YouthCon 2011 has already become a groundbreaking international one-day convention – the inaugural event, with an unprecedented line-up representing more than 90 of the world’s leading informal and formal educational organizations across the Jewish spectrum — and with an overwhelming registration already of almost 300 people from across North America, Israel, England, and Germany.

Organized by NCSY, the Orthodox Union’s international youth movement and leader within the field of informal Jewish education, YouthCon will address the challenges and opportunities of defining Jewish education within the 21st Century. Registration is currently underway on the YouthCon website, www.youthcon.org.

YouthCon 2011 will take place on Sunday, August 21 from 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. at the Stamford Hilton in Connecticut. The event is open to Jewish educators and lay leaders of all backgrounds.

YouthCon will consist of workshop sessions throughout the day, during which participants will be given six different track options to hear from leading speakers in various fields. The full schedule can be read at www.youthcon.org. The website also includes a blog which features various questions and answers posed to presenters of the day.

Rabbi Steven Burg, International Director of NCSY, explained: “Informal Jewish experiences, from summer programs and camps, to after-school activities and youth groups, are essential to the development of a strong Jewish identity. As leaders in the greater Jewish community, we are responsible for providing quality Jewish experiences for today’s Jewish youth, and that demands that we address the hottest topics, trends, and tools to innovate how informal Jewish education plays a role in the lives of our youth.”

He continued, “YouthCon 2011 will unite the leaders of their fields from inside and outside of the classroom, and provide one-on-one mentoring opportunities with the biggest names in all backgrounds to create stronger, more creative Jewish educators.”

YouthCon Chair Rhoda Weisman, a Los Angeles-based communications specialist focusing on the next generation within the greater Jewish community, explained, “The goal of YouthCon is three-fold: To discover how to digitally connect with youth in the 21st century; to learn from those creating a paradigm shift in Jewish education; and to network with hundreds of educators who shape the lives of Jewish youth on a daily basis. This is a groundbreaking moment not to be missed!”

Presenters include:
• David Bryfman — Director, New Center for Collaborative Leadership at The Jewish Education Project: educational consultant;
• Robyn Faintich — Executive Education Consultant, JewishGPS: Her communal professional experience includes youth movements and community teen initiatives, early childhood education, congregational family education, and adult education;
• Aliza Goodman — Director, MZ Teen Israel Internship, iCenter: She develops and manages a new national leadership program for Jewish teens returning from summer Israel experiences;
• Charles Harary – OU National Vice President, and Founder, Milvado, an organization promoting innovative methods of teaching spirituality in a relevant and modern ways;
• Sarah Lefton — Founding Executive Director, G-dcast.com: She combines a fusion of a publishing career and a passion for Jewish community building;
• Michael Mellen – Former Director, NFTY; trainer, coach and rabbi, Jewish Youth Works: He works with individuals and organizations regarding youth, “experiential education,” and    leadership;
• Lori Palatnik — Founding Director, The Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project: She is a highly sought-after speaker author, media personality and Jewish educator;
• Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt — Senior Rabbi, Riverdale Jewish Center: Under his leadership the RJC has become the largest ‘teaching synagogue’ in the country, through its rabbinic and pre-rabbinic internship programs.

Organizations represented at YouthCon will include: AIPAC; American Jewish World Service (AJWS); BBYO; Camp Stone; Chabad International; DoSomething.org; Harvard JLIC; Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Life on Campus; Jewish Teen Funders Network; JTA Jewish News Archive; J-Teen Leadership; Lauder Yeshurun Foundation; MASA; NECHAMA Jewish Response to Disaster; NextGen Charity; NFTY; Ramaz; Sid Jacobson JCC; Stand With Us; Teva Learning Center; The David Project; The Foundation for Jewish Camp; The iCenter; UJA-Federation of New York; URJ Camp Kutz; Yeshiva University; and Young Judea. The complete list is posted on www.youthcon.org.

For further information about YouthCon 2011, contact info@youthcon.org or go to www.youthcon.org.

