{"id":23577,"date":"2017-03-31T05:30:02","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T12:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=23577"},"modified":"2017-03-31T10:46:22","modified_gmt":"2017-03-31T17:46:22","slug":"teens-enjoy-n-y-shabbaton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/03\/31\/teens-enjoy-n-y-shabbaton\/","title":{"rendered":"Teens enjoy N.Y. Shabbaton"},"content":{"rendered":"

CTeen members with Rabbi Chalom Loeub. (photo from Chabad of Richmond)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Did you know that Richmond Jewish teens have a group of their own? It\u2019s CTeen, which stands for Chabad Teen Network. CTeen Richmond, a program sponsored and hosted by Chabad of Richmond, is led by Rabbi Chalom Loeub.<\/p>\n

\u201cCTeen is open to all Jewish teens, regardless of their religious affiliation,\u201d said Loeub. The international program run by Chabad Lubavitch is aimed at teens in grades 8 to 11. CTeen Richmond is currently comprised of a small group of teens, but wants to expand its numbers.<\/p>\n

This unique program includes Sunday night learning, volunteering and socializing. Participants volunteer by cooking and baking for the Light of Shabbat meals, which are delivered to elderly Jews and those who have trouble cooking for themselves. The CTeens also cook and bake for the Smile on Seniors program at Chabad of Richmond.<\/p>\n

Six CTeen youth from Richmond recently attended a CTeen Shabbaton in New York. This Shabbaton gathered 2,000 teens from around the world. It included Friday night programs, where they learned about Jewish history, as well as how Judaism relates to science. They also learned a bit about the Tanya, ate great food, met lots of other teens, sang, danced and had lots of fun. One of the Richmond CTeens described it as \u201cinspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday afternoon, the teens got to explore New York in groups. Saturday evening, with stringent security, the CTeens took over Times Square for two hours, where they held Havdalah, sang and danced, and listened to motivational speakers on topics like Torah and the importance of doing mitzvot. Richmond teen Daniel Davydova, who went with his brother Itay, took from this experience the message that \u201ctogether, we are the future.\u201d He described the experience as \u201cenlightening.\u201d After the talks, the teens toured New York on buses.<\/p>\n

The highlight of the Shabbaton for most of the Richmond group was visiting the Ohel, the holy site of the Lubavitcher Rebbe\u2019s grave. The teens found it extremely spiritual, and got the chance to write letters asking G-d for blessings for themselves and others. It was here they also wrote their personal \u201cresolutions,\u201d and committed to carrying these out.<\/p>\n

Dana Sander, a Richmond CTeen member, called the visit \u201camazing\u201d and said she\u2019d recommend the CTeen Shabbaton to everyone. Fellow member Aaron Benatar said he loved \u201cconnecting with other Jewish teens from around the world.\u201d He said that \u201cstanding shoulder to shoulder as a group\u201d was very powerful. He said it \u201crekindled his Jewish spirit, and made him feel even more committed to helping the Jewish community through doing mitzvahs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Richmond CTeen program focuses on Torah study and the importance of helping others. Eyal Levy, who\u2019s been part of the program for a few months, is very enthusiastic about it. \u201cI love the cooking most of all,\u201d he said. \u201cWe get to cook for seniors who need it. I also love the socializing and games. Plus, we get to talk to the rabbi about topics that interest us.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman of Chabad of Richmond, \u201cCTeen harnesses the incredible potential of teenagers by offering awesome programs that bring teens together to give back to their communities. CTeen welcomes every Jew and creates a sense of belonging.\u201d The CTeen Network views the teenage years as a time not just for partying and frivolity, he added, but as a time of purpose and self-discovery. The goal is to connect participants to anything and everything Jewish.<\/p>\n

For more information, contact Loeub at 778-712-7703 or email rabbi@chabadrichmond.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CTeen members with Rabbi Chalom Loeub. (photo from Chabad of Richmond) Did you know that Richmond Jewish teens have a group of their own? It\u2019s CTeen, which stands for Chabad Teen Network. CTeen Richmond, a program sponsored and hosted by Chabad of Richmond, is led by Rabbi Chalom Loeub. \u201cCTeen is open to all Jewish […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[430,6905,6906,218,5178,3753],"class_list":["post-23577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-chabad","tag-chalom-loeub","tag-cteen","tag-judaism","tag-richmond","tag-youth"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}