Teens & college students
CTeen for high schoolers — Thursday nights, community service and an international Shabbaton — and Shabbat dinners, study breaks and a home away from home for students at UTSA, Trinity and UIW.
Teenagers don't need another lecture. They need somewhere to be on a Thursday night, people their age who get it, and a reason to care. CTeen gives them all three — part social club, part volunteer crew, part Jewish identity they choose for themselves.
College students get the same thing in a bigger kitchen: Friday dinners, finals-week bagels, and a Rabbi who answers texts at midnight.
What we do
CTeen Thursdays
Pizza, a conversation that matters, and something hands-on. Twice a month at 7 pm.
Community service
Packing holiday meals, visiting seniors, running the kids' corner at the menorah lighting.
The CTeen Shabbaton
Three thousand Jewish teens in New York for one weekend each winter. We help with the cost.
Students
Friday dinners for students, study breaks during finals, and rides from campus on request.
Teen and student questions
Do teens need to belong to a synagogue?
No. CTeen is open to every Jewish teen in the city, whatever their school or background.
Is there a fee?
Thursday nights are free. Trips and the Shabbaton have a cost, and we help any family that asks.
Can college students get a ride?
Yes — text the Rabbi by Thursday and a volunteer will pick you up from campus for Friday dinner.
Want your teen on the list?
Send us their name and grade and we'll text them the next Thursday plan.
More programs
Other ways to be part of the community.
- Shabbat dinnersEvery Friday night, after a short service, we sit down to kiddush, fresh challah and a three-course home-cooked dinner. Forty people on a quiet week, a hundred on a holiday — and always a seat for one more.
- Jewish holidaysFrom the shofar on Rosh Hashanah to the last matzah ball of Passover, every holiday of the year happens here — services, meals, and something for the kids. You bring yourself; we'll bring the rest.
- Torah classes & Lunch and LearnA Tuesday evening class on the week's Torah portion, a Thursday Lunch and Learn downtown, and one-on-one study whenever you want it. No background needed — bring a question and leave with something to think about.