Program Note: If you are studying for or completing your bar or bat mitzvah you can work with your rabbi, cantor or religious school teachers to complete the Ner Tamid emblem for Scouts BSA. Your studies and efforts will prepare you to easily complete nearly 70 percent of the requirements. The Ner Tamid emblem will […]
Program Note: With Scouts and parents at home for a few weeks, how about working on your religious emblems. Cub Scout emblems are a great family activity. Scouts BSA and Venturing emblems can double as scholarly activities. For more information, workbooks and applications see https://www.jewishscouting.org/awards-and-emblems/ Dear Scouts: For weeks we’ve been learning about the Mishkan […]
This week, for many reasons, I am thinking of the founder of the Order of the Arrow, Dr. E. Urner Goodman. Last Friday, March 13, was the fortieth anniversary of his passing. He lived a happy life dedicated to leading Scouts in service to others. Leadership and service are two of the themes of this […]
This week I study with prayers for the return of good health – refuah shleimah – for a loved one, Batya bat Golda. Dear Scouts: This week, we read Parshat Tetzaveh. Now that the Mishkan (Tabernacle) has been constructed, God commands that Aaron and his sons be consecrated to holy service as priests (Kohanim), and gives instructions […]
Dear Scouts: This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim – Judgments. It discusses cases that come before a court. Last week, in Parasha Yitro, we learned how God gave us the Ten Commandments. We also saw that Moses, acting on the advice of his father-in-law, Yitro, established courts headed by distinguished members of the community. Since we’ve been […]
This week starts our ninth year of Derech Tzofeh. We are fortunate to feature a d’var Torah by Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, the founder and Executive Director of the Kavana Cooperative, an innovative Jewish community in Seattle. Dear Scouts, Just last week, the Israelites experienced the Exodus from Egypt, crossing between two walls of water as […]
The National Jewish Committee on Scouting mourns the loss of life in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in American history. We pledge to redouble our efforts in the mission we have pursued for over 90 years: teaching young Jews the beauty of American democracy, a principled embrace of diversity, […]
This has been a challenging year for many of us. We have had to deal with major changes in our lives and our society. Jews around the world have experienced an increase of anti-Semitism and our comfort level as accepted members of our local communities has been reduced. At the same time, we have seen […]
By LOUIS KEENE (Courtesy of The Forward) – Not long after the Boy Scouts of America started letting girls in, Gabbi S. felt her parents nudging her to join. Their sales pitch was hardly original: Their daughter was a junior in high school. It would look good on her college applications. “At first I was […]
Dear Scouts: This week’s parsha, Vayechi, is taken up with the death of the last of the Patriarchs, Jacob, and his son, Joseph. Jacob is very old and knows that he will die soon. He asks Joseph to promise that Joseph will take Jacob back to Canaan to be buried. Before his death, Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons Ephraim […]