Lauder Yeshurun Midrasha Berlin, designed for young women who are on a quest to discover their Jewish identity, was the destination from Wednesday, May 11 to Monday, May 17 for 12 Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls tenth and eleventh graders and two of their teachers, Ms. Leah Pariser and Ms. Miriam Leifer. This joint SKA-NCSY program was spearheaded by Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, Director of New York NCSY, which is based in The Five Towns, who brought NCSY’s JOLT leadership summer program to Germany to work with the Lauder Foundation; and by Ms. Pariser, SKA teaching intern and one of the leaders of this trip, who had taught at the Midrasha the previous year. New York NCSY ran several missions in conjunction with Lauder Yeshurun in the academic year of 2008 and 2009 with the JOLT summer program transitioning to a full-time partnership in the summer of 2009.

“Anytime there is an opportunity to meet peers who have arrived where they have socially, religiously and educationally in different ways than our teens have, the net result is always a win-win,” explained Rabbi Lightstone. “In our past programs and joint ventures with the Lauder Yeshurun Midrasha, all participants, including staff, have been astounded by how much can be accomplished in four or five short days.”

“Working with SKA was an easy decision as their students and staff have time and time again demonstrated the ability for out-of-the-box thinking and a constant commitment to being mikadesh shem shamyim (sanctifying Hashem’s name),” Rabbi Lightstone said.

Ms. Pariser declared, “Both the SKA students and the Midrasha girls had so much to offer to each other. Each side taught the other how to be moser nefesh for Torah. One of my students commented on the first day, ‘I thought we came here to do kiruv, but we’re getting the kiruv!’”

Language was not a difficulty, Ms. Pariser reports. “The Midrasha girls know English from school. Yet when the girls got there, they quickly learned that despite their language and cultural differences, we are very much bounded by a higher truth – Am Yisrael Chai.”

In her address to SKA students at the assembly that was held the day after the travelers’ return, tenth grader Tamar Kwestel described her feelings. “The girls in the Midrasha showed such an excitement for Torah and Avodat Hashem that enabled me and many of the other girls on the trip to take a look at ourselves and ask, ‘How can I, who have been raised with a strong Jewish foundation in a Jewish home, further inspire their love for Torah and mitzvot?’ But the truth is, every single person that I interacted with in these past four days has given ten times as much to me as I feel I have given to them.”

“How apt that this trip took place after Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron, and Yom Ha’atzmaut,” Mrs. Helen Spirn, SKA’s Head of School, commented, also noting that three out of the four coordinators of the trip were SKA graduates; Michal Shenker Garrett, ’03, teaches at the Midrasha together with her husband, Reuvain.

Shoshana Kaminetsky, an eleventh grader, encapsulated the highlights of the trip which included viewing the Sachsanhousen labor camp, and summed up the feelings of all the participants. “On our trip to the labor camp as free ovdei Hashem, we took the very same train and walked the very same route through the city that the Jewish deportees had taken. We had the tremendous zechus to be accompanied by a real tzaddekes, Rebbitzen Miriam Roberg, who with her husband Rabbi Meir Roberg, the mashgiach ruchani of Lauder Yeshurun, travels to Germany from Jerusalem every six weeks. A survivor of the Holocaust herself, Rebbetzen Roberg chose her first visit to a concentration camp to be with us. From watching her that day, I learned to a greater degree than I’ve ever learned before what it means to live life as a constant Kiddush Hashem.”

“When we returned,” Shoshana continued, “after learning with the Midrasha girls about the middah of chesed, we got to work making challah, food, and cake l’kavod Shabbos, while Ms. Pariser gave an inspiring shiur about how to find Hashem in places of darkness. The next day, erev Shabbos, we split up into two groups to run programs in both the nursery school and the elementary school. In touring the city later that day, we gained a new perspective of the country and learned about the gedolim who lived in Berlin so many years ago up to the Lauder community there today. On Friday night, I had the zechus to eat at the home of Rabbi and Rebbitzen Rose, who had moved from Eretz Yisroel to Berlin to teach in the Midrasha.”

Shoshana added, “Inspiration on this trip came in so many forms. Sunday morning featured a chabura and shiur both prepared with much effort by Ms. Leifer. Learning with the Midrasha girls was really an experience; their thirst for Torah knowledge was so admirable and allowed us to cover all the sources that were put together. On our last night we heard divrei chizuk from Rabbi and Rebbitzen Roberg about the lessons we should take back to New York. This trip changed my view of the world on a global level, by strengthening my love towards Jews worldwide, and on a local level, by motivating me to try to make a difference in my own community.”

