I was touched that a 13 year old Bar Mitzvah boy with an extensive Jewish background was inclined to reach out to his peers who may or may not have such a background and some may not even wish to set foot in a Synagogue after the apex of the Bar Mitzvah. There are so many ways for a young boy to be Jewish as he evolves into manhood combining a Jewish and a non-sexist approach. Moving Traditions was founded on these principles of a non-elitist, inclusive and profound sense of belonging. MT began the Rosh Chodesh services for girls; MT is now launching "The Brotherhood-Shevet Achim Gam Achim" for boys.
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I met Sally Gottesman when she was first thinking of the name for her organization. Sally would never use her own namae. I was present when she thought of Movong Traditions as a name. Indeed not only does this organization move, but it is heartfelt, moving. It has touched girls across the country at a taime when they need to bond together. It has inspired older women to have a Bat Mitzva. It is now seeking to understand boys and find ways to bring them back into the fold after their Bar Mitzvas. I am volunteering my grandson who is in the University of Pa. to help in this regard.
Rosh Hodesh has proved a great way to learn about my religion and connect with other girls of my faith. I really enjoyed doing activities. I've made new friends and new connections. Rosh Hodesh is a place where I can learn, speak my mind, connect with others, and have fun. Keep up the good work!
I love Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing, but I think I like it mainly because I can interact and get to know my girl friends that i don't get to see most days. Also, we get to understand the world around us and our personal lives a little better. I do feel that the activities that we do are a little childish or not necessary or just uncomfortably awkward. This group is not supposed to be awkward, but to be fun and enjoyable.
I really love Rosh Hodesh: its a girl thing! I look forward to each meeting every month! I have become so close with my fellow members. we've built such a strong bond that allows us to speak freely and know that no one will judge. It is a fantastic program that has enabled me to look at issues in a jewish perspective as well as through other girls eyes. I truly cherish each and every meeting.
I really benefited from Rosh Chodesh at my synagogue. We had so much fun, and I got to see many of my friends that I do not get to see on a regular basis. It also really helped me connect with growing up to be the best Jewish woman I can be, since we learned about many Jewish female role models. Overall, it was truly an amazing experience.
I'm part of a Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing group in Denver, and mostly I am having a blast! Sometimes the activities are a little overrated, and I wish we could talk and express differently, without dancing around the 'issue' or topic of the month before we dive deep into it. But mostly I think it's great. Kudos to Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing!!!
After finding out about Rosh Hodesh:It's a Girl Thing! I just knew it was something I needed to be involved in by helping make connections in the SF Bay Area. The staff and board are deeply committed to Judaism and education, all through the lens of gender.
I think that Rosh Hodesh, a program that's under the umbrella of Moving Traditions is one of the most effective and creative Jewish Education tools that I've seen in years. Especially in smaller communities it brings Jewish Teens together in a meaningful and supportive way (often Rosh Hodesh is the only Jewish Experience these teens have). I have seen groups of teen girls become so comfortable to share with one another, and all within a Jewish lens...I LOVE Rosh Hodesh and am so grateful for Moving Traditions for giving it a life!!!
Our Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing group the past two years has brought girls together and enabled them to empower themselves to be individuals with strong Jewish values and identities. We have discussed the many different facets of their ages group in regards to social development, health and peer pressure. All of this we tie into their Judaism. Friendships have been made and nourished. This values based group is an activity that the girls will remember and learn from for many years.
I am a group leader for Rosh Hodesh: it's a girl thing! at a Conservative synagogue in suburban Philadelphia. The program is incredibly well thought out, with creative and thought-provoking activities that engage and excite the 6th grade girls in my group. The training and support provided by Moving Traditions is top notch.
I am executive director of a Jewish outreach organization that serves primarily Jews and their loved ones who are not connected with the organized Jewish community. We have just started our first Rosh Hodesh - It's a Girl Thing! program this fall. The training and support by staff and the curriculum materials are outstanding, and helped us feel very confident that we could be successful with the program. Recruiting was easy, our first group is excited about participating. We plan to keep RH - IaGT! an important part of our offerings.
Thank you so much for making Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing available to girls in our area. My daughter, who is a sophomore in college, still draws on what she learned from that experience as a 7th grader. Now, as I learn more about the program as a volunteer I've come to appreciate even more the serious and thoughtful work that goes into making the materials so informative, interactive and rich, and its leaders so well prepared. Deborah, thank you for all you do to insure this work continues at such a high standard. Judy Elkin, Boston
This will be the 5th year for my daughter. She loves her group, her leader and the messages that come forward -- they have given her fresh perspective and built her self-esteem at a time when the media can be so destructive. Just wish my 7th grader were open to this experience, but she hasn't connected yet, hopefully she'll give it a chance. Thank you, Moving Traditions!!!
