Leeat Elkayam

Staff Writer

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4YwxdNc_Hw[/youtube]

Global Beit Midrash is a program that enables Jewish teenagers from around the world to collaborate digitally. It consists of four different quadrants: narratives, Jewish text study, culture and social action.

The project was started by Dan Afriat ’14, Gavi Bernat-Kunin ‘13, Ali Deutsch ’14, Nathan Hakkakzedeh ‘14, Gabe Kachuck ’14, Sammy Lawrence ’14, Noah Mintz ‘14, Noah Wallace ‘14, Eytan Wallace ‘14 last year in the Beit Midrash class. Students were given the choice to create a project that was local, national, or global. During Tiyulim week, this group of students focused on a global initiative for Jewish teens. After much thought and many drafts, the students submitted a grant proposal to the Covenant’s Signature Grant group over the summer.

Global Beit Midrash gives teenagers the opportunity to get to know different Jewish communities around the world and engage in interactive relationships. The program gives Beit Midrash students the ability to expand the values of the class to a worldwide perspective.

The Beit Midrash students will be the first Milken students available to participate in this project. They will help test different functions of the website and will be the first to connect with Jewish communities around the world.

“Through dialogue, learning, and action, we seek to deepen Jewish identities, build a global Jewish community, and contribute conscientious leadership to the whole world,” Kachuck said.

One of the major projects that the students will work on is creating a Teenage Haggadah, where teens can write their own commentary and add parts of text they would like to have discussions about.

“The students get to share their input as Jewish teens in Los Angeles,” Bernat-Kunin said.