Teen Programs—WBTY
Religious School registration for 2013/14 is now open. Enroll now!
WBTY (Wilshire Boulevard Temple Youth) encompasses all our teen programming at Wilshire Boulevard Temple. If your child participates in any of our teen programs, then they are part of WBTY!
After bar and bat mitzvah, we feel it’s important for all of the Temple’s teens to maintain a connection and relationship with our amazing community. We offer an exciting, inspiring range of programs to fit your teen’s interests and busy schedules. At Wilshire Boulevard Temple, we do not just learn to do something. We learn how to become someone.
Check out our Teen Programs brochure and see below for full descriptions of what's in store for 2013-2014! 
Trips and Retreats
WBTY Community Youth Group Retreat
November 1-3, 2013
Retreat on Love, Sex and Relationships from a Jewish Perspective (Grades 10-12)
January 10-12, 2014
Washington D.C. Social Justice and Advocacy Mission (Grades 10-12)
February 14-17, 2014
New Orleans Social Action Mission (Grades 9-12)
February 20-23, 2014
March of the Living (Grades 11-12)
Confirmation (Grade 10)
A unique opportunity for your 10th grader. We will learn, explore and experience all that is Jewish Los Angeles over eight sessions, including an overnight camping adventure at Camp Hess Kramer. Our experience will culminate in a beautiful and meaningful Confirmation ceremony over the holiday of Shavuot—the commemoration of receiving the Torah. Space will be limited and a participation commitment is required. Don’t miss this opportunity of a lifetime. $150.00
Beit Midrash (Grades 8-12)
Teens gather on Sunday mornings at our Temple Campus in a space created just for them. We explore current events, history and community activism from a Jewish perspective. Beit Midrash is all about examining our wider community and our roles within it as modern Reform Jews. An informal yet engaging social and educational experience, with both on and off campus activities. $995.00 for the year.
Wednesday Night Program (Grades 8-12)
Wednesday Night Program (WNP) is all about community! A dynamic and relaxed environment at our Irmas Campus where teens come together in the middle of the week to enjoy a meal, time with their friends and have an opportunity for an interactive and fun chug (activities such as sports in our gym, improvisational theater exercises, tech talk, dance, music and art). This year we're introducing an exciting four-week rotating curriculum, including a philanthropy component emphasizing consensus building, fundraising and social action on issues students are passionate about.
- Week 1: Core Programming by Grade -
- Grade 8: Rosh Chodesh and Shevet Achim—a safe place for students to share their feelings, experiences and concerns in an interactive, non-judgmental and supportive environment.
- Grade 9: Israel
- Grade 10: Confirmation
- Grades 11 and 12: Social Justice and Jewish Values
- Week 2: Philanthropy
- Week 3: WBTY Teen-led Programs and Chugim
- Week 4: Tikkun Olam: Repair the World programming and Chugim
$995 for the year.
WBTY Youth Group (Grades 8-12)
Participants create and run their own programs, hold leadership positions and have a greater impact on our Temple community. Comprised of an elected Board, these teens interact and create programs for Wednesday Night Program and Beit Midrash. Youth Group is for everyone involved in our teen programs. The group also acts as a link to the National Reform Jewish Youth Movement (NFTY), which has several regional and national events a year. In addition, teens that run for the Board will work with an advisor to develop leadership skills that will help them prepare for college and beyond. To emphasize community building, we'll be organizing several joint events with other Temple youth groups. $25.00 membership fee is included in your enrollment to other teen programs, certain events cost extra.
Israel Partnership (Grades 8-9)
We continue our Tel Aviv-Los Angeles Partnership program. Our students who choose this option will not see Israel from the windows of a bus, but up close and personal by hosting an Israeli 9th grader in their home and staying with that same Israeli student’s family in Israel. Participants will not only study together, they will form deep connections with one another in a way that only an experience of this kind can create. Preparations begin in Grade 8. During the winter and spring breaks of Grade 9, those selected will travel to Israel and will host an Israeli in their home. An application process, which includes an interview, will be required before selection. Though this program is subsidized, there will be an additional fee for participating students.