From the moment I was trained as an educator for Moving Tradtitions-Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing, I knew this was it! Just last Tuesday, at my first Rosh Hodesh meeting of the year, I said to my girls/participants "I WISH this existed when I was your age"!! I do believe the girls understand and agree. There's no hiding how available these young ladies become to themselves and each other through this amazing program. There's certainly noway of denying its lasting impact on each and every participant when you hear each fall what the girls missed about Rosh Hodesh during the summer months. They're connection to each participant and their knew found connection to themselves is ever lasting and miraculous. We're all so incredibly lucky to be part of a project like this!!
Moving Traditions, It's a Girl thing, has transformed our community. Girls who might now otherwise connect on a personla basis are forming life-long friendships becasue of the trust and intimacy that is inherent in the curriculum. For several years they have tried valiantly to hire a local administrator so the program can be connected city-wide, but the right person has not yet emerged. We hope to try again. We look forward to including boys in Dallas.
As a group leader, I have seen the girls develop self confidence, self esteem, create lasting friendships and have a safe space where they can talk about topics that are a part of their everyday lives.
They do very important work in the Jewish community securing the gains of Jewish Feminism! The Executive Director is brilliant and creative person as are many of the staff.
I am the Coordinator of RoHo IAGT at my synagogue. Since we are a small synagogue, we've combined with another small synagogue. We started 2 new groups of 6th and 8th grade girls and continued already established groups of 9th and 11th grade girls. The old groups are small (7 - 9 girls) but it amazes me how committed the girls are to attending the monthly meetings. Moving Traditions provides fantastic support and engaging training (free of charge) to make the program a success. The girls at my synagogue thank you Moving Traditions!
Rosh Hodesh "It's a Girl Thing" is a wonderful way for Jewish girls with different educational backgrounds (day school and public school) to get together on a monthly basis and talk about current issues facing today's teens in the framework of Jewish values/beliefs. The girls have the ability to haven open discussions centered around a Jewish topic, all relating to their current experiences in the sometimes difficult world today. What an inspiration it is to hear them share and advise each other while growing together Jewishly!
My daughter was involved in one of the first local Rosh Hodesh groups organized by It's a Girl Thing. For those 13 year old Jewish girls, it was the best/only place that brought together kids from different schools, camps, synagogues, and movements, and let them do meaningful, age-appropriate, Jewish activities. Those girls stayed together for 5 years!
I have been one of many women who have chosen to donate money to this group over the last 5 years; since its beginning at our synogoue. We have seen how this group helps solidify friendships, permits a safe place to discuss private matters with other peers, and grow. Each year we see more participants ask their parents to join Rosh Hodesh. This is refreshing that a synagogue offers a girl's group that girls want to attend!
In 2007-8 I led a group of girls once a month in a learning program called Rosh Hodesh It's a Girl Thing by Moving Tradition.
I was trained through Moving Traditions in July 2007 to become a group leader for Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing! for my synagogue. I came away blown away by the program and the organization for their vision, creativity, superior personnel, support, and outreach. The program is phenomenal and has been very successful in our synagogue, providing pre-adolescent and adolescent girls a way to navigate their world, build self-esteem and build community through crafts, discussion, journal-writing, and role-playing, all through the lens of Jewish tradition. I have felt supported and encouraged as a group leader by Moving Traditions.
I attended the training for Rosh Chodesh: It's a Girl Thing, but did not turn out to be a faciltator. I am completely impressed with this organization and it's goals. When I was a young girl, I went away to camp most summers and attended Jewish camps. This group brought me back to the experience. Girls being girls dealing with ther issues of our time, but bonding in traditions and the uniqueness of being Jewish girls together, like sisters or cousins is so important the the foundation of Jewish life. I was glad to be introduced to it and sorry that I couldn't get my age group together. Maybe next year. The trainors and staff were highly organized and wonderful.
"Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing!" is truly a gift that we can give our daughters! It is also a blessing for parents. This program of "Moving Traditions" provides my teenage daughter and her friends the opportunity to bond with other girls, and a safe, adult led forum for talking about issues in her life, e.g. peer pressure, body image, the media, dating, competition, family, etc. The best part is, that she and her friends have tons of fun at each gathering! They love it! It is a well-thought out and researched program, not parent led -- one of the reasons the girls can talk freely. I wish every child had a program like "Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing!" I think it would give all their parents much greater peace of mind. I'm so pleased that "Moving Traditions" is putting together a comparable program for teenage boys.
Although I recently began as a group leader for Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing!, I can see what a great program it is and the huge positive impact that it can have on the group leaders and the girls who participate in it. I would have loved to be involved in a program like this when I was younger.
I am group leader for Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing. My girls (grades 6 and 7) love being a part of this group. It is so wonderful for them to feel like a part of something at this, sometimes difficult stage, in their adolescent lives. When the girls come to my home we talk, we eat, and discuss important issues that they face today, while relating themes back to biblical times. The girls feel so comfortable knowing they can come and talk and just be themselves, without any feeling of being judged. I wish I had this opportunity when I was 12 years old!
