Posted by Max S

Program Host	Chapter
Host Region and Chapter	Cotton States RABBI ISAAC WINICK AZA
Program Type	Athletic Brotherhood Education Entertainment Israel Jewish Holiday Judaic Prayer/Services Separates Shabbat Social Social Action Spirituality
Time Required	2-5 hours
Target Population(s)	Boys (AZA) Members Prospective Members Alephs-in-Training Teen Leaders Freshmen Sophomores Juniors Seniors 8th Graders Parents Chapter Members and Prospective High School members
Folds Targeted	Judaic Education Social
People Participating	10-30

Program Summary:

This AZA Shabbat service and program is the perfect way for Alephs to reconnected with their Jewish and AZA heritage, as well as connect to their brother Alephs though innovative programming.  

Full Description:

The reason for this program is to remind us of why we are all together as a brother, for we are all Jewish. On this AZA Shabbat 2009, Winick AZA #420 gathered at member Britt Sturm's house for the service and activities.  This program is centered around Judaism and should be spent relaxing and having a good time like it is said to do on Shabbat.

Allow time for people to arrive:
While we waited for our fellow brother Alephs, we played a game of basketball.

"The Jewish Values Matrix" Program: "The Jew Inside of Me"
When everyone got there we started the actual program with a small but meaningful activity that opened everyone up and showed the chapter a little about who the person was. The activity was called the Jewish Values Matrix. Everyone walked into the room and picked from a pile of cards labelled with different jewish values on them (Keeping kosher, respecting parents, not lying, loving thy neighbor, caring about the environment). Each participant found one that they connected to the most and posted it up on a large poster board. The group then took all the values available and talked about which values are most important to each individual Aleph, and why. In the end, together we came up with a list of 5 values that the whole chapter agreed on and it became our master list of Jewish Values. Now, in the future, we can look back on those values from AZA Shabbat 2009 and plan programs based upon them.

Traditional Shabbat Dinner:
**Many chapter members had never experienced a genuine Shabbat dinner**
After opening up with an interactive activity we gathered around one long table for a kosher dinner which was provided by the host. Together as a whole, the chapter sang hamozti and did kiddush and candles. After eating a wonderful meal we gave thanks and did our own version of birkhat hamazon which got the whole chapter involved and singing with great enthusiasm. It was a lot of fun to hear.

Interactive Shabbat Service:
Next on the agenda was the service. At home, I had put together a basic service based off of the Cotton States Service Booklet (If you would like to run this program, any Friday Night Service is applicable). I found the Cotton States Booklet very meaningful because my chapter, having gone to numerous regional programs, was familiar with the structure and joined in on many of the prayers during the service.  The service took 30-45 minutes.

The AZA Shabbat Script, Interactive Activity, and Discussion:
Every AZA Shabbat, a cermemony accompanies the program. The whole chapter gathered in a room with 7 candles in a circle. These seven candles represented one of each of the 7 cardinal principals on which our AZA order was founded. The Godol greets everyone and the official ceremony begins. In this ritual, the theme for the 2009 AZA shabbat is introduced and the chapter has a discussion on that topic.  The discussion can be as long or short as the leader of the ceremony pleases.

Along with the discussion, I had an activity planned that the chapter participated in. It went along with the theme of the program, the 2009 AZA Shabbat theme was "Jews around the world". The activity focused mainly on different cultures around the world and how we compare to them. I found pictures online of people from different cultures and countries from around the world in their traditional dress and attire. I posted the pitures all around the room and numbered each picture from 1-10. People in the chapter would then go around looking at the pictures and guess what country they thought that person was from on a sheet of paper that was numbered from 1-10. The person with the most right won a bag of bamba which is a yummy israeli treat.

Closing of the Program:
When the discussion and activity ended, the whole chapter began to wind down and just relax like it is traditionally done on Shabbat. All in all, the program was very succesful and got a great appreciation from the chapter.

The cost of this program was free and we had the host's mother at the program as well as our advisor for supervision. We  decided to make this program an overnight event to increase brotherhood within our chapter.  

Submitter's Suggestions:

-make sure all aspects of the program are planned out way beforehand
-make sure the chapter is respcetive of the leaders and other members

Supplies: paper, pens, printed pictures, 7 candles, Shabbat service, AZA Shabbat ceremony script, dinner, pile of cards each with a different Jewish value

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