Madrichim Program (formerly Ozrim Program) (Grades 8-12)
An opportunity for students in grades 8 to 12 to mentor younger students by working in the classroom, art room, office and as part of the Hebrew staff. Designed to help participants inspire curiosity in their students, and act as role models and resources to their community. We offer the program on Tuesdays and/or Wednesdays, in addition to the Sunday program. An application process is required, and students can receive community service or pay (ranging from $600 - $1,100). The program is competitive with strict attendance requirements. For more information, please contact Jessica Furie at jfurie@wbtla.org.
Hebrew Classes (Grades 8-12)
Wilshire Boulevard Temple is now in partnership with Los Angeles Hebrew High School offering conversational Hebrew classes. Classes are five hours per week at the Irmas Campus, and students can earn high school foreign language credit. Approximately $1450.00 for the year. Dates and times to be determined.
Trips and Retreats
WBTY Community Youth Group Retreat
November 1-3, 2013
This year, we’re introducing a completely new high school retreat at our beloved Camp Hess Kramer! We’re partnering with seven LA synagogues so that friends from all over the city can come together and form a new community. With the help of adult advisors, the retreat themes and programs will be completely planned by the youth groups from each participating synagogue. We’ll build an experience based entirely on our teen leadership and the issues and values they are most passionate about. This new opportunity is generating huge excitement and is not to be missed. $200.
Retreat on Love, Sex and Relationships from a Jewish Perspective (Grades 10-12)
January 10-12, 2014
The Talmud says Jewish parents must teach their children to swim. Why swim? To keep them from drowning. We must teach our children our values and to be safe. But do we? Join with our school staff, our clergy and Drs. Charles and Amy Miron, certified Masters and Johnson sexologists, for a weekend at Camp. Students will learn about sexual language, peer pressure, sexual harassment, intimacy, caring, homosexuality, birth control and STD's, and what it means to be in a loving, caring relationship—all from a Jewish perspective. The weekend begins with a program for parents on Thursday evening at Temple; then kids are at Camp from Friday afternoon to Sunday at noon, joined at Camp by their parents on Sunday morning. $220.
Washington D.C. Social Justice and Advocacy Mission (Grades 10-12)
February 14-17, 2014
Once again we'll be traveling with Kehillat Israel to explore our nation's capital through a Jewish lens and learn how to have our voices heard on a national level. This isn't just any school trip to D.C. We'll meet with Jewish lobbying groups like AIPAC and J Street to examine Jewish influence on policies from Israel to healthcare to education. We'll visit the Religious Action Center to learn about lobbying from a Reform Jewish perspective, and spend time at the National Holocaust Museum and Smithsonian. Participants will also engage in a social action project. Don't miss this opportunity. Community service hours will be given to fulfill school requirements. Price to be determined.
New Orleans Social Action Mission (Grades 9-12)
February 20-23, 2014
Partnering with Temple Kehillat Israel in the Pacific Palisades, participants will travel for four days over President’s Day weekend to New Orleans to be immersed in intensive social action and community building. Exploring and helping rebuild New Orleans’ Katrina-ravaged 9th Ward neighborhood will be a centerpiece of this trip. We will also visit a historic local synagogue for Shabbat services, explore the French Quarter and tour Tulane University. A unique experience for students passionate about social activism, this program is a perfect addition to any college resume, with 20 community service hours allocated to each participant. Approximately $1,250.00 includes all meals, activities, lodging and airfare.
March of the Living (Grades 11-12)
The International March of the Living is an annual educational program bringing together thousands of Jewish teens from 40 countries around the world for two weeks of study, travel and self-exploration. Students travel first to Poland to explore the remnants of pre-Holocaust Jewry, as well as the ghettos and concentration camps. The program’s second week takes place in Israel where the connection between the past, the present and the future is explored further. The program includes study sessions in Los Angeles prior to departure, and ongoing work with our educational staff that accompanies the teens to Poland and Israel. Please visit: www.motl.org or contact Herschel Bleefeld at hbleefeld@wbtla.org for more program and scholarship information.