Challenges & Choices Teens - The Mussar Institute

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It is only with infinite patience that we can arrive at a thoughtful response and a guidance that is built upon the individual nature of the child.

- Rav Shlomo Wolbe, Mussar Master

THE MUSSAR INSTITUTE'S TEEN PROGRAM FOR SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

The Mussar Institute’s teen program, Challenges and Choices: A Jewish Teen’s Guide to a Balanced Life, is an interactive, experiential, and engaging 12-unit curriculum for students grades 9-12 that is delivered at no charge in Jewish organizations across the United States and beyond. We are able to offer the program free to our sites because of the generosity of our visionary investors.

Challenges and Choices offers practical ways for teens to become their “best selves” through the spiritual practice of Mussar.

With the goal of creating a deeper connection to Judaism, Challenges and Choices helps teens find meaning and purpose by navigating life choices in healthy ways that reflect Jewish values. Using practical Jewish wisdom, facilitated discussions, and a focus on social, emotional, and spiritual learning, the program also addresses the mental health stressors brought on by life’s challenges facing today’s teens.

The program was developed, piloted, and evaluated through a generous grant from The Templeton Foundation.

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READ OR DOWNLOAD PROGRAM FLYER

12 Units of Self-Discovery

Based on the Jewish Spiritual Tradition of Mussar

Engaged Learning with Peers and Trained Facilitators

Equips Teens to Face Personal Challenges with Confidence

A Proven Program Piloted by The Mussar Institute and The Templeton Foundation

Teens explore their own inner character traits, known as middot, in Hebrew.

With 1,100 years of Mussar wisdom to draw from, teens learn about and try tested techniques to understand and balance their inner qualities. This inner awareness supports them as they manage the real-life stressful situations they encounter with friends, school, family dynamics, and social unrest.

They learn in an engaging manner through role-play, movement, meditation, chanting, visual aids, TED talks, animation, games, and of course, meaningful conversation with their facilitators.

Each unit explores a different and unique middah or character trait and introduces the teens to holistic skills offered by the Mussar masters. They'll experience centering activities, multiple ways to understand and process the middah, and practices to bring the middah to life, culminating in a personal practice to “seal in” the learning.

The facilitators are guided through each unit with an overview of Mussar, Mussar facilitation perspectives and techniques, best practices, suggested lesson outline templates, and a resource section for both new and seasoned Mussar facilitators.

TEEN PROGRAM MUSSAR FACILITATION TRAINING REPORT

READ OUR REPORT

NEXT TEEN PROGRAM MUSSAR FACILITATION TRAINING SERIES

March 3, 17, 31, and April 14, 2-4 p.m. ET

Watch our new video!

This 4-minute video is a great way to begin to understand the Challenges & Choices Teen Program. You'll hear from our teens, the program's authors, and site-leaders who have experience offering the Mussar Institute's Teen Program.

Listen to our new original song!

This tune from composer and performer Max Einsohn is the theme song of the Challenges and Choices Teen program. Once you hear it - you'll remember it forever! We hope you enjoy it. maxeinsohn@gmail.com

Lyrics

“I want to thank you for all you have done for H this year. You gave her the gift of introspection and the ability to articulate her core values and beliefs.

I know this will help to guide her through the challenging situations she will experience in college next year. I thank you for helping to facilitate and nurture that!”

Parent of a 12th grader

“There are no other courses that are this amazing.”

12th grader, Boston, MA

“It’s a really great and interesting way to learn more about yourself not only as a person, but also where you stand as a Jew.”

11th grader, Boston, MA

"I am a pretty happy person, so I thought why do I need to examine myself emotionally?

Boy was I wrong! This class taught me so much about myself and life in general. Nobody’s perfect and we can always use help and time to improve ourselves!

11th grader

“Mussar has been one of the best experiences during quarantine...It’s been so nice to have a place to learn and hang out with friends throughout. I have developed so many good skills, like journaling, meditation, and gratitude."

- 12th grader

TEENS MEET IN VA'ADIM

The va'ad is a small-group learning and sharing experience that connects and supports both group and personal teen growth.