Concluding, Shoshana said, “A tremendous hakaras hatov to Mrs. Spirn, Rabbi Zak, Ms. Pariser, Ms. Leifer and Rabbi Lightstone for all the effort you put into planning this trip and making it possible. Although the Midrasha girls had a great time, our encounter with them meant a lot more than just fun to us. It represented the pride that these girls had in being a link in the chain of the transfer of a Torah way of life to the next generation. We saw building in the place of destruction. It was the revival of frumkeit in a place where it was once lost. And boy, was it powerful!”

In the cold winds and snow of Albany, New York, there is one very noticeable bright spot. It is Allie Kugler and her contagious smile. Whether participating in an NCSY Torah-learning session, engaged at a Regional Board meeting, or welcoming someone new to NCSY for the first time, that infectious, contagious grin is on her face. Seeing that bright beam, you would never guess the trials behind it, her incredible, ongoing journey, and how NCSY helped this teenager cope with a life-altering accident.

Rewind to the Spring of 2009. Allie was a normal and healthy teenager. She had just finished her first semester at Albany High School, the local public school, with a 95 average. She was a gifted student and a gifted athlete. She mastered Tae Kwon Do, receiving a second degree black belt, ran track in her first year of high school, and was an avid dancer.

Then, one day, everything changed. Allie received a major blow to her head, which resulted in a concussion and a traumatic brain injury. Allie was devastated, and the summer after the accident was extremely difficult. “I was moody and really down. Light hurt my head, moving hurt, and I was tired a lot. I spent the entire summer in my room, in the dark, watching movies. It was awful.” The doctors were noncommittal about her improvement and return to school and activities, adding to her frustration.

Allie also faced a new set of challenges. She was in perpetual pain, since the injury caused her to have constant headaches. Her memory also suffered. “My short-term memory was damaged. It’s a bit better now, but I still have trouble remembering things, and when it first [happened it was even worse].” The way her brain processed information changed as well. Allie could no longer learn at her familiar. Stephanie, Allie’s mother, recalls, “Allie used to run track, come home, eat a snack, go to the dance studio, come home, study for 20 minutes, and ace her test the next day. She was a quick learner, and it came to her easily. Now, we sit for hours studying the material.” The injury damaged the way information moved through her brain, making her learning process much slower and more laborious. The memory loss issues did not help. Still in tremendous pain and her memory loss hurting her learning skills, Allie could only return to school part-time that September. Her after-school extracurricular activities were now replaced with doctor’s appointments.

Allie had attended Upstate New York Jr. NCSY events, but stopped going once she reached high school. However, the injury left her with a huge void. Lacking the social life that school usually provided and on a quest for meaning after an accident changed her life, Allie was lost. When Esther Tsvaygenbaum, the Albany NCSY chapter president at the time (now studying in Machon Ma’ayan in Israel) reached out to her to join NCSY, Allie decided to give it another try. “Something just clicked. I really loved it. I really loved the way it made me feel connected to people and to my Judaism.” Allie found an outlet where she could relate to other teens, embrace her heritage, and be invigorated from the energy and spirituality of NCSY. She also found opportunities to encourage herself to grow: Allie volunteered to speak publicly at the regional Leadership Training Seminar, even though it was outside of her comfort zone. The singing and the Torah learning were things that Allie could still do, take pleasure in, and derive strength from. And she did.

Soon, Allie was as heavily involved in NCSY as she was able, getting caught up in events and eventually running for Upstate New York Regional Board, where she is now Vice President of Juniors. “NCSY has really been a blessing for Allie, with all the things she’s going through,” says Stephanie. Allie’s friends on NCSY board make sure she is taken care of, and that they are kept updated on her progress. “They all just care about one another so much, and the Regional Board has been so supportive of her, making note to call or send things when she’s out of town for treatments.” Her mother also related how some Regional Board members went so far as to call Stephanie herself to find out Allie’s status. “This is something you’d really only find in NCSY, this level of involvement.”

