The Student is the Teacher’s Teacher
I thought I might begin with history of Kehillah,
since only the students and handful of others seem
to know this story. I have worked in the Jewish community
for most of my professional life, although sometimes
intermittently. In 1992, I was teaching a guitar lesson
to Judith Helman, a long-time colleague. Judith asked
me what I was doing professionally in the Jewish community
at the time. I was in a bit of a quiet period so she
suggested that I have a conversation with the Board
of Beth Ami about offering a Jewish teen program.
Judith put me in touch with a Board subcommittee,
that was interested in meeting with me to discuss
my ideas. One of the members of that group was my
dear friend and mentor, Arthur Margolese, who coincidently
was my Confirmation Class teacher years ago in West
Los Angeles. What a nice reunion! (Arthur continues
to support the Kehillah program in magical and mysterious
ways!)
I proposed a program in which we would gather the
post-B’nai Mitzvah students who were currently
not too involved and hold twice-a-month meetings of
dinner, social interaction and a Jewish lesson for
each teenage group. The group wholeheartedly endorsed
the proposal and agreed to underwrite it.
I
began calling each and every teen and before we knew
it, we had a vibrant ongoing program which never again
needed underwriting. In fact the program has been
financially self-sustaining ever since. The weekly
ritual of calling each Kehillah student to check in
and remind them of the coming class has become a tradition
in my Sunday evening rituals.
Hundreds of teens have faithfully attended Kehillah
for the duration of their high school years since
that time. We have embraced so many issues relating
to Jewish teen life and issues, ranging from ethics,
to culture, to history, the weekly Parsha, as well
as current topics.
The program has helped to send off our young students
with their Jewish identity in place and strongly integrated
into their everyday lives.
The rabbis of antiquity taught that “the student
is the teacher’s teacher,” and this has
been so true in Kehillah. The students have contributed
to an emerging curriculum which has been stimulating
to me as well as to them.
Kehillah membership crosses synagogue affiliation
lines and involves the unaffiliated as well. Students
from every Sonoma County synagogue have enjoyed Kehillah,
and we support this wholeheartedly. Furthermore, the
rabbis of the community have also supported Kehillah,
with frequent visits to offer teachings in our classes.
I congratulate the teens who are or have been involved
in Kehillah as well as our community’s other
Jewish teen groups for their dedication to a post-B’nai
Mitzvah Jewish life. We as adults can view this model
as an incentive for our own involvement and participation.
My gratitude also goes out to Congregation Beth
Ami for its non-stop support of this important program
and particularly to the Board and staff members without
whom Kehillah would be only a vision.
— Rick Concoff
originally published in the Shofar, December
2005
Kehillah is an award-winning teen program of Congregation
Beth Ami in Santa Rosa, CA. Kehillah was conceived and
is led by Rick Concoff (see history above).
Rick Concoff has been selected as a 2006 Award
Recipient of The Sixth Annual Helen Diller Family
Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, a Bay
Area-wide competition. More about the Diller Award. List of previous winners of the award.
