Jewish Teens and Social Media: The Good, the Bad and the Inappropriate

In the early 1990s I was an active leader in my synagogue’s high school youth group. Even as a young teen I appreciated the importance of communication in cultivating new members to the congregation’s chapter of United Synagogue Youth (USY) and for keeping current members abreast of upcoming events. This membership communication came in the form of photocopied flyers on colored Xerox paper, phone messages left on the family’s answering machine, and hand drawn posters attached to cork boards with push pins in the synagogue lobby. Once every two months we assembled a cut-and-paste newsletter to be photocopied, stapled and sent to members’ homes.

Teens and Social Media - sheknows.com

Much has changed in the past twenty years when it comes to teens and communication. Everything is now instant. Those mailed event flyers often took as much as a week to arrive in teens’ mailboxes, but today’s texts and tweets arrive in the blink of an eye. Direct communication, of course, has become easier as we’re almost always available to chat. No more leaving messages on answering machines as teens can connect virtually anytime using Skype, FaceTime or text messaging. Parents, however, are often out of the communications process in the 21st century. Each teen has her own cellphone to talk, text and video chat so parents often don’t know what their teens are doing or where they’re going unless they ask (or snoop).

For the most part, the growth of instant communication and social media has been a positive for teens in general and the success of Jewish teenage youth groups in particular. But despite the ways social networks like Facebook and instant messaging services have made it easier for teens to communicate with each other and for Jewish teen leaders to promote their group’s programs in more efficient ways, there are some very scary consequences that come with this high tech communication and social sharing.

Honoring Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

Today is the secular anniversary of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, the preeminent theologian of the 20th century (his yahrzeit on the 18th of Tevet is next week). Many of my teachers at The Jewish Theological Seminary were students of Heschel's and were highly influenced by his thinking and writing.

In Heschel's memory I share my favorite story of Heschel as retold to me recently by Rabbi Gordon Tucker, one of his students: Heschel was sent by the Seminary to a Conservative synagogue to give a speech at a fundraising event. He went on and on for over an hour about his theology of humanity's desire to conquer both Space and Time. It was highly intellectual and far over the heads of many in the audience who quickly lost focus. When Heschel was finally finished with his teaching, the president of the congregation got up and simply said: "You heard the rabbi, the Seminary needs more Space and there isn't much Time!"

Alexander Gould Goes From Weeds to Israel

Last night Showtime aired the 100th episode of its long-running hit Weeds. However, one of the show's most popular actors wasn't watching it when it was first shown since it was the middle of the night for him.

Alexander Gould plays "Shane Botwin" on Weeds, a show about a middle class family from California that gets into the marijuana growing and distribution business after the head of the family suddenly dies. Over the course of the past eight seasons Gould's character has transitioned from a little boy to a young man before our eyes. He has shot a mountain lion, made a terrorist video in which he beheads a little girl, bit his opponent's foot in a karate match, murdered his mother's Mexican nemesis, lost his virginity, become a police officer, and stolen a gang banger's sports car. But that was just acting.

Alexander Gould (far right) moves into Beit Nativ with his USY peers.

Now, he's putting his acting career aside for the year and is adjusting to life in Israel. While fans of the show watched last night as the Botwins returned to their roots in Agrestic, Alex Gould was sleeping in his bed at Beit Nativ in Jerusalem.

Gould is a participant on United Synagogue Youth (USY)'s gap year program called Nativ (Hebrew for "path"). Like other 18-year-old Nativers, Gould is studying in Jerusalem and will volunteer in other areas of Israel. He's currently studying at Hebrew University on Mt. Scopus (Nativers choose between the Hebrew U. track, an Ulpan -- intensive Hebrew language class -- or the Conservative Yeshiva). Early next year, he'll begin his community service project in Yerucham. Following Nativ, Gould will begin college at Clark University in the fall of 2013.

Alexander Gould (far left) and fellow Nativers before Shabbat services.

Gould made his acting debut at the age of six and gained worldwide acclaim as the voice of Nemo, the title character of Disney/Pixar's Finding Nemo animation. Before Weeds, Gould had several guest starring roles on television series like Ally McBeal, Malcolm in the Middle, Law and Order: SVU, Supernatural, and Pushing Daisies. He also was the voice of Bambi in the movie Bambi II and had a voice over role in Curious George. Gould has won awards for his voice over work and for his supporting role in Weeds. In 2007, he won Best Young Ensemble in a Feature Film for his role in How to Eat Fried Worms.

