy to be in their community in a quiet way” and others “who are hitting a point where they really feel like they are stuck in a way that isn’t working for them and they do need help from the adults around them.

“Ironically, sometimes people get really intimidated by quiet kids because they don’t give you the feedback or the smile, the words that we’re used to,” she continued. “We’re a very verbal society, so that that’s how we communicate. There’s this sad sort of conundrum where an adult can feel intimidated by a quiet kid who’s really not trying to intimidate but doesn’t know how to give that feedback. That neutrality actually makes adults tiptoe around them because they don’t want to push them too hard. So sometimes they end up getting avoided, and then that feels bad. They don’t realize that the adults are not trying to ignore them, they’re actually trying to respect them. So we’re trying to help define that line of respect and appreciation and to help the adults listening sort of learn how to push past that intimidation.

“My worry is that some of these kids, by having so many years of people not connecting with them, will that leave them floundering later in life when other peers have made teacher connections or sports connections or other connections and they don’t have those? So we’re really trying to raise awareness that these kids need a certain focus and a certain care.”

Howard Blas is a senior adviser at the National Ramah Tikvah Network, a program for people with disabilities at Ramah camps. He also teaches a lot of adolescents for their bar or bat mitzvahs and has seen that kids have very different skills and interests.

“I feel like we often times reward book skills and knowledge, sort of pointing kids to very sort of stereotypically Jewish academic fields — law, investment banking — and we’re not often thinking about kids who have other skills and interests, like kids who are really good with their hands, or are more creative,” he said. He thinks it’s important for teachers “to be able to see all kinds of different skills and interests that kids have.

“The point is to really be on the lookout not just for kids who are amazing with mastering Talmud or calculus, but also who have other skills. And not minimizing them or putting them to the side as kind of like a hobby.” These skills can often become “a career or something that builds your self-esteem.

“You can nurture those things and not give the message that it’s kind of outside of intelligence and things that are valued.”

And he thinks every child has some skill or interest that can be nurtured. “I think you just have to try to figure out what that thing is. I think we owe it to those other kids to look for those opportunities.”

Who: Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, Howard Blas, Dr. Rayzel Yaish, and Rabbi Scott Kahn

What: Will talk about “Children Under the Radar: Strategies for Noticing and Maximizing Varied Strengths and Abilities”

When: Saturday, December 14, at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Congregation Shomrei Torah in Fair Lawn. Livestream available at inspiredbyilona.com

More information at: inspiredbyilona.com

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