By Jarret Liotta
Despite the tumultuous times earmarking the start of Hanukkah, including a mass shooting in Australia on Sunday and a shooting at a home in Redlands on Monday investigated as a possible hate crime, teens from around Los Angeles County came together Saturday night to celebrate in unity, community and with lots of fun.
For the first time, Valley Beth Shalom in Encino hosted a Jewish Teen Hanukkah Bash with about 100 teens from different area synagogues including Northridge and Santa Clarita.
“Tonight is all about getting connection from all these teenagers across Los Angeles who are Jewish, to have a night of fun and group camaraderie,” said Maddy Begley, youth engagement manager with Valley Beth Shalom. “The whole goal of it is we have all these different synagogues and Jewish organizations coming together for one night of fun.”
She said that the long-term goal of the event is to start having more opportunities for regional get-togethers for Jewish teens.
“This came about because I wanted my teenagers here at Valley Beth Shalom to get to know other kids from across Los Angeles,” Begley said. “This is all for the teenagers to have connections with others beyond their own homes and synagogues.”
While Valley Beth Shalom is a conservative synagogue, invitations went out to reform groups as well. Young people from grades seven through high school were welcome to attend.
“It’s going to be so much fun,” Judith Wachs, 14, of Tarzana said before the start of the event. President of the youth department at Valley Beth Shalom, Wachs helped to organize the get-together.
“It’s just kind of about celebrating Hanukkah, but in a way that unites the community,” Wachs said. It’s always good to hang out with Jews our own age and I think just celebrating a holiday and having fun is the main goal. It’s very uniting in a way.”
Wachs said Hanukkah, the eight-day Festival of Lights, is traditionally the Jewish holiday that kids enjoy the most, with celebrations often including music, singing, dancing, games, dessert treats and food. “You don’t have to be serious at all. You can just enjoy yourself,” she said.
Saturday’s event was much more of a social get-together than a religious focus, with more pizza being consumed than latkes. Several bounce slides and apparatuses were on hand, along with a ball pit and outdoor recreation activities. A trivia game took place too, but mostly the young people just hung out, laughed and enjoyed one another’s company.
Ian Starr, communications media projects manager with Valley Beth Shalom, said that Hanukkah is a good time for young people to bond.
“It’s a holiday about Jewish resilience and pride, and that’s kind of a through-line with a lot of youth events,” Starr said. “I think it’s not a major Jewish holiday, but it’s a holiday that a lot of kids connect to.”
The symbolism of Hanukkah centers on bringing light to dark times.
“It’s a good message and it’s a good time of year to come together and be Jewish and form bonds and grow your Jewish identity with kids that you might not otherwise meet,” Starr said.
Heather Friedman, assistant director of youth engagements with Adat Ari El in Valley Village, was pleased to see teens from her synagogue mingling with kids from other areas. Saturdaynight, before the mass shooting in Australia, she spoke of the rise in antisemitism and the impact it has on young people.
“It’s hard, especially with the rise in antisemitism in the public sphere and especially in public schools,” Friedman said. “Jewish kids are looking for community and looking for each other to lean on in a time where they might be alienated from other kids.”
“We want to make sure that they’re connected to their tradition and their roots,” Friedman said, “and understand that they’re not everything people say that they are based off of judgments. It’s really more important now than ever to have Jewish teens being Jewish teens together,” she said.
Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer.