Topic: Teva

As we begin approaching Teva’s 25th Anniversary, we will be spending the summer months featuring former Teva Educators who were once Teva students. They are from different Teva seasons and have different stories, experiences and memories. Enjoy the walk down memory lane with us! Jacob Chatinover came to Teva in 2001 as a student with Solomon Schechter West Hartford. He was an educator in the Fall of 2012 and 2015, and the Spring of 2013 and 2014, and a Topsy-Turvy Bus summer educator in 2014 and 2015. In 2015, he was a full-year-round educator, including “Senior Educator” in the fall and planner/Lead Educator of the bus tour that year. Jacob is on his way to Rabbinical School. What do you remember about Teva as a kid? Which moments/memories/stories stand out? I remember the night hike. I remember walking as it started raining. Our Morei Derech (trail educator) asked if anyone knew a blessing to say for the rain, and I at the time was reading the whole siddur. So I brought out tefillat geshem (rain prayer), which is normally for Shmini Atseret, and we said that in English as it rained. I remember Decomposition. I remember praying outside for the […]

As we begin approaching Teva’s 25th Anniversary, we will be spending the summer months featuring former Teva Educators who were once Teva students. They are from different Teva seasons and have different stories, experiences and memories. Enjoy the walk down memory lane with us! Noah Slovin came to Teva in 1998 as a student with Solomon Schechter Day School of Worcester and came back as a Teva educator in the Fall of 2010. Noah is now working for a consulting company as a Planner focusing on helping communities prepare for natural disasters. What do you remember about Teva as a student? Which moments/memories/stories stand out? 1. I remember singing “The River is Flowing” every evening, and one of the educators told us to think about it every day and try to figure out what it meant. I think I figured it out on the last day but then I wasn’t called on so never got to prove myself. 2. I remember being led to the overlook in a blindfolded trustwalk line – we walked in a line for a bit, then stopped, and our Morah Derech (trail teacher) led us one at a time to stand in a spot, and […]

As we begin approaching Teva’s 25th Anniversary, we will be spending the summer months featuring former Teva Educators who were once Teva students. They are from different Teva seasons and have different stories, experiences and memories. Enjoy the walk down memory lane with us! Aliza Hertzmark came to Teva in 2000 as a student with Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD and came back to be a Teva educator in the Fall of 2009. Aliza currently works as a civil engineer in Baltimore, MD. What do you remember about Teva as a student? Which moments/memories/stories stand out? I remember singing the psolet song. After about two days of steadily declining psolet weight, the weight of the psolet bucket shot up on the third day. Someone on staff (either Teva or from our school) tried to say that the scale was broken. I also remember sitting by the pool pavilion as my kvutza (group) discussed what change each of us was going to do in order to earn our earth bead. What do you think Teva taught you as a young person? Teva inspired me to feel that one small act of change could make a difference. When you grew up […]

As we begin approaching Teva’s 25th Anniversary, we will be spending the summer months featuring former Teva Educators who were once Teva students. They are from different Teva seasons and have different stories, experiences and memories. Enjoy the walk down memory lane with us! Sabrina Shapiro came to Teva in 1998 as a student with Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School and came back to be a Teva educator in 2011. What do you remember about Teva as a student? Which moments/memories/stories stand out? The best part about Teva, for me, was that I was with all my school friends, learning, but in a place I’d much rather be, the forest.  I remember Salamander Tag, “fox walking” and singing and dancing really loudly in the cafeteria. What do you think Teva taught you as a young person? It wasn’t so much what I was taught, but just having a great time in nature was so valuable to me. When you grew up and thought about Teva, before you came back to be an educator, what sentence would you have used to describe it? The best time at school ever because we didn’t have to sit down and (be quiet) for […]

As we begin approaching Teva’s 25th Anniversary, we will be spending the month of June featuring former Teva Educators who were once Teva students. They are from different Teva seasons and have different stories, experiences and memories. Enjoy the walk down memory lane with us! Leah Simonson came to Teva as a student with SSDS of New London in the 6th grade. She returned as a Teva educator for the Fall 2018 season. Leah currently works as a healthcare assistant at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. What do you remember about Teva as a kid? Which moments/memories/stories stand out? I remember having so much fun at Teva as a kid. For years we knew we’d be going in 6th grade, so by the time it came I was beyond excited. I remember there was a talking garbage can that would talk grouchily at us if we threw something in it. I found that so funny and creative. I also remember singing, A LOT! I have a memory of waking up before the others in my cabin and walking to the lake. It was chilly, and there was a light mist on the lake. It felt magical. When I came back […]

