Boston Teens See Jewish Communal Life Up Close

CROWN HEIGHTS — Ask some typical suburban teenagers how they spent their weekend, and you’ll likely get a range of answers along the lines of shopping at the mall, hanging out at the beach, or maybe catching a movie.

But for some 40 Jewish young adults from Boston’s northern suburbs, one recent weekend outing was anything but typical. By travelling to the Brooklyn, N.Y., enclave of Crown Heights in time for the beginning of the holy day of Shabbat, they experienced a taste of religious life among a community of Chabad-Lubavitch Chasidim.

For high school freshman Dennis Averin, the best part of the trip – which included prayer services at Lubavitch World Headquarters, a post-Shabbat tour of a Crown Heights matzah bakery, and the usual compilation of New York tourist sites – was seeing so many religious Jews in one place.

“It was really cool that you could be Jewish, wear a yarmulke and not feel weird,” said Averin. “There was a real Jewish vibe.”

“We got a peak into Orthodox life,” added 14-year-old Lilly Cummings, who like Averin, is a member of Chabad of the North Shore’s Jew Crew teen program. “I really got to see how different people celebrate Judaism.”

The group of visitors, who spent the holy day with several hosting families in Crown Heights, represented the gamut of Jewish life. Some attend Jewish day schools, but most go to their local public school with just a few Jewish classmates. A draw of the program, said attendees, was the chance to take a trip with a group of friends they don’t normally see on a daily basis.

“It was a great experience to be with Jewish friends that share a similar background and values,” said freshman Sasha Matusevich.

Article continued at Chabad.org