Wonderful organization with program and support materials to strengthen young women and and empower them to be successful independent adults.
About five or six years ago, our synagogue offered the opportunity for my daughter to participate in a Rosh Chodesh group that was to meet once a month in the girls' homes on a rotation basis. The leader of the group was to be a young woman who was receiving training to run such a group. She had also had experience working with girls this age in a professional capacity as well. Since joining, this group has become a very important part of my daughter's life. Nothing comes in the way of her attending a Rosh Chodesh meeting. Entire weekends revolve around the 4 - 6 pm Sunday time slot! The relationships she has cultivated with this group will certainly last a lifetime. The girls have experienced highs and lows with each other, sharing milestones and sad events as well. The leader of the group is a young woman who has served as a role model and confidante for my daughter. She is one in whom I place enormous trust. I am only sorry that my older daughter did not have this opportunity.
Last fall our synagogue implemented the Rosh Hodesh: It's A Girl Thing! program that was created by Moving Traditions. My daughter is a member of the initial group of 7th and 8th grade girls that was formed. They have been meeting once a month for the past year and intend to continue through high school. This has done so much for her self-esteem as well as her sense of Jewish identity.
I had the privilege of participating in and observing a training session for the new leaders of Rosh Hodesh as they implemented their new curriculum. First of all, the curriculum itself was well written and documented. Secondly, the energy enthusiasm and competence of the trainers was palpable. The women in training also benefited not only from the written syllabus but the interactive approach.
As Director of Education at a Jewish complimentary school I have options for many programs for my students. Rosh Hodesh is a wonderful program that has helped our girls bond in a way that no other program has done as well as connecting them Jewishly to a world that is meaningful for them. This is an incredibly well done program. Bravo for Moving Traditions!!!
I was fortunate enough to facilatate a group of Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing! girls. Through the process I could see how engaged these girls became to the programs and to the girls in the group. A "safe space" was created for honest discussion. We had the touchstones of our Jewish traditions on which to build and draw upon. I truly believe the program builds strength of character and does counteract the messages of mass media.
For six years, every month except July, I would meet with a "Rosh Chodesh Group"- a program run by Moving Traditions. We had two facilitators, both social workers, and then a group of girls that started at 10 and ended up at five over the years, all the same grade, that would meet. We would have a different basic topic every month, all pertaining to the various issues of our young lives. For two years, 10th & 11th grades, we had a leadership program. We learned about different roles in the group, delegating, time keeping & management, staying on task, and planning events. These skills have helped me tremendously in every work place & every situation with which I am in charge. I am still in contact with both the facilitators and the group members that I spent these 6 years with, and they are now my friends & support group for life.
A Moving Traditions regional supervisor asked me to start a Rosh Hodesh group for girls---two years ago. Moving Traditions was extremely helpful in working with us to train our Rosh Hodesh group leader as well as to help us with details in getting the group up and running. Our Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing group has made a huge difference for our girls in the group.
One of the best Jewish organizations, Moving Traditions finds ways to help educate girls and boys in new and unique ways. They educate the whole person, not just academically but are committed to helping adolescents with self-esteem, friendship and becoming strong and ethical people. I am a Rosh Hodesh: It's a girl thing leader and love it more than any of my other experiences working with teens in the Jewish community.
I have been facilitating a Rosh Chodesh group annually now for almost 8 years with new girls coming into the program every 2 years. I was asked to participate as a facilitator in the program when it was just beginning and have seen the impact it has made in the spiritual lives of Jewish girls who have many questions and concerns as they navigate the psychological perils and secularisms of modern life. I too have experienced so much joy from being involved in the Moving Traditions Rosh Chodesh program. I have become more spiritually aware of time, cycles, and honoring that which is most "awe"some in the experience of being a woman. I believe that sharing traditions with young teen girls has enhanced my own life deeply. As I work with Moving Traditions, I have often known that I am not alone in helping to guide my group. There is always a willing and able person to guide the transitions of groups behind the scenes. I have had wonderful mentorship in the program from the very beginning.
I've been in Moving Traditions' "Rosh Hodesh: It's A Girl Thing" for 5 years (this year being my 6th). Rosh Hodesh has played a prominent role in enriching my transition from a preteen to a teen, teaching me life lessons that I may have never learned on my own. Because of Rosh Hodesh, I have learned how to connect to others, myself, judaism and femininity. The girls in my group are now some of my best friends and I am very thankful for the opportunity.
Moving Traditions provided my daughter with its Rosh Hodesh for girls program at a critical time when she was begining to explore her identity and especially her Jewish identity. The engaging, thought-provoking, and fun curriculum I think made my daughter more centered in her life, more appreciative of her Jewish identity and history, and led her to make wise choices when confronting peer pressure and forming relationships.