In Upstate New York NCSY, Allie is famous for her upbeat personality, her sunny smile, and her constant desire to grow. “Throughout all her personal struggles Allie has come to each and every NCSY event with a charismatic smile that can light up the room. Her actual inability to frown has been a joke in Har Sinai, but it also gives deeper insight into the type of person Allie is,” adds Hannah Restle, current regional president and senior at John Jay High School in Mt Kisco, New York. “Allie’s commitment to NCSY has truly been an inspiration to me and to the whole Upstate New York region.” A real leader, Allie is popular, but sensitive to those who might be new. “She strives to make every convention comfortable for all the participants and can be counted on to extend herself to those on the fringes of the circle,” says Marc Fein, Regional Director of Upstate New York, NCSY. “She is popular and treats everyone with respect and kindness.” During NCSY Torah-learning sessions on convention, she is enthusiastic, and her eager desire to learn despite her challenges shines through.

In fact, Allie’s dedication to NCSY has carried over beyond the traditional school-year programming. Hopeful that her health will permit, she has applied to go on TJJ Ambassadors, an NCSY summer program that tours the length and breadth of Israel. According to Marc, “Allie will create a cool, comfortable atmosphere on the trip and create an environment where everyone will contribute. She possesses an emotional depth and maturity that will enhance the tenor of the trip dramatically.”

Allie strives forward with the confidence to face her challenges, her NCSY friends and region solidly at her side. Stephanie’s words ring true, “I always say to Allie, ‘This is hard. This is a challenge. But you’ll hopefully see one day that you will be able to take these life lessons learned from this injury and use them in a positive way for yourself and to help others.”

Dalia Caplan is a Program Associate for JSU and Chapter Coordinator for Upstate New York NCSY.

In the 1970s and 80s Sterling, Illinois was both a liberating and a stifling place to grow up. On the one hand, we were living in a safe, small town. Yet, on the other hand, there was no yiddishkeit and no greater Jewish community to be part of. My parents did a wonderful job with our small synagogue and the resources we had. My mom taught us history, Torah stories and mitzvot. Whenever someone came through our town for a short period of time and knew hebrew, we learned from them. My mom is a very smart woman and knew that the one thing she could give us was Shabbat every week. My brothers and I knew that every Friday night, we had to be home for candle lighting, Shabbat dinner and my mom’s challah. Those nights deeply resonated with me.

I also give my mom full credit for understanding that informal Jewish education was just as important. Her search led her to Herzl Camp in Webster, Wisconsin, a zionist camp built on a resort that in the early 1900s did not allow Jews on their property. How ironic! I spent 12 summers there and currently serve on the board of directors. I am a past president of the Board.

In my early twenties, I moved to Minneapolis because I wanted to have more Jewish resources for myself and for my future family. Our three girls all go to public school, belong to a conservative synagogue and attend Talmud Torah after school. This is my happy Jewish life. But, recently we found even more….

Working for NECHAMA – Jewish Response to Disaster, a non-profit organization that helps flood and tornado victims restore their homes to a livable environment, I received a call about three years ago from Rabbi Ethan Katz, who represented an NCSY chapter from New Jersey. Rabbi Katz wanted to bring a group of students to work with us. So, as with any other group, I took care of it; I planned the experience for the NCSYers. The group ultimately worked with NECHAMA in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in Texas. The Rabbi called once again, wanting to work with us. At that time, I made some inquiries about NCSY and I was told by a friend, “This is the Orthodox youth group.” So, being the small-town Jew along with living in Minneapolis for 20 years, I had the initial response of, “Oh those people.”

Last fall, I found myself staffing the third disaster clean-up experience for Rabbi Katz’s group, right here in Minnesota. I was nervous, worried, overwhelmed [to meet them] but mostly intimidated by the sheer fact that they were mainly Orthodox.

At the same time, my tenth-grade daughter, Hanah, was invited to an NCSY Cholent and Chat. She had dabbled in USY and BBYO, yet just wasn’t intrigued by those programs. In her first evening with NCSY, she was captivated by the NCSYers, the speaker of the evening and the youth director, Rabbi Tzvi Kupfer. Everyone was inviting and excited to have a new member. At that point, she learned about Torah High and started the following week.

Hanah volunteered with NECHAMA during the time that Rabbi Katz and his group were working in Minnesota. Rabbi Katz and a student, Phil Katz from New Jersey, spoke to her about TJJ and TJJ Ambassadors. She was intrigued yet still unsure about the Orthodox aspect. After working with the group from New Jersey, a few more weeks of NCSY programming, Cholent and Chats and Torah High, she and I both realized that being Orthodox was not intimidating at all. In fact, it is the opposite. It is the most inclusive group of Jews we have ever met. We are part of the family.

