FOCUS ON YOUTH
February 2024
BBYO
Federation Star
21A
azabbg.bbyo.org/on-demand/home
Updates from BBYO Naples and Fort Myers By Cayla Schreier, BBYO Southwest Coordinator
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t’s been one busy December. The teens were dedicated to studying for mid-terms, along with celebrating Hanukkah with their families and attending BBYO events. On Sunday, Dec. 2, elections were held for the spring 2024 Naples BBYO chapter board. The following teens were elected to the upcoming board: N’siah (President) – Bella Schaab, Siganit (Programming Chair) – Emily Schaab, Mazkirah (Secretary) – Mimi Goldberg, Shaliach (Jewish Enrichment) – Adam Berman and Gizbor (Treasurer) – Noah Tsipursky. Mazel Tov to our new Naples BBYO chapter board. Our teens celebrated BBYO’s Global Shabbat on Friday, Dec. 8 at Temple Shalom’s Hanukkah Friday night services. The teens donated canned goods to contribute toward building Temple Shalom’s Can-norah. They were then called up to the bema to recite the Kiddush and Hamotzi along with the congregation. Temple Shalom served delicious latkes and jelly donuts to celebrate Hanukkah. The teens also helped the younger kids build the Can-norah. On Monday, Dec. 11, we were happy to participate in The Jewish Federation of Greater Naples’s Hanukkah Festival. Four of our teens braced the chilly
weather to sit at the table for Naples BBYO. It was nice to see the local Jewish community come together to celebrate such a joyous holiday. We are also excited to participate in Temple Shalom’s Mitzvah Day which was held on January 21. We plan to hold two events in early-February. Some of our teens plan to attend BBYO’s International Convention February 15-19 in Orlando. Please keep an eye out for more details about those upcoming events.
What is BBYO?
BBYO is a diverse and inclusive Jewish youth group to encourage Jewish teens to become more immersed and interested in meaningful Jewish activities and programs. This organization accepts Jewish teens attending 8th through 12th grades of all backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender, race, denominational affiliation, or socioeconomic status. BBYO currently reaches over 70,000 teens worldwide, with participants in over 60 countries and hundreds of chapters across the United States.
CHABAD FGCU
Supporting our teenage Jewish community
It is crucial to engage teens post-B’nai Mitzvah age in Jewish activities. Having teens get involved in BBYO and be eager to create and confidently continue their own Jewish community within their greater Jewish communities is critical to our future. The BBYO chapter of Naples has entered its 11th year of partnership
with the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, Temple Shalom, Chabad of Naples and Beth Tikvah. Each organization provides financial support, volunteers and community involvement opportunities for the BBYO teens. We thank each and every one of our BBYO Alum, friends and other supporters for making this a safe and positive environment for the teens of BBYO Naples and Fort Myers. If you know of someone who has a teen who might like to join BBYO Naples or Fort Myers or know of someone who may want to be an advisor to our chapters, please email the Southwest Coordinator, Cayla Schreier, at cschreier@bbyo.org. You can also follow us on Instagram at Mishpacha_BBG and Negevaza. Scholarships to attend BBYO conventions and summer programs are available through both the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples and the Temple Shalom Men’s Club. Please contact Cayla for more information on scholarships. If you are a BBYO alum and would like to be included in our Friends and Alumni of BBYO mailing list, please email us at mjs0821@aol.com.
www.Chabadfgcu.com / 347-452-0489
Jewish life at FGCU is strong and growing By Rabbi Mendel Gordon
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have been busy with a newborn, so monthly updates have been skipped but here is a quick run-through of an incredible fall semester. We started in full swing in August with more Jewish students than ever joining shabbats and other events requiring us to overflow with outdoor seating. It’s always amazing to see so many Jewish students looking to grow and learn more about who they are. We had multiple weekly classes in our new Jewish lounge on campus, including
a deep dive into Jewish lifecycle events, understanding each one and its different laws and customs from birth and bris to death and the importance and requirements of proper Jewish burial. Then hit the tragedy of Oct. 7, shaking up everyone in the Jewish world and especially our students with the crazy rise of antisemitism on campuses all over. But that just powered us to go stronger. Students took initiatives to run fundraisers for Israel and Jewish solidarity events. They took on increasing Jewish
observance and Jewish pride, showing the time-old Jewish way of the more they try to stop us, the more we grow. One amazing idea that students had is to start a weekly prayer minyan, getting together in the dorms to pray for Israel — and we haven’t missed a week yet. As the semester drew to a close, we climaxed with an incredible menorah car parade displaying our Jewish pride with menorahs on top of our cars parading around campus and Gulf Coast Town Center.
We are looking forward to an amazing spring semester ahead, with lots planned including a grand shabbat on campus, a mega challah bake and lots more programs and classes. Chabad at FGCU services Jewish students of all levels of observance at FGCU and nearby colleges. For more information or to connect a student, please reach out to Rabbi Mendel on 239-355-8481 or Rabbi@chabadfgcu.com.
