Kavana’s High School program is a place for Kavana High School students to be Jewish, do Jewish, and become a Jewish community of youth. This is a student-led program, where the participants choose the focuses and the activities, and often lead much of the programs. Like everything at Kavana, it is a place for participants to (continue to) develop their own Jewish identities on their own terms.
We are a diverse, pluralistic group of teens from Kavana families with a wide variety of beliefs, identities, and ways of doing Jewish — all are welcome!
Last year’s program was a great mix of social action, fun Jewish activities like cooking and music, and learning, all of it done together with the goal of building community. We do more than we talk, and we try to keep things multi-modal so that there’s something for everyone! Last year we focused on several social issues, made (and ate!) Jewish holiday foods together twice, had a Jewish jam session, took a trip to hear youth leaders speak, and did community building activities.
This year will probably include a lot of the same kinds of activities, but the particular mix of activities and the specific things we do will — as always — be up to the participants!
The program takes place once a month on Sunday evenings, 6:30-8:30pm. Most sessions are in participants’ homes.
Josh's Jewish path has been eclectic and D.I.Y., which we think makes it pretty normal these days and definitely in sync with Kavana! Prior to rabbinical school, Josh worked for 12 years in non-profits, mostly as a grass-roots organizer. During that time, he worked for several years as a congregation-based community organizer, where he experienced the power of religious communities to transform the world and transform themselves in the process. Josh later helped to launch a Jewish start-up. Josh moved from Boston to Seattle with his wife and two young children to be Kavana's JEN Rabbinic Fellow because he feels that the Kavana and JEN communities reflect his journey and his approach to Jewish community.