December was another active month for the Kehi-Loft students. The students met three weeks for class before winter break.

George Cohen led two sessions on the law. The students had the opportunity to choose a current issue that they wanted to debate. They selected Israel and Iran as well as the pros and cons to lowering the legal drinking age. They broke into groups to work on their arguments and then presented their cases before the "judge" for the verdict. Many thanks to George for leading these interesting sessions. The students are eager to have him return, which he agreed to do in the new year.

Congregant volunteer, Lisa Kent, led a session on marketing. The students worked on developing a marketing plan for Kehi-Loft. They debated various ways to promote the high school program at CKS and agreed on a plan. They will work on their project over the next several weeks and hopefully present it to the 6th and 7th grade classes one Sunday morning during Hebrew school in January.

Rabbi Susan led two sessions on Jewish identity. Paralleling the adult ed interfaith life programming, the rabbi and the students talked about what kinds of questions they might ask a potential convert. This evolved into a discussion about how we, as Jews, function in the larger society. The second Jewish identity class focused on being Jewish in December. The students shared their personal experiences, such as how it feels to be in a school concert singing Christmas carols, and how they react to holiday parties and concerts in school.

I worked with the students on plans for the future with regards to the physical space and the class schedule. Lots of ideas were tossed around about how to finish the loft. Instead of staining the new interior wall sections, they all agreed to a more creative solution. They will paint the wall with their own artwork. Several students volunteered to submit some ideas to the group at the next class. Maybe they will paint scenes from the Torah, or possibly each student will take a small section to paint, or maybe they will decide to paint one panel and leave the others blank for future Kehi-Loft classes to paint. I'll keep you posted.

In addition to the discussions about the loft space, I made some suggestions to the class schedule which they voted on. Although, the Kehi-loft program has good attendance, the students often have other commitments during the week. A Sunday session will offer an alternative day for those with Wednesday commitments. Once a month Sunday evening classes will begin in January. Class schedules will change too to reflect the students desire to have more time to work on their CKS project ideas and to socialize. From now on, there will be one adult led discussion each week instead of two.

On December 17th, the students had a Hanukkah party for the last part of class. They opted to play Apples to Apples instead of dreidel, but a good time was had by all! The Kehi-Loft students continued to help out at CKS. This month they pulled books and other items from the attic closet so they could be sorted by Matt Rosenthal and his helpers. Many thanks to Tom Berger, George Cohen and Lisa Kent, the parent volunteers who picked up dinners this month.

January's schedule:
Wednesday, January 7 - 6:00 - 8:00. Lisa Kent will return to continue the marketing session
Sunday, January 11 - 6:00 - 8:00. First Sunday session.
Students will work on their marketing project and socialize
Wednesday, January 14 - 6:00 - 8:00. Regular class.
NO CLASS January 21 - most students have final exams at high school.
Wednesday, January 28 - 6:00 - 8:00. 7th grade students are invited to attend.
Friday, January 30 - Kehi-Loft student led Shabbat services at 7:00

Shalom,
Karen Fridkis, Kehi-Loft chair

Cooperative work and physical strength were key this past month as the Kehi-Loft students lifted the heavy cumbersome floor panels section by section and delicately set them back into place. The panels fit like a puzzle and it took the entire loft team working cooperatively to position each section. After each panel was gently and precisely lowered into its spot, exuberant students stomped on it to push it in the final inch or two. Cheers erupted after each panel was successfully installed. In addition to the work on the floor, the students labored for several weeks staining the sanctuary side of the new walls and then hoisted them into place over the existing balcony railing. Watching the team work of these engaged teen students was inspirational. Their enthusiasm is priceless! More remains to be completed before the new room receives its first official guests in January. The interior balcony wall needs to be stained, carpet needs to be purchased and laid, and the room needs to be furnished. One step at a time...

The Kehi-Loft students led their second teen led service on November 14. Sam Cohen, Gabe Fridkis, Josh Kent, Nicole Shaum, and Harry Waskow led the congregation in prayer at this mid-month Friday night Shabbat service. The students and their families sponsored the oneg also. Thanks to all the students who participated and made this a meaningful evening for all. Please mark your calendars for the next Kehi-Loft led service on January 30th at 7:00. The class looks forward to seeing you there.

During the month the students helped CKS in various small ways, such as moving the Torah table onto the bima for the movie night and cleaning out the attic closet. The students consistently lend their hand when asked.

November's discussions also included an impromptu session led by Lisa Kent about the economy and the pros and cons of bailing out GM. The students talked about how the downturn made them feel (for themselves and others) and what they could do. Ideas included a fundraiser for our congregants assistance fund and/or for the community. The students believe that helping those less fortunate is a way to react to the current economic situation. Thanks, Lisa, for pitching in and leading this discussion on current events.

December's calendar is as follows:
December 3 - Congregant George Cohen will lead a moot court session.
December 10 - George returns for part two of moot court.
December 17 - Congregant Lisa Kent will lead an extended marketing session. Possible Hanukkah party.
December 20. Saturday evening to Sunday morning - shul-in. Volunteers needed to chaperone.
January 7 - Lisa Kent returns to continue the marketing session
January 14 - first social session with 7th graders.

Rabbi Susan leads a discussion after dinner with the students each week unless otherwise noted. I lead an informal discussion each week with the students to go over the schedule, discuss classroom issues, and update the group on requests or CKS events.

Many thanks to the parents who purchased dinner for the students this month. Thank you Susan Waskow, Tom Berger, and Sherri Kurtz. Thanks to Sherri for her recent donation to Kehi-Loft.

