
Teen Programs
Welcome to Mishkan’s Teen program which is comprised of our Cohen Kadima Middle School Program and our MishTeens high school youth group and activities.
At Mishkan, we create supportive spaces for students to learn and discover, grow, and be curious about their Jewish identity and the world around them. We encourage our students to cultivate their unique voice in the world, champion causes close to their hearts, and to take part in deep Jewish learning.
Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
Mishkan’s arc of middle school programming begins in 6th Grade with the Fundamentals program, aimed at building confidence in foundational Jewish skills and concepts, including Hebrew, Torah study, the prayer service, public speaking, as well as exploring modern Jewish values and issues. Our approach isn’t solely focused on leading a service — it’s about understanding the prayers, contributing insights, and engaging in meaningful social justice work. These are the stepping stones to Jewish adulthood. At Mishkan, this journey isn’t just about a single ceremony; it’s a holistic approach to embracing Jewish life. For more information on our BMitzvah program for 7th Graders, please see the program details.
We invite 8th graders to join us for Snap, a monthly exploration of Jewish identity, history, and stories through photography. We also plan a service trip for 8th Graders to bring Jewish values to life and to support them in their own continued community building. 8th grades are also welcome to join our Ozrim (helpers) Leadership Fellows who assist in our Sunday morning Mensch Academy classrooms.
We invite all 6th-8th Graders to join our Teen Davening Team and our Kadima Middle School Youth Group, which offers monthly activities from a Hanukkah donut crawl to volunteer opportunities. As part of the Kadima Youth Group, middle schoolers create our High Holiday activity fair and our Family Purim Party.
High School (9-12th Grade)
For our high schoolers, MishTeens offers monthly meet ups, where teens enjoy dinner and a monthly speaker series, as well as volunteer opportunities and leadership roles creating our High Holiday activity fair and Family Purim party. High Schoolers are also invited to join our Teen Davening Team and our Ozrim (helpers): Leadership Fellows who assist in our Sunday morning Mensch Academy classrooms.
We’re on a mission to breathe new life into Judaism, and we believe that our teens are at the heart of changing our world.
– Rabbi Ari Moffic, Director of Youth and Teen Experiences, The Cohen Kadima Program
Teen Programs by Grade
6th Grade
In the Fundamentals for 6th Graders program run by Rabbi Ari Moffic, 6th graders will meet weekly to build confidence in foundational Jewish “hard skills” and concepts, including Hebrew, Torah study, the prayer service, public speaking, as well as exploring modern Jewish values and issues. This class focuses on preparing students with the skills that they’ll need as they become BMitzvah at Mishkan. This class is the next step after graduating from Mensch Academy and is required for all 6th Graders planning to become BMitzvah at Mishkan unless they are enrolled in Jewish Day School.
For the 2025-2026 school year, we offer three options:
- Thursdays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm at Mishkan HQ
- Sundays from 9:00 – 10:00 am on Zoom (materials and supplies pick up will be required for project and activities)
6th Graders are also invited to join our Kadima Middle School Youth Group and our Teen Davening Team.
Kadima Middle School Youth Group
Kadima Youth Group offers monthly opportunities, including holiday celebration, volunteering, and designing our High Holiday and Purim Family Activity Fairs! 6-8th Graders are welcome at any and all activities throughout the year!
- August: Teen Design Lab Planning Sessions
- September: High Holiday Teen Design Lab
- October: Sukkot and Simchat Torah Holiday Meet Ups
- November: Volunteer at Uptown Cafe
- December: Hanukkah Donut Crawl
- January: Martin Luther King Day Volunteer at Cradle to Crayons
- January: Tu B’Shvat Beach Clean Up at Montrose Beach and Everybody’s Coffee Tu B’Shevat Seder
- February Teen Design Lab Purim Spiel Planning
- February: Presidents Day Peace Camp in Western Suburbs
- March: Purim Teen Design Lab
- March: Passover Bowling
- April: Volunteer at Care for Real
- May: Shavuot Picnic featuring Teen Davening Team
Teen Davening Team
Calling all musicians, singers, and drummers! Bring your instruments and voices to our Teen Davening Team led by Mishkan Musical Director Matthew Ellenwood. Teen Davening Team meets monthly on Sundays from 5:30 – 6:30pm and performs at Hanukkah, Purim and Shavuot. Rabbi Ari. No previous experience with Jewish music is required!
7th Grade
Kehilat BMitzvah for 7th Graders (which means “BMitzvah Community”), or KBM for short, includes four core family learning sessions in the fall, winter and spring of 7th Grade that are required for all those becoming BMitzvah with Mishkan Chicago. Through the essential pillars of Torah (deep learning), Avodah (prayer & ritual) and Gemilut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness), the KBM cohort will explore the words, sounds, and meanings of the Shabbat service, while also experiencing other rituals together, discussing our views of God and prayer, learning about justice as a Jewish practice, dunking in the mikvah (optional and awesome!), and building relationships with other families in this similar life stage. Additionally, KBM offers 3 optional enrichment workshops: hands on tallit making, tzit tzit tying, and a giving circle. For more information, please see our BMitzvah Program information.
