Jewish Teen Life in My Home Town, Baltimore, MD
by Alex P.
In Baltimore there is a large and diverse Jewish community, with lots of different kinds of teens. For most of the Orthodox teens, there are lots of other ways of having fun. On weekday nights, dozens of kids gather at the community JCC to play basketball, go swimming, and hang out with their friends. It's a great place to go to meet new people, and hang out with kids who you wouldn't normally get to spend time with. There is often a lot of tension between kids who go to different schools, and different shuls (synagogues), but most of the time the differences are resolved, and when the different "groups" give each other a chance, they realize that they are really good friends and they have so much to learn from each other. Unfortunately there is a huge teen drug problem, which is slowly but surely getting better with the birth of more organizations, and help from parents.
Most Jewish teens in Baltimore attend a Jewish school. Some of the schools extend their religious studies well into the night, and the rest usually end around 4 o'clock. Shuls (synagogues) and schools have educational programs which incorporate Orthodox teens from different backgrounds. Friends go out to eat at one of the many kosher restaurants, go to the movies, or to a friend's house. For teens who are interested in learning more about religion and becoming observant, there a few really great "kiruv" organizations. Shoresh, a summer camp with activities during the year, and NCSY teach teens what it means to be an observant Jew, and how Judaism and fun are not mutually exclusive.
Conservative and Reform organizations have tons of programs for teens which involve discovering Jewish identity, volunteering in the community, helping out Israel, and having fun. Jewish schools have special programs for teens to get involved in special community, and charity projects, and public schools have Judaism clubs for those who interested in learning about our religion.
The Jewish teen community of Baltimore, while extremely diverse, all are relatively close in distance. Different teens of different backgrounds are becoming friends and uniting the community. Baltimore's established Jewish community, organizations, and establishments all allow for a great teen life.
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