Shalom,
Karen Fridkis, Kehi-Loft chair

Congratulations to the Kehi-loft students on a dream realized! The students worked together this summer to turn their ideas into reality. Numerous steps have been taken to reach this place. It began last spring with a brainstorming session during Hebrew High School. What do we want, how can we achieve our vision, who can volunteer to help? The students have been working diligently on this project over the summer. The first step after raising the necessary money was to clear the balcony. In order to store the Hebrew School books from the two bookcases in the balcony the attic closet had to be cleared. Once they organized the overstuffed closet, twenty book filled crates were moved in. The first day of construction saw an eager group of teens and a tireless adult crew tackle the building of the new floor panels. Each section was built outside and schlepped upstairs to the loft. Ariel Kramer, Ilana Berger, Lindsey Rosenthal, Nicole Schaum, Marissa Applegate, Dan Kaufman, Jeremy Bilotti and Gabe Fridkis were the teen crew. Everyone worked long and hard, with Ilana and Ariel putting in 8 hours and Gabe and Jeremy 10 hours! The bulk of the construction was completed in that one day. Still there was more to do. Later that week another teen crew (Josh and Allie Kent, Marrisa Applegate, Gabe Fridkis) came to carry empty bookcases downstairs along with the books. The sorted books were then shelved and are now easily accessible to the Hebrew School teachers in their new home outside the classrooms. The loft is still a work in progress, with staining to be finished and a carpet to be installed, but by the time the High Holy Days are here, the construction will be completed.

I want to thank our generous congregants who supported this project with their donations. The building materials could not have been purchased without your financial support. Thanks to: the Bergers, the Richard Rosenberg family, the Applegate Tesser Family, the Lerners, the Wions, the Gartenbergs, the Bachrach Cohen family, the Holtzman Kaufmann family, the Cohen Gouverneur family, the Fridkis family, the London Yuresko family, the Matthew Rosenthal family, Bob Sohor, and the Kurtz family. Donations are still being accepted and will be used to furnish the loft.

Thanks too to our tireless construction team. Joseph Weiss designed the new floor and wall, purchased the necessary lumber, and supervised the construction of the removable floor sections and wall. Eric Weitze has been the go to man on the job. His construction expertise allowed the project to flow slowly. Lou Orlando and Matt Rosenthal put in a 12 plus hour day with Joseph and Eric on the first day of construction, measuring, sawing, hammering, and building the wall and floor sections. Steve Fischman helped with the construction on the second day doing everything that was needed to keep the project progressing. It has been a true community effort.

Kehi-loft classes started on Wednesday, September 10th. The first class was a celebration of the work completed thus far plus a brainstorming session on the year ahead. The students outlined plans for the class. They discussed leading Shabbat services during the year (the first one is scheduled for September 26), their participation in the Yom Kippur service, possible community service projects, and agreed to a time schedule for each session ( 6:00 - 6:15 - dinner, 6:15 - 7:00 - Rabbi Susan, 7:00 - 7:45 - congregant volunteer, 7:45 - 8:00 clean-up). One class a month (perhaps the first Wednesday of each month) will be designated for social activities, such as watching a movie, eating, playing wii, and hanging out.

The first tikkun olam project will be Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's annual Walk for a Cure. Kehi-loft students will be collecting donations for JDRF and invites
you to join them in the 5K walk on Sunday, October 5 at 9:00 a.m in North Branch at Raritan Valley Community College. As many as 3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, a disease most often diagnosed in childhood. JDRF's mission is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. About 85% of every dollar raised goes towards research.

Kehi-loft is seeking adult volunteers to come and lead a discussion session. After the High Holy Days they will resume their series on careers. George Cohen has already agreed to come to class to talk about being an attorney. Thanks, George! If you would like to talk to the group about your career, please contact me at kfridkis@comcast.net

If you are a post-b'nei mitzvah student, come check out the new Kehi-loft. They meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 - 8:00. Pizza (and possibly other dinner foods!) for purchase starts each session. Contact me if you would like to register. I look forward to hearing seeing you!

Shalom,
Karen Fridkis, Kehi-loft (formerly Hebrew High School) committee chair

Dear Kehilat Congregants,

Kehiloft wants to honor all of the donations we received for renovations for the loft. We are going to make a plaque with all names on it and put it on the loft door. We also continue to ask for donations to help out with other projects throughout the year. You still have time to get your name on the plaque so don't panic! :) Thank you again for all your help and generous donations.

Love Always,
Kehi-loft
Ilana Berger

What do a smart, resourceful, and passionate group of teens do when they decide they want something? They usually find a way to get it. The Hebrew High School students of Congregation Kehilat Shalom in Belle Mead felt very strongly about continuing and expanding their post bar mitzvah education program to include not only once weekly classes and discussions on various Jewish topics, but also a vibrant Jewish youth group with a real home base. They immediately started planning how they could use the limited space inside the synagogue to have a teen classroom/lounge that they could call their own. After approval of their plan by the synagogue's Board of Directors, they set out raising money to convert the choir loft of the synagogue to a semi private classroom/lounge that could serve as dual use when needed for overflow at services. With all their fund raising activities such as the car wash shown in the photo, and with the help of Hebrew High Director Karen Fridkis and member architect Joe Weiss and volunteer Eric Weitze, they plan to have the building modifications completed by the end of August in order to be able to kick off the new program in September. It will be called "Kehi-loft", combining the symbolic Hebrew name of the synagogue ("Kehilat" means community in Hebrew), with the real physical space of the loft. Mazel Tov to the CKS Hebrew High students for working so hard to make their vision a reality!