Most of my friends ask,[ “How do you feel that Hanah is involved with an Orthodox group? Or if she becomes Orthodox?”] My first response is to educate: NCSY is not there to “convert” Hanah to Orthodoxy. My next response, along with my husband’s, has never wavered. “If this is the right path for our daughter, then we support it.” She is happy, she has wonderful new friends, she is included, she is learning in a totally different environment and loving her Judaism. In short, she is part of the family!

Hanah has now been accepted into the TJJ Ambassadors program and went to the Midwest Yarchei Kallah. I am studying with an educator from Aish and I am planning on going to Israel in May with TAG – The Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project. It is a long way from Sterling, but my journey is far from being over.

Amy Cytron is the Volunteer Coordinator and Development Associate for NECHAMA – Jewish Response to Disaster. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband Todd and three daughters. Amy volunteers at her daughter’s schools, sits on the Youth Commission at her synagogue and currently serves on the board of directors of Herzl Camp.

On each Shabbaton, we enjoyed talking with friends and learning with advisors, and we look forward to everything else. “Everything else” includes the all-night ski trips, white water rafting, and NCSY Summer Programs. I spent my days in sunny Beit Shemesh on Michlelet, while he learned gemara on its companion program, NCSY Kollel. Separated by just 15 minutes, each of us thrived in our respective program. Surrounded by stunning views of the Israeli countryside, I took classes on halacha (Jewish law) and hashkafa (philosophy), listened to lectures from world-renowned speakers, and spent my days hiking in Eilat and working with child victims of terror. Nathan learned well into the night on Kollel’s exciting post-maariv mishmar, and dominated on the basketball court when the 3-on-3 tournament rolled around. Yet every Friday, both of still found time to meet halfway in Mea Shearim, a Jerusalem neighborhood, and catch up over an iced coffee or a frozen yogurt. After that summer, there was no turning back.

Nathan and I both came back ready to dive headfirst back into NCSY-ready to dive back into the Latte & Learning, Torah-By-Phone, Shabbatons, and NCSY havdalahs. Our favorite part of these Shabbatons was always havdalah. As the sky grows darker and Shabbos slips away into the night, the band begins to play. Andthe speaker shares a few words, NCSYers fix their gazes upon different areas of the room; some of them wipe away escaped tears. Riveted, they all listen, diving into self-reflection and emotion. Havdalah is said. Lines of dancing NCSYers begin to take shape while the Regional Board gathers on stage, each holding a flickering candle. As hot wax drips onto their hands and sweat forms on their brows, this group dances tirelessly, savoring their last taste of Shabbos. NCSY instills a love of Shabbos, a longing for Shabbos, in everyone. While Shabbos may be long over by z’man standards, NCSYers still dance and sing the night away. Watching them, we found that there’s something extraordinarily unique about a tight-knit group of more than 300 high school students who really, truly care.

After graduating from Columbus Torah Academy, we weren’t ready to give NCSY up. After talking with our Regional Director, Rabbi Bezalel “Tzali” Freedman, “NCSY Nexxus” was created; Nathan and I became a part of the Central East Region’s very first advisor-in-training program. We were thrilled to be so involved with the program, and even more thrilled to be able to do this together. This fantastic stepping stone from participant to advisor gave us the opportunity to have a more lasting impact on other NCSYers.

For most of the students who come on their first NCSY Shabbaton, it’s their first taste of Orthodox Judaismit’s the first time that they sing Yedid Nefesh during a kumzits, the first time that they slip on a pair of tzitzit, the first time that they keep Shabbos. I take so much for granted, but when I see these kids work so hard on their Judaism, I’m reminded and inspired to put more effort and enthusiasm into my own Judaism. A simple question can turn into an hour-long discussion, a new commitment, and a lifelong understanding. Nathan and I have learned to pause, reconsider, and appreciate. We have both gained so much from our NCSYers, and hopefully we’ve given them something too.

Sometimes, twins go their separate ways when they go to college. Not the Meeses. We decided to continue on together at Ohio State University; both of us are on the pre-medicine track, but Nathan majors in engineering, while I major in journalism. Although we have entered the broader community of the college campus, our NCSY experiences remain a vibrant part of our passion for Judaism. While we may spend more afternoons talking with our physics lab partners than with our Tuesday night “Torah by Phone” partners, and while we might spend more time with people discussing “War and Peace” than “Guard Your Tongue”, both Nathan and I feel fervently connected to the Central East Region, its advisor staff, senior NCSYers, and middle school participants.