7th Graders are also invited to join our Kadima Middle School Youth Group and our Teen Davening Team.
Kadima Middle School Youth Group
Kadima Youth Group offers monthly opportunities, including holiday celebration, volunteering, and designing our High Holiday and Purim Family Activity Fairs! 6-8th Graders are welcome at any and all activities throughout the year!
- August: Teen Design Lab Planning Sessions
- September: High Holiday Teen Design Lab
- October: Sukkot and Simchat Torah Holiday Meet Ups
- November: Volunteer at Uptown Cafe
- December: Hanukkah Donut Crawl
- January: Martin Luther King Day Volunteer at Cradle to Crayons
- January: Tu B’Shvat Beach Clean Up at Montrose Beach and Everybody’s Coffee Tu B’Shevat Seder
- February Teen Design Lab Purim Spiel Planning
- February: Presidents Day Peace Camp in Western Suburbs
- March: Purim Teen Design Lab
- March: Passover Bowling
- April: Volunteer at Care for Real
- May: Shavuot Picnic featuring Teen Davening Team
Teen Davening Team
Calling all musicians, singers, and drummers! Bring your instruments and voices to our Teen Davening Team led by Mishkan Musical Director Matthew Ellenwood. Teen Davening Team meets monthly on Sundays from 5:30 – 6:30pm and performs at Hanukkah, Purim and Shavuot. Rabbi Ari. No previous experience with Jewish music is required!
8th Grade
Snap for 8th Graders is a year-long exploration of Jewish identity, history, and stories through photography. Led by Rabbi Ari, students will study and take photos, examining the lens through which different stories are told. This class will weave in Israel education by exploring a diverse group of first-person narrative accounts of pre and post statehood, anchored in photography as the backdrop for discussions.
We will meet monthly on Thursdays from 6:30 – 7:30pm at Mishkan HQ and is designed for 8th grade students in the year after their BMitzvah. Family Buildership is a requirement to enroll in Snap.
8th Graders are also invited to join our Kadima Middle School Youth Group, our Teen Davening Team, and Team Ozrim.
Kadima Middle School Youth Group
Kadima Youth Group offers monthly opportunities, including holiday celebration, volunteering, and designing our High Holiday and Purim Family Activity Fairs! 6-8th Graders are welcome at any and all activities throughout the year!
- August: Teen Design Lab Planning Sessions
- September: High Holiday Teen Design Lab
- October: Sukkot and Simchat Torah Holiday Meet Ups
- November: Volunteer at Uptown Cafe
- December: Hanukkah Donut Crawl
- January: Martin Luther King Day Volunteer at Cradle to Crayons
- January: Tu B’Shvat Beach Clean Up at Montrose Beach and Everybody’s Coffee Tu B’Shevat Seder
- February Teen Design Lab Purim Spiel Planning
- February: Presidents Day Peace Camp in Western Suburbs
- March: Purim Teen Design Lab
- March: Passover Bowling
- April: Volunteer at Care for Real
- May: Shavuot Picnic Ft Teen Davening Team
Teen Davening Team
Calling all musicians, singers, and drummers! Bring your instruments and voices to our Teen Davening Team led by Mishkan Musical Director Matthew Ellenwood. Teen Davening Team meets monthly on Sundays from 5:30 – 6:30pm and performs at Hanukkah, Purim and Shavuot. Rabbi Ari. No previous experience with Jewish music is required!
Ozrim: Teen Leadership Fellows (8th – 12th Grade)
Team Ozrim (Helpers) assist in the Mensch Academy classes on Sunday mornings followed by lunch and learning with our youth advisor. Participants receive a stipend or volunteer hours. This program takes place every Sunday of the Mensch Academy school year!
9th - 12th Grade
9th-12th graders are invited to join MishTeens, our high school youth group that meets monthly over dinner. We invite different Jewish educators, thought leaders and organizers as speakers for the students to learn from and build opportunities with. Our high school students also have opportunities to volunteer together and to help plan special programming throughout the year. High Schoolers are also invited to join our Teen Davening Team and join us on our annual service trip led by Rabbi Ari!
MishTeens Leadership Cohort meets once a month from 6:30 – 8:00pm on Sundays. Family Buildership is a requirement to enroll in MishTeens.
Teen Davening Team
Calling all musicians, singers, and drummers! Bring your instruments and voices to our Teen Davening Team led by Mishkan Musical Director Matthew Ellenwood. Teen Davening Team meets monthly on Sundays from 5:30 – 6:30pm and performs at Hanukkah, Purim and Shavuot. Rabbi Ari. No previous experience with Jewish music is required!
Ozrim: Teen Leadership Fellows (8th – 12th Grade)
Team Ozrim (Helpers) assist in the Mensch Academy classes on Sunday mornings followed by lunch and learning with our youth advisor. Participants receive a stipend or volunteer hours. This program takes place every Sunday of the Mensch Academy school year!