10th & Confirmation

News | 8th | 9th | 10th & Confirmation | LAFTY

By Rabbi Alissa Forrest

While visiting Temple Isaiah for my interview, I was asked by a congregant, “What really is Confirmation?”  Over the past few years the students, families, teachers and clergy of our congregation have been struggling with this question.  Last year, the 10th grade curriculum cleverly renamed the program “The Class Formerly Known as Confirmation,” sometimes calling it “Nonformation” as a reaction to this ambiguity.  When asked the question, I too was lost for an answer.  Thus as I began to prepare for my role as Director of Teen School and more specifically Confirmation teacher and coordinator, I went on a quest to find a meaning for this experience and develop a curriculum that will engage our students and deepen their connection to Judaism and the Jewish people.

So what does it mean to participate in Confirmation?  The answer lies in the word itself—con-firm. 

The first part of this word, “con” means “together; with; or jointly.” As B’nai Mitzvah our children enter into Jewish adulthood as individuals, sharing words and ideas from their own hearts.  As Confirmands, they stand together with their peers.  Through Teen School, Anachnu, LAFTY, and more, our teens develop deep and committed friendships.  Confirmation is a year to strengthen this bond.  Through intimate classroom discussions, a meaningful retreat and a trip to Washington, D.C. our students will learn to challenge each other on issues facing our community today while also learning how to support one another during difficult times. 

The second part of the word, “firm” means “to steady or tighten.”  During this final year of formal education at Temple Isaiah, the 10th grade students will reflect on their many years of Jewish education.  As they learn with the clergy, they will be given the opportunity to ask the questions that have been left unanswered, challenge the ideas they don’t understand, and grow closer to the values and lessons learned over the last ten years. So this year we are RECONFIRMING Confirmation as a year of searching, questioning, and bonding with one another.

The highlight of our new Confirmation program is a weekend trip to the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) in Washington, D.C.  The Confirmation students will travel with Rabbi Forrest and Deb Phillips for an intense four-day kallah focusing on public policy and social activism through a Jewish lens.  They will hear from experts from both inside and outside of the Jewish community as well as meet with political leaders from California.  The students will also have an opportunity to tour the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and experience Havdalah services at one of the Memorials.  After the trip, the Confirmation students will infuse their experience and learning into Temple Isaiah community.  For more information about the RAC, visit http://www.rac.org.