A weekend of NCSY in Cleveland or Pittsburgh is a welcome break, physically as well as spiritually. While I still lose my voice after the random bursts of song during Shabbos lunch, and while I still want to collapse after dancing into the night, the electrifying speakers that fly around the world to be with us, and the memory of one hundred voices joined in a heartfelt Acheinu stay with me for weeks afterwards. Everything that we’ve learned, every experience we’ve been a part of, every person who has inspired us, we have brought with us. The inspiring energy that NCSY infuses into the lives of so many Jewish children across the country is what sparks us to sing and to cry, to absorb and to display, to feel so passionately about our heritage. And, believe it or not, that message is contagious.

But it’s not just about Justin. Icons in the world of entertainment are a lot like the ancient pharaohs. They come and go, construct pyramids of fame for finite periods of time, and rely on trusted advisors whenever their pop cult dreams require interpretation or implementation. Enter Joseph, who turns out to be a really interesting side story in the life and times of Justin Bieber.

In this teen performer’s royal court, Joseph is another young phenomenon named Shmuel ben Eliezer, aka Scooter Braun.

The brains and Braun behind the Justin Bieber success story shares more than a few similarities with biblical Joseph; both gained the limelight at age 30 through an unusual set of circumstances, both are providers of ingenious feast/famine organic marketing strategies, both took a dream and correctly adapted it to real world circumstances, and both remained committed to their cultural identity even as their own stars rose in the secular world. Braun, acting as viceroy par excellence, doesn’t just manage his client; he’s also a mentor who’s gone to great lengths to establish a personal relationship with both Justin and his mother, Pattie.

Braun comes from a close-knit family of Hungarian Jews and was raised in a kosher home in Greenwich, Connecticut. Two grandparents, having survived Auschwitz and Dachau, inspired his project for a National History Day contest while he attended middle school. Using unsophisticated video equipment, Braun created a 10-minute presentation on ‘The Hungarian Conflict’, summarizing the plight of Hungary’s Jews before, during and after the Holocaust. The video won an award and was later submitted to Steven Spielberg. Today, that video can still be viewed at Washington, D.C.’s Holocaust Museum.

Braun credits his grandparents and parents for his strong sense of Jewish identity; he takes great pride in his cultural heritage and reminisces about being the only Jew in the public school he attended while growing up:

“There are some Jews who don’t like to speak about who they are. I don’t believe in the post-war mentality of hiding my identity or being the type of Jew who’d walk quietly to the gas chambers. I took a special interest in the history of my grandparents, listening carefully to all of their life stories, even those memories that were difficult and painful. I remember an incident in high school where someone intentionally threw a swastika into a car I was riding in. These kinds of experiences, together with my family’s history, didn’t make me feel ashamed; they made me angry, but more importantly, they also made me strong.”

Braun points out a particular backstage scene captured in “Never Say Never” that includes the repetition of Shema during a prayer circle which precedes all of Bieber’s concert performances.

“When we looked at the final cut of the film, it had been edited out. I insisted it be put back in and Justin’s mother Pattie, a born again Christian, felt the same way. ‘Never Say Never’ isn’t meant to be a film exclusively for teens. Yes, it’s a story about a teen performer who made it big, but there are also some broader messages about hope, inspiration and inclusion. I don’t believe any one heritage is superior to another, although I’m very proud of mine; I think all individuals ought to be able to feel that way.”

Braun’s personal background and the fact that Justin Bieber is scheduled for an April concert in Tel Aviv, led to speculation about a visit to Yad Vashem:

“That’s really up to Justin and his mother”, Braun said, “But we were in Berlin last year, and our driver pointed out that we’d just passed the Jewish museum and Holocaust Memorial. Because there was time to spare, I said I wanted to go in, not asking or expecting Justin to accompany me, but he did. It was a powerful experience and I know he’d never seen anything like that before.”

Braun expects to spend time with his own family in Israel after Bieber’s performance; he has several relatives who live in Israel and served in the IDF, as well as a sibling who attends medical school in Tel Aviv.