While his co-star Justin Kirk has more of a Jewish themed role and has offered more Hebrew phrases during Weeds' eight seasons on Showtime, Gould screamed the first words of the "Shema Yisrael" during a karate match in an early episode. After spending the year in Israel and learning Hebrew, perhaps Gould will take on future roles in which Hebrew is required.

Despite his busy acting and voice over career, Gould was an active member of USY, the Conservative Movement's youth group, during his high school years. That involvement led him to apply for the Nativ program. Rabbis and youth advisers who got to know Gould through his USY participation in the Far West region during the past few years report that he's a great, humble kid with a lot of friends and is very funny. For Gould, spending the year on Nativ with his Jewish peers is a welcome change from being home schooled as a Hollywood actor.

While Weeds might not have caught on in Israel, it's still likely that Alexander Gould will be recognized in Jerusalem this year. Fortunately for his teachers at Hebrew University, Gould doesn't have the R-rated potty mouth of his TV persona.

The Jewish Education of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder

Today begins Lollapalooza, the weekend-long music festival. I won’t be attending and I’ve never attended a Lollapalooza festival. However, just hearing the name “Lollapalooza” brings back memories from twenty years ago.

In the summer of 1992, I was a 16-year-old on a Jewish teen trip called USY on Wheels. We were halfway into the trip when we arrived in Palo Alto, California. Our bus of 42 teens and four counselors pulled into the parking lot of our hotel and we immediately realized that we weren't the only tour bus in the parking lot. There were rows upon rows of fancy luxury tour buses with beautiful designs covering their entire exterior. It was only when we entered the hotel to check in to our rooms that we learned that all of the performers of Lollapalooza were guests of the same hotel.

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Claire Danes Dig Tel Aviv

Israel's Ministry of Immigration and Absorption might have taken a hit following its ill conceived PR campaign to get Israeli expats to return to Israel, but Tel Aviv is doing great right now in the PR department.

Tel Aviv was on everyone's mind yesterday as news circulated about a planned Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in Tel Aviv next fall and a ringing endorsement about Tel Aviv's rockin' party atmosphere from Claire Danes.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers recently signed a deal to perform in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park in September to promote their tenth album. The concert will take place 11 years after the Chili Peppers canceled a performance in Tel Aviv at the last minute in September 2001. The band's first guitarist, Hillel Slovak, was an Israeli who moved to the United States as a child. Slovak died of a heroin overdose in 1988 before the band became famous.

I had a chance to meet the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Palo Alto, California in July 1992 while I was a participant on the USY on Wheels summer youth tour and the Chili Peppers were performing in Lollapalooza.  It so happened that my group was staying in the same hotel as all of the Lollapalooza bands including Pearl Jam. I spent a few minutes talking with Anthony Kiedis of the Chili Peppers while we were waiting for an elevator. Like Pearl Jam, the band has had a very successful run over the past two decades and I'm sure they won't have a hard time selling out their Tel Aviv show.

While the Chili Peppers were signing their names to their Tel Aviv concert agreement, actress Claire Danes was singing Tel Aviv's praises to Conan O'Brien. Talking to the late night host on "Conan," Claire Danes remarked that Tel Aviv (where she filmed part of Showtime's "Homeland") is the most intense party town she's ever been to. She theorized that the reason for this was that it's a very stressful environment and its citizens need to blow off steam.

Most people took Claire Dane's observations about Tel Aviv as a ringing endorsement, but David Abitbol, the founder of Jewlicious, called her theory of Tel Aviv being so stressful into question:

That’s a great observation Claire. It is indeed very stressful in Tel Aviv! Folks stress out over things on a daily basis like “should I get an Americano or a Capuccino?” or “When is that last bus to Holon!?” or “How will I convince the IDF draft office that I am a religious girl now that all those intense party photos of me are on Facebook?” Oh the humanity.

Personally, I think it was great to hear a celebrity saying positive things about Israel on late night TV. Maybe Claire Danes will return to Tel Aviv in September 2012 for the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert? I'm sure she'd have fun at the after parties.