More than 100 teenagers from Jewish youth groups across New York City’s tri-state area descended on a wooded park in West Milford, N.J., for two hours of paintball fun and a massive barbeque designed to boost their collective Jewish pride.
The event, coordinated by the Chabad Teen Network – a program with branches at more than 40 Chabad-Lubavitch centers across the United States and Canada – was a welcome beginning to the summer, said 14-year-old Milford resident Grant Brazer.
“I came to play paintball and it was amazing,” he said. “Chabad gave us fantastic food and they let us have a great experience meeting new people and getting to play together.”
The June 6 end-of-year bash brought together teens from 10 different communities.
It followed a fall C-Teen trip where 70 participants toured Midtown Manhattan and Jewish institutions in Brooklyn.
Rabbi Mendy Korer, coordinator of teen programming at Lubavitch on the Palisades in Tenafly, said that the feeling of unity was palpable.
“When all the teens got together for the group photo, they all screamed, ‘We love you rabbi!’ ” said an equally excited Korer.
“In just a short period of time, they formed a very deep connection.”
Rabbi Michoel Goldin of Friends of Lubavitch of Bergen County said that participants created a buzz for the outing on their Facebook pages.
“Among the most important things that kids can take from this is that they don’t feel like they’re the only four or five teens in their youth group,” said Goldin. “They’re a part of a much-greater group.”
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