“I’m planning to join a family seder during our tour, and Justin asked to share the experience. Justin, because of his Christian heritage, has a strong interest in the land of Israel”.

But Braun’s interests, by his own admission, encompass more than the glitz, glamour and lucrative financial prospects which accompany fame. He’s determined to take responsibility for his father-figure relationship with Bieber, and he professes a very Joseph-like attitude towards success:

“Look,” Scooter said, “…in many ways it comes down to this; with 20,000 people a night telling you that you are the greatest thing on earth, you better be very clear that there is something far more significant above you. Without that awareness, there is no chance of staying grounded.”

When asked about the Israel tour’s timing relative to Passover, Braun’s response was succinct,

“As we say, Next year in Jerusalem”

And to a modern day Joseph, the only possible response is:

Now there’s a dream … and we’ll Never Say Never to that.

Damon: What’s your name?

Jessica: (sobs) Jessica

Damon: Jessica, I have a secret. I have a big one. And I’ve never said it out loud. I mean- what’s the point? It’s not gonna change anything; it’s not gonna make me good…make me adopt a puppy. I can’t be what other people want me to be. What she wants me to be. This is who I am, Jessica.

Jessica: (terrified, plantively) Are you gonna hurt me?

Damon: I’m not sure. Because you (inaudible) choices. Do I kill you? Do I not kill you?

Jessica: Please don’t.

Damon: But I have to, Jessica. Because I’m not human. And I miss it. I miss it more than anything in the world. That is my secret. But there’s only so much hurt a man can take.

Jessica: Please- don’t!

Damon: Okay. You’re free to go.

(She runs. He catches her and bites, killing her.)

What we witness here is Damon’s internal struggle. He wants to be good for Elena but at the same time he feels like that is not the essence of who he is. He’s tired of fighting because he never wins and he is not rewarded with her love even when he does master his darker, baser desires. He lets Jessica go but at the end, his control is not strong enough and he snaps, killing her.

While we are not vampires, in many ways we undergo the same internal struggles that Damon does. In Judaism, this is referred to as the battle between the Yetzer HaTov (the Good Inclination) and the Yetzer HaRa (the Bad Inclination). R’ Avraham ben HaRambam in his Discourse on Aggadah writes, “The yetzer tov is the intellect; the yetzer hara is bodily desire and other such desires.” Leo Levi in his work Torah and Science, page 99, writes similarly: “The drives of man are varied, but the ways of responding to them can be put into two categories: the impulsive and the deliberate reaction. By impulsive we mean a reaction which gives the drives, innate or acquired, full autonomy, without inference by the intellect, while the deliberate reaction is one in which the alternatives are examined and evaluated, including consideration of their long-term effects, before a decision is made. Perhaps we are justified in identifying the evil inclination with the impulsive and the good inclination with the deliberate mode of reacting.”

Had that woman- Jessica- been Elena, Damon would have been able to conquer himself and would have refrained from killing her. Quite to the contrary, he would have laid down his life, if possible, to protect her. However, he chose to accede to his baser desires, needs and impulses and killed Jessica. We understand why he did it- he feels tortured, in incalculable amounts of pain. But the amount of pain one feels does not give one the right to cede control of their actions to their desires and whims rather than to act according to what is noble and good.

Bullying is found in an episode in the desert with a man named Korach. In Numbers 16, Korach and his followers inform Moshe that: “You take too much upon yourself, because everyone in this congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is amongst them. Why then do you lift yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” At first this question seems innocuous. Korach and his followers really don’t understand why Moshe has made a distinction between the Levites, the Israelites and the Priests (Kohanim). But the backstory to this episode shows that sadly this was not the case.

Sanhedrin 109b in the Babylonian Talmud recounts the story from the perspective of Korach’s wife. Having learned that a kinsman was appointed to a higher position than her husband, she became jealous and furious. She attacked her husband in her anger, making fun of him and pushing him to confront Moses.

In her words: “See what Moses has done! He himself has become king; his brother he appointed High Priest; his brother’s sons he has made the vice High Priests. If terumah is brought, he decrees: Let it be for the priest. If the tithe is brought, which belongs to you [i.e., to the Levite], he orders: Give a tenth part thereof to the priest. Moreover, he has had your hair cut off (according to the instructions in Numbers 8:7) and makes sport of you as though you were dirt… ; for he was jealous of your hair.” Said he to her, “But he has done likewise!” She replied, “Since all the greatness was his, he said also, ‘Let me die with the Philistines’ (a reference to Samson, who did not mind dying along with the Philistines so long as he killed them)…” With her unkind words and jabs, she effectively bullied her husband into taking on Moses in a catastrophic fight that ended with Korach’s tent, possessions and family being swallowed by the earth.

