Teen Service Opportunities

There are dozens of ways for teens to be involved with the OT and general Jewish community.  Here are a few:

Experience the Joy of Shabbat

Main Sanctuary Daveners. Continue your leadership role in the community post-B’nai Mitzvah by davening parts of the Shabbat morning service in the main sanctuary. Participants must be able to lead an entire section of the service (Pesukei d’zimra, Shacharit, Torah, or Musaf). Join our roster of daveners: call one of our Ritual Committee Chairs, George Billinson or David Doniger. Contact Rabbi Kalender or Rabbi Shalva for help with your davening skills.

Main Sanctuary Torah and Haftarah Readers. Continue reading Torah and Haftarah after B’nai Mitzvah! Teens who read a minimum of 18 Torah aliyot by the time they graduate high school are recognized by the congregation with the Yad Award. Schedule a Torah reading date by contacting Rabbi Kalender. To schedule a Haftarah reading (opportunities are much more limited for Haftarah) call Herman Stein.

Hand-carved yad presented to teen Torah readers who earn the Yad Award.  The yad was carved by congregant Joe Samuels. Yad photo by Andrea Gross

Recent recipient of the Yad Award.

Shabbat Mincha Torah Readers. Another opportunity to continue reading Torah after B'nai Mitzvah! The Shabbat Mincha (afternoon service) is held on the first and third Shabbat of each month from September to June and the first Shabbat of each month during July and August. Service times vary throughout the year. Join our roster of Shabbat Mincha Torah readers: call one of our Ritual Committee Chairs, George Billinson or David Doniger.

Junior Congregation Helpers. Each Shabbat morning during the school year, students from grades 3-6 attend a service specially designed to teach them the melodies and meaning of Shabbat prayers and to help them prepare to lead the congregation on the day of their B'nai Mitzvah. We have a roster of 9th-12th graders who take turns helping with the service. Leaders must attend training sessions in late summer/early fall to prepare for this important position. They are required to be at the synagogue on Shabbat morning from 10:50am until approximately 12:20pm and have the choice of receiving $25 per Shabbat or credit for community service hours. Contact the Religious School office, (703) 425-3237.

Junior Congregation Torah Readers. Post-B'nai Mitzvah teens are needed to read Torah during the Junior Congregation service. This is a wonderful way to get practice reading Torah in a "safe" setting for those who may feel intimidated reading in the main sanctuary. Six Junior Congregation Torah readings may be counted towards the total of 18 readings required to earn the Yad Award. Contact the Religious School office, (703) 425-3237.

Celebrate Shabbat with K-2. Post-B'nai Mitzvah teens are needed to lead songs, games, stories and prayer as we introduce Shabbat morning to our K-2 students. Leaders must attend training sessions in late summer/early fall to prepare for this important position. They are required to be at the synagogue on Shabbat morning from 10:50am until approximately 12:20pm and have the choice of receiving $25 per Shabbat or credit for community service hours. Contact the Religious School office, (703) 425-3237.

Shabbat Babysitting. OT offers babysitting for children 18 months and up from 10:30am to the end of Shabbat morning services, even during the summer and school vacations. The young children and their teenage babysitters have space downstairs in the preschool area to play, read books, and participate in special Shabbat services. Babysitters must be at least 13 years old. They have the choice of receiving $25 per Shabbat or credit for community service hours. Contact Shula Friedman in the Main Office, (703) 425-1880, to add your name to the list of babysitters.

Weekday Prayer

Daily Minyan. Services are held Sunday-Thursday evenings at 8:00pm (until approximately 8:20pm) and Sunday mornings at 9:00am (until approximately 9:40am). All family members 13 years old and over count towards the minyan. Participation is needed, especially during the summer months and other school vacation periods, when many congregants are away and cannot fulfill their minyan duty. Please help with this mitzvah. No experience needed, no scheduling or contacts necessary.  Just show up!

World Wide Wrap. Once a year, usually on Super Bowl Sunday, OT’s Men’s Club participates in an exciting event, known as the World Wide Wrap, which encourages Jews around the world to experience the mitzvah of wrapping t'filin. People from throughout the congregation attend to teach others how to perform this mitzvah or to learn how to put on t'filin for the first time. Plan to attend as either a teacher or a learner.

Religious School Employment

Classroom Instructional Assistant. Serve as aides to teachers in the younger grades on Sunday mornings and Tuesday afternoons. Help the teacher with small-group work and help students do their class work. This is a full school-year commitment. Sunday hours are 8:50-12:00am, and Tuesday hours are 4:05-6:15pm. Teacher aides are required to attend Madrichim training sessions. Starting salary is $6.50 per hour. Contact the Religious School office, (703) 425-3237.

Madrichim Class: Contact the Religious School office, (703) 425-3237 for more information.

Community Service/Social Action

Tuna Casserole Donations for SOME. Bake casseroles at home (see the recipe on the Social Action page) and bring them (preferably) frozen to Olam Tikvah on the dates listed below. For more information, contact Shirley or John Baer.

Food for Others. Food for Others is a warehouse in Fairfax that distributes cans of food to the working poor. Teenagers can help stack boxes at the warehouse or organize collections of protein-rich foods, such as peanut butter and tuna fish, to donate. Contact Clare Bachner if you are interested.

Books for Israel. Help sort, label and send English books for school age and teenage children in Israel. Contact Bev Sleph to help.

Sukkot in April. Participate in a day of tikkun olam (repairing the world), helping to renovate the home of an area resident who is in need and unable to keep up with necessary repairs. No experience is necessary, and you can volunteer for the whole day or sign up for just a few hours. Young people over age 14 are welcome with adult supervision. Watch for details as we get closer to April. Contact Clare Bachner.

Cell Phone Collection. The Social Action Committee collects used cell phones in the synagogue lobby to donate to the Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse (JACADA), which uses them to help victims of domestic abuse. Contact Clare Bachner.

Men's Club-Sponsored Events

Contact Men's Club to see how you can help at events such as their Annual Gala.

Sisterhood-Sponsored Events

Sisterhood would welcome assistance from teens who are available to babysit during Sisterhood meetings and events throughout the year. Contact Sisterhood President Rochelle Goldberg for details. Teenagers also are needed to help with set up and clean up for the Annual Chanukah Sale. Contact Joanne Stryer to volunteer.

3800 Glenbrook Road · Fairfax, Virginia  22031 · phone 703-425-1880  · fax 703-425-0835  · info@olamtikvah.org

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