WHAT IS A MUSSAR VA'AD?

A va’ad is a unique facilitated group learning environment that is traditional to Mussar. It is a small-group learning and sharing experience that connects and supports both group and personal teen growth.

While we learn a great deal on our own, we learn differently with a partner, and differently again when we discuss things with other people, who bring additional experience and perspectives to the issue.

The ultimate goal of the va’ad is to give all the teens a safe and sacred space to deepen their personal understanding of their inner life, and to process their social, emotional, and spiritual experiences by learning and growing with others.

WHAT WE TEACH

Facilitators receive Mussar training for teens and guidance for leading teen sessions using a variety of learning modalities.

THE MIDDOT

Facilitators receive Mussar training for teens and guidance for leading teen sessions using a variety of learning modalities.

We offer an Introduction to Mussar unit, Mussar, Myself, and More, followed by eleven middot units. The units explore the nature of the middot or character qualities, ways to balance and manage them within ourselves, and ultimately, how to transform to become our “best selves”.

The middot our program focuses on are:

PROGRAM HISTORY

Challenges and Choices has been years in the making. Learn about how it was developed and who piloted it.

A Funded Program

A 2017 report by The Jewish Education Project, Generation Now Understanding and Engaging Jewish Teens Today, revealed that teens want and need Jewish knowledge to be relevant. Teens are seeking greater purpose and meaning in their lives.

Alan Morinis, Founder of The Mussar Institute, responded by contacting Evie Weinstein, then Executive Director of the Jewish Education Bureau of Buffalo, NY. Alan and Evie created a curriculum of eight middot (character traits) for religious and day school settings which was piloted in Buffalo.

Later that year, TMI was awarded a substantial grant from the John Templeton Foundation for a 3-year pilot program with an assessment of the impact and scalability. 35 sites registered for the program -- including synagogues, day schools, and summer camps, with over 300 teens participating.

In May 2020, TMI Co-President Irv Robinson appointed a Teen Program Task Force of Jewish teen educators, professional educational leaders, and others involved in the Templeton grant implementation to scale the program to reach significantly more teens over a longer period of time.

In December 2020, Leslie-Anne Copes-Finke began as Teen Program Manager for TMI to recruit, orient, and provide support to program sites and facilitators throughout North America in order to reach 1,300 teens in the next five years.

PILOT SITES ACROSS THE US

Funded initially by the Templeton Foundation, the program was piloted. in several sites.

CURRENT AND PAST SITES

Past Pilot Sites and Current TMI Teen Program Sites

Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies, Bergen County, NJ

Beth Chaim Reform Congregation, Malvern, PA

Beth El Temple Center, Belmont, MA

B’nai Israel Galveston, Galveston, TX

Camp Alonim, Brandeis, CA

Camp Ben Frankel, Carbondale, IL

Camp Coleman, Cleveland, GA

Camp Eisner, Barrington, MA

Camp Havaya, Wyncote, PA

Center for Jewish Engagement and Learning, Buffalo, NY

Congregation Ahavas Israel United Jewish School, Grand Rapids, MI

Congregation Albert, Albuquerque, NM

Congregation Albert Summer Camp, Albuquerque, NM

Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn, NY

Congregation B'nai Israel, Galveston, TX

Congregation Sha'arei Shalom, Ashland, MA

Contra Costa Midrasha, Walnut Creek, CA

Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Kansas City, KS

Jewish Student Union, St. Louis, MO

Kehillah High, Houston, TX

King David High School, Vancouver, BC

Kulanu at BJE Atlantic, Margate, NJ

Midrasha at Congregation Beth Shalom, Carmichael, CA

Polsky Religious School of Congregation Beth Shalom, Kansas City, KS

Temple Adat Elohim Religious School, Thousand Oaks, CA

Temple Beth-El, Hillsborough, NJ

Temple Emanu-El, Dallas, TX

Temple Sinai of Glendale, Robert Seiden School of Jewish Studies, Glendale, CA

The Leffel School, Hartsdale, NY

The Temple, Congregation B'nai Jehudah, Overland Park, KS

United Hebrew Congregation, Millstone Religious School, St. Louis, MO

URJ Camp George, Seguin, ON

Yachad, Minneapolis, MN

*This list includes sites that participated in TMI’s Pilot Program, funded by a generous 3-year grant from The John Templeton Foundation, as well as current sites that have signed onto our revitalized teen program with updated curriculum and support.

