Port Washington Teens Delve into Jewish History, Culture and Fun

Jewish history and culture came alive recently for a group of teens belonging to the Port Washington Temple Youth at Community Synagogue.

During their Oct. 12-13 Senior POWTY Fall Overnight, 25 members enjoyed 26 hours of fun organized by Lindsay Ganci, the synagogue’s director of youth engagement. The overnight provided a small taste of the many different programs offered throughout the year. They participated in Jewish cultural experiences, learned about local Jewish history, joined together in prayer and song, enjoyed food and took part in meaningful community service

The evening kicked off with a kosher Chinese food dinner, followed by two hours of bubble soccer in The Community Synagogue multi-purpose room. They baked cookies for ice-cream cookie sandwiches, and enjoyed a song and prayer session in the sanctuary with Cantor Claire Franco before saying Laila tov (goodnight).

The following day began with a bagel breakfast before boarding a bus headed for the Eldridge Street Synagogue, a historic site in the Lower East Side of Manhattan for a docent-led tour. After learning about the Jewish history of the area, POWTY set out on a scavenger hunt through the Lower East Side. They were in search of rich cultural traditions, history, and of course, delicious foods found in the area. The scavenger hunt ended at Katz’s Deli, where they had lunch.

The adventure continued as they walked to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion to take part in a program designed to learn about gratitude. The participants then spent several meaningful hours volunteering at the HUC-JIR weekly soup kitchen. The overnight ended with a pizza dinner and a bus ride back to The Community Synagogue, knowing they had participated in tikkun olam, helping to “repair the world.”