For almost a year now, a program has been implemented at the Thiya Community Center, which has significantly expanded the opportunities of the younger generation in their desire to be closer to their people. It arose spontaneously and was mainly based on the issue of involving young people in community life, however, as the proverb says: "If there were no happiness, then misfortune would help." Teenagers, who are quite difficult to gather together for the reasons that at their age they are constantly busy with school, clubs, sections or electives, often really cannot find time during the day to attend Youth Club meetings. But no one talks about the day in this program.
"Shabbat Night" was planned as a one-time event, but it has become a permanent "party" of participants of the Youth Club "Beshtiki" of the Hesed Besht Foundation with a floating schedule, no less than once every three to four weeks. Getting to "Shabbat Night" is not easy: teenagers must provide a letter from their parents that they agree with their stay at the Center. And leaving the territory of the Center is completely impossible for security reasons, although no one wants to leave here at night. The event begins with a joint Shabbat meeting, which is held according to all the rules and traditions. Especially for this program, the organizers have developed a personal prayer sheet, which contains the texts of the main prayers on Shabbat.
After the teenagers exchange news with each other, the madrichs invite them to classes. Usually, 4-5 madrichs are on duty at the "Thia" Center to ensure the processes of the event and make the children's stay as comfortable as possible. For them, this is an honorable and very responsible mission. Mostly, the desire to learn awakens in teenagers after 10:00 PM, when all the problems or emotions of the day have already faded into the background. Reading the Sunday Torah chapter is mandatory, the rest of the activities are at the request and liking of the children and the madrichs.
The most popular activities include developing team games, “Madriha School”, and master classes. It was extremely positive that some members of the Youth Club visited AJT sessions, from where new ideas, games, trainings and methods always come. In December, it was AJT that presented the “Beshtiks” with a set of board games, for which there are almost fights. They also brought a simple but incredibly fun activity “Just Dance”, which does not require any costs or efforts – only a computer, the Internet and a projector (also, by the way, a gift from AJT).
According to the observations of the madrikhs, the main activity subsides by three in the morning. After that, visitors to "Shabbat Night" have two main options: go to sleep or watch a movie. Many successfully combine these two options, bringing sleeping bags and pillows directly to the cinema.
In the morning, the madrichs monitor the timely "Boker Tov" and send those who need to go to school on Saturday to the appropriate authority. At 9:00, "Shabbat Night" is declared closed. According to the head of the Youth Club, Viacheslav Nagnybida, the "Thiya" Center practices the least expensive and most effective program from any point of view. It is able to solve all the problems that Jewish informal education poses to the madrichs, and most importantly, it allows teenagers to spend more time together.
In the photo you can see the trend of the last "Shabbat Night" - an attempt to perform Shabbat songs with a guitar. It is nice that the youth themselves are actively involved in organizing and conducting the event, offering more and more new methods.