THE FAQ'S

Learn how to become a site and how much the program will cost you. (Answer - it's free!)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

STUDY RESULTS

Read the study results from a 3-year Templeton Foundation Grant.

STUDY RESULTS

MEET THE AUTHORS

The Teen Program Task Force guided the expansion of the Teen Program in the early years of development and testing. The task force included the program authors, as well as Irv Robinson, Co-President of TMI; Sandy Garrett, TMI Board member and co-chair of the Teen Task Force; Rabbi Amy Ross, Temple Emanu-El, Dallas, TX and Rivka Felsher, TMI Program Administrator.

ALAN MORINIS

About Alan

Dr. Alan Morinis, Founder of The Mussar Institute, is a leading figure in the contemporary revival of the Mussar movement, a 1,100-year-old authentic Jewish personal and communal spiritual tradition that was nearly lost following the Holocaust. A filmmaker, Rhodes Scholar, and anthropologist whose focus had been Hindu religious pilgrimages, he reached a personal turning point in his life in 1997 that led to his exploration of Mussar.

Alan sought out Rabbi Yechiel Perr, an accomplished master who stood in an unbroken line of transmission of the Mussar tradition. Following years of study he reinterpreted the ancient Mussar learnings and practices for modern audiences in Climbing Jacob’s Ladder and Everyday Holiness. To address the growing public interest in Mussar, he founded The Mussar Institute in 2004. He went on to author two more books, Every Day, Holy Day, and With Heart in Mind.

Alan continues to explore and interpret original Mussar sources in Hebrew and is making these valuable teachings available to the contemporary world.

EVIE WEINSTEIN

About Evie

Evie Weinstein has spent most of her professional life in Jewish Education and Jewish Communal work. She was the Executive Director of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Buffalo and the Principal of the High School of Jewish Studies. It is there where she was introduced to Mussar and Alan Morinis when the “Lead with Jewish Values” course for professional staff was piloted in Buffalo. Evie was trained as a Mussar Facilitator and has facilitated many TMI courses. She has attended many TMI Kallot and is the co-chair of the Facilitator Development Council.

She has worked with Alan on the “Challenges and Choices TMI course for teens and is now on the Teen Curriculum Task Force.

Evie is an active volunteer of the Buffalo Jewish community. She has been married for 48 years to her husband, Barry, and is the proud mother of two sons and grandmother to four beautiful grandchildren. In her professional capacity, Evie’s most cherished moments were working with teens and young adults in an informal Jewish educational setting.

LESLIE-ANNE COPES-FINKE

About Leslie-Anne

Leslie-Anne Copes-Finke is the Director of Teen Program for The Mussar Institute (TMI), co-leader of the Teen Task Force, and a member of the Board of Directors. As a member of the education staff at Beth El Temple Center in Belmont, MA, she has facilitated TMI’s Challenges and Choices: A Jewish Teen’s Guide to a Balanced Life with a group of 11th and 12th grade teens for the past year.

Leslie has a deep love for Jewish learning and is particularly passionate about bringing Mussar to life with teens, hoping to plant the seed of seeking holiness and wholeness in the next generation of Jews and to provide ways for teens to better understand themselves to live more purposeful and healthy lives. Leslie embraces creativity as a way to open up entrances to holiness, spirituality, and access to a deeper knowledge of ourselves, each other, and the Divine.

With over ten years of experience in the areas of leadership and team effectiveness, and another ten years working professionally in fundraising, Leslie has served as a consultant for Combined Jewish Philanthropies’ Leadership Development Institute, is a Vice-Chair of the URJ Communities Leadership Team (NE), and has held senior positions at several not-for-profit organizations, including Boston Baroque, WNET-NY, UCS, and Common Ground Stage and Film Company. She is the proud mother of three, ages (17, 20, and 23), and is a past president of her synagogue.