âIt gave me my voice. It helped me evolve as a person,â says 18-year-old Rachel Wilkes of her years with CTeen, the Chabad teen network. âIt showed me that I can be who I want to be.â
The native of Hollywood, Fla., is off to study for a year in Israel, but before thatâand right after graduating high schoolâshe made time to attend the fourth annual CTeen Leadership Retreat. She joined 200 other young people and Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries who participated last month in a long weekend of workshops, lectures, discussions and a traditional Shabbat in Pennsylvaniaâs Pocono Mountains.
One of the older teens there, Wilkes shared some of the tools she uses to connect with peers who are not affiliated with their Judaism. âWhatâs inside of others, I try to bring out,â she explains. âPeople want to grow, and I want to inspire them. I want to be that person for them.â
In the few weeks since the gathering, Wilkes says one girl texted that she has now started lighting Shabbat candles.
The retreat also offered training sessions for Chabad emissaries new to directing CTeen chapters throughout the world, including in Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Leeds, Munich and Rio de Janeiro.
Noted author, teacher and lecturer Rabbi Y.Y. Jacobson served as scholar-in-residence. Also present was Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos LâInyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
In Ryan DaCostaâs first year of involvement, he attended the leadership retreat and the annual CTeen International Shabbaton in New York City back in February. Even though the rising high school senior lives in Suffern, N.Y., with its significant Jewish population, he says he never realized how many Jews were in the world until he joined these events.
âIâve met teens from France, Singapore, Canada and all over the United Statesâit just kind of happens, meeting new people through teamwork and lessons and downtime. You have conversations about what you have in common, and how we are all linked, all one community,â says the 17-year-old.
âChabad was a big shift for me,â attests DaCosta, âbut it opened me up to new schools of thought. I now have a greater comfort level with being Jewish. Itâs been life-changing.â
âA Good Part of Youâ
It was Haley Flambaumâs first leadership retreat as well, even though sheâs been active with CTeen for several years and been to the New York Shabbaton twice. She enjoyed the more intimate experience in the mountains, exchanging tips about how to be a strong leader.
âYou really connect and have a good time with a limited number of people,â says the 17-year-old rising high school senior from Chadds Ford, Pa. âYou have the opportunity to express your Jewish pride; you learn that religion is a good part of you. That can be hard in school, especially when there arenât many other Jews.â
During four days of programming, emissaries engaged in topics such as team-building strategies, mental-health awareness and how to delegate tasks effectively. The different teen chapters and their advisers also worked together to plan events for the upcoming year.
Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, executive director of Merkos Suite 302, which oversees CTeen, was impressed by the participantsâ reactions and responses. âWatching the next generation of shluchim and teen leaders prepare for their roles,â he says, âwas inspiring and uplifting.â
Oryah Lahijani, 17, of Wilmington, Del., thought the leadership retreat was a âlearning experience like no other.â
And thatâs after the rising 12th-grader, introduced to CTeen in eighth grade, has been to four New York Shabbatons, and taken part in last summerâs inaugural trip to Poland and Israel.
Lahijani says she returns home from these adventures refreshed and inspired: âThe emissaries and experiences lead you on the right path to being a well-rounded person, and a better leader and communicator. They help build who you are, what you believe in and how you can grow. You put yourself out thereâand get so much back in return.â
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