It Takes a Village: What It Means to Be a Jewish Young Person Today in the UK

As the previous chapter makes clear, the life of a Jewish teenager is punctuated by rituals and rites of passage heavily centred on the family and the family home. This next chapter looks at the rhythms of Jewish life through the eyes of our cohort, establishing what changes as young people age and what stays the same over time. The focus of this chapter, “what it means to be a Jewish young person today,” is actually one of the key themes that runs through every chapter of this book. What marks this chapter as distinct is that we look at some of the key events and opportunities outside of school during which and by means of which young people construct their lives’ Jewish meaning. At these special life-stage moments, what it means to be a young Jewish person comes into heightened focus. These moments include their bar/bat mitzvah coming of age celebration, their involvement with Jewish youth movements, their first visit to Israel, their transition onwards from a full-time Jewish educational institution, and finally their participation university based Jewish activities.