It was wrong for Korach to listen to his wife’s unkind remarks; they incited him to fight with Moshe and bring misfortune upon himself and his followers. Similarly, it was wrong for Hanna to allow A to bully her. Recently, Rabbi Burg wrote an entire article about bullying (you can read it here). As he put it, there is no place for bullying in God’s world.

Derek: I couldn’t have done it any better myself. You reassured her. You got her to focused on what was important.
Alex: I’m off the trial.
Derek: What?
Alex: It’s too depressing. I can’t handle this for the next two years.
Derek: You just handled this.
Alex: No. That was Meredith talking. She told me what to say. She’s been saving my *** all day. You need to get over this thing where you’re just thinking of her as your wife. Because your wife is the only person twisted enough to handle this ****. Oh, and that said, I’m on a race for chief resident. And so far I’m kicking ***. So I’d appreciate it if you mention to Dr. Webber that I prioritized the patients’ needs over my personal gain.

Alex knows his limits. That’s what he’s saying when he asks Dr. Shepherd to tell the Chief that he prioritized the patients’ needs over his own personal gain. Knowing his limits, he realizes that he is not the man for this job- Meredith is. This same relationship exists between the characters of Moses and Aaron in the Torah.

Moshe’s sister Miriam hid him amidst the bulrushes, so he was saved by the Nile River. Then, the earth opened to swallow the body of the Egyptian Moses had killed, so the land saved his life as well. Due to this, according to the Midrash, he owed both land and water a debt. In order to teach us the value of Hakarat HaTov, recognition of the good and expressing gratitude and thanks, we see that when God commands Moses and Aaron to execute His will in order to bring ten plagues, the first two are brought about by Aaron, not Moses.

Exodus 7:19 reads: “And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Say unto Aaron: Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.”

Similarly in Exodus 8:1, we read: “And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Say unto Aaron: Stretch forth thy hand with thy rod over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.”

Aaron is the one who is in charge of bringing the plagues that happen with water and land, because he was not the one who benefited from them. His life was not saved due to them. He is the man for the job while Moses is not. Knowing what one can and cannot handle and where your limits are is a concept expressed not only in “Grey’s Anatomy” but also in our very own Torah.

Serena: I don’t mean to take you for granted. It’s just, if we’re being completely honest…
Dan: We are.
Serena: I think that maybe sometimes I test you. You know, I keep thinking that if things get too hard you’ll give up on me. But you never do.
Dan: And I never will. If you really need me, ever, I am there.

On the one hand, that’s very romantic and very sweet. Dan is the man who will always be there, no matter the ways in which Serena mistreats him or otherwise walks all over him. On the other hand, it’s not very kind to Dan. He’s the one who missed his interview waiting for Serena, who was in the undignified position of waiting for Serena to choose him or Nate, who has watched her fall for others countless times by now.

Interestingly, the concept of testing someone in order to see what their breaking point is is not new. In fact, Moses talks about it in Deuteronomy 6:16. “You shall not try to test God, as you tested Him at Massah,” Moses proclaims. He’s referring to the complaints of the Jews in the desert when they wanted water, Moses struck the rock per God’s command and water came forth from the stone. In Exodus 17:7, Scripture elaborates: “And the name of the place was called Massah and Meribah because of the striving of the children of Israel and because they tested the Lord, saying: ‘Is the Lord among us, or not?’

Why does Moses tell the Jews not to test God? Well, it’s similar to the reason Serena shouldn’t really be testing Dan. It’s simply selfish. It’s selfish of Serena to push Dan away just to see whether or not he’ll stay by her side. Similarly, it’s selfish for people to serve God only out of their own self-interest. Self-interest is a great starting place, but fair-weather friendships never last. Neither does fair-weather religion. What Moses is telling his people is that true love comes from trust and trust may mean that you don’t always get what you want right away. When Serena learns to trust Dan rather than testing him, her relationship with him will be a lot healthier. The same goes for the Jews and God.