As we begin approaching Teva’s 25th Anniversary, we will be spending the month of June featuring former Teva Educators who were once Teva students. They are from different Teva seasons and have different stories, experiences and memories. Enjoy the walk down memory lane with us! Chera Garlick came to Teva as a student with JCDS Boston first in the 5th grade in 2004 and then again on a Teva camping trip in 7th grade in 2007. She returned as a Teva educator for the Fall 2017 season. Chera currently works as an educator with Boston Ballet’s Education and Community Initiatives department and as special education teacher at Gateways: Access to Jewish Education. Chera in 7th grade when she returned to Teva for a camping trip What do you remember about Teva as a student participant? Which moments/memories/stories stand out? A moment that is most present in my heart was a moment of light and community. Having just begun my time at my Jewish day school, Teva was the first time I was somewhere where so many people around me were also Jewish. It was the 6th night of Hanukkah and we all gathered together to light the candles and sing songs. […]

With Spring Teva 2019 coming to an end, we are so grateful for our students and Teva Educators. We were able to watch, grow, learn and explore with over 200 students that came from The Shefa School, Luria Academy, JCDS Boston’s Jewish Community Day School, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, and Bi-Cultural Day School. Thanks to our amazing Teva Educators, students left at the end of each week with increased awareness about nature and ecology, excitement about Judaism and spirituality, connection to each other and the forest, and an eagerness to explore and learn more. Activities like fire and shelter-building, whittling, candle-making, singing, aquatic ecology explorations, animal agriculture lessons (including playing with baby goats and chickens), farming, sharing gratitude, Jewish learning and hiking are just some of the things Teva students have the opportunity to participate in and learn about while they are here. We can’t wait for the fall season! Stay tuned for more photo highlights.

Last week, as our time with The Shefa School in Manhattan came to a close, we had the chance to collect highlights and share gratitude with the students and teachers. Some of the highlights included the campfire, the camp-wide game called Predator vs. Prey, the view from the famous Isabella Freedman Overlook, singing and dancing after meals, and exploring the forests; including finding salamanders and other living things in the ponds and streams near the trails. Thanks for coming, Shefa! See you next year 🙂 With the Teva season in full swing, we welcomed 18 more students this week from the Luria Academy of Brooklyn. Up on the overlook this week, the students shared gratitudes, and Hannah said: “I’m grateful for the opportunity to see this – to see the amazing world Hashem created.” On Tuesday evening, the students participated in Teva’s Resource Revolution Rally, where Gabby Garbage and Rethink danced and sang on stage, and taught about resources and the ways humans misuse and overuse them, and how we can rethink and do a better job of taking care of our world. The students loved singing this week, and the classic Teva song called ‘Psolet’ (waste) is sure to […]

In the last twenty years, more than 100,000 Jewish children, teachers and young adults have participated in the transformative experience of Teva: immersing themselves in the rhythms of the natural world, learning about the Jewish values of stewardship, and developing a deep commitment to tikkun olam. Kedusha-Lives of Sacred Purpose The program integrates the study of ecology and environmental education with Jewish concepts and values through hands-on activities in a cooperative outdoor setting. By using the forest as their classroom, Teva students also develop a greater sense of responsibility, independence, and self-esteem. They leave the program having forged intimate connections with each other and the natural world and with a deeper knowledge of how Judaism can inform our interactions with the rest of creation. Chochma-Wisdom Teva’s curriculum follows a three-part thematic progression of “Awareness,” then “Ecology,” then “Responsibility.” At each step, environmental teaching is specifically tied to Jewish teaching. As part of the Responsibility curriculum, Teva students focus on ways that they, individually and as a class, can make better choices that contribute to creating a sustainable world. All students participate in designing a project to implement throughout the school year. The projects not only help to reduce waste and empower […]