Rodef Sholom: A Reform Jewish Congregation in Marin County, California

CRuSTY is a youth group that participates in a larger family of Jewish youth group events – NFTY. NFTY (pronounced nifty) stands for North American Federation of Temple Youth, and is for 9th-12th graders. The Bay Area region, NFTY-CWR (Central West Region) holds events at URJ Camp Newman every two months. NFTY is an inspirational and exciting way to connect with Judaism in the best way possible – hundreds of Jewish teens coming together, praying together, learning together, all while having a fantastic time. NFTY's goals are to instill Jewish identity, increase synagogue participation amongst high school youth, foster long-term commitment to the ideals and values of Reform Judaism and to create today the Reform Jewish congregants of tomorrow. NFTY has regional and even international conclaves throughout the year. They provide an exciting opportunity to meet teens from other Reform congregations. Programs at conclaves are social, educational, spiritual and recreational in nature, and often focus on tikkun olam, repairing the world.

Here's an example of a great CRuSTY program from Spring 2011:

CRuSTY's Chocolate Seder
On Thursday, April 21, 2011, CRuSTY hosted our first Chocolate Seder! As a new youth group, CRuSTY has hosted many events, but this one was by far our best. With chocolate eggs, chocolate matzos, chocolate milk, and altered Haggadot in place of hard-boiled eggs, bland matzos, wine, and traditional Haggadot, the 35 people who attended said the prayers like any regular Seder (but it was much more entertaining!) We laughed, sang, searched for the Afikomen, all while keeping up a customary Seder – well, something close to customary. Keep a lookout for more events soon, that will be guaranteed be fun for everyone! For more information on our youth group or events, email our CRuSTY youth group advisor, Alissa Robinow.

Who we are:
The members of CRuSTY are Rodef Sholom's teen leaders. With help from our advisor, Alissa Robinow, we plan fun events with the goal of inspiring members of Rodef Sholom to connect with themselves and their future selves in Judaism. If you are at all interested in joining our youth group, you can contact our advisor at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or any of the CRuSTY board members:

• Danny Robinow (President) : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Toby Pechner (President) : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Madi Elkins (Social Action Vice President) : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Talia Gilbert (Social Action Vice President) : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Alexa Swartz (Membership Vice President) : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Cayli Swartz (Programing Vice President) : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Miriam Lester (Secretary) : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Gabe Robinow (Treasurer) : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Jackson Mercer (Religious and Cultural Vice President ) : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Hannah Unkrich (9th Grade Rep) : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Lauren Abrahams (11th Grade Rep) : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text80276 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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