The Peltz Center for Jewish Life now houses a new Chabad teen lounge for highschoolers of the Homestead Jewish Club to use for events and recreation. The Club is a chapter of CTeen, an international network of Jewish teens.
The newly remodeled lounge is equipped with a Nintendo gaming console, a ping-pong table, a pool table, arcade machines, and a tzedakah box.
“The prospect of having a space for Jewish teens to relax is so vitally important, which is why we are all so excited about the opening of this lounge,” Shayna Bronstein said in a speech at the lounge’s grand opening on Jan. 21. Bronstein is co-president of the Homestead Jewish Club and a senior at Homestead High School.
In other speeches, club board members discussed how the Homestead Jewish Club keeps Jewish youth engaged through events such as weekly lunches, cultural programs and holiday celebrations. With the new lounge, the club now has a home base where students can gather to socialize and participate in religious activities, they said.
Co-president Netta Givly, a senior at Homestead, addressed antisemitism in her speech, seeking to show support. “We all belong here, and it’s a safe space for all of us,” she said.
“I am able to expand on my Jewish knowledge with the help of people who have become my friends,” said Libby Becker, club co-president and a junior at Homestead High School. “Coming from a not extremely conservative family, it’s helped me learn my religious journey on my own.”
Rabbi Moshe Rapoport, CTeen Mequon director, thanked the sponsors of the lounge, CTeen International based in Brooklyn, N.Y. and the Harri Hoffmann Family Foundation.
Givly helped to spread the word about the grand opening. Sarah Baram, a Philadelphia native and current director of youth programming a CTeen Mequon, who is contributing through a year-long internship also helped.
The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by the affixing of a mezuzah by club board member Solomon Marx, who offered a blessing for the new space.
“It’s a great space for Jewish kids to hang out, put on tefillin, and have a Diet Coke with your rabbi,” Marx said.
The lounge will be open to students on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3-5 p.m.
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