New innovation to engage Jewish teens

It is well known, that the hardest demographic to involve in Jewish life are teens. After bar/bat mitzvah many feel they have completed their Jewish education, not to mention the many after school programs and extra curricular activities making it increasingly difficult for high school students to join for classes and Jewish social events.

With this in mind, Chabad and CTeen of North Orlando are bringing local teens a new innovation free of charge, called JText. Here's how it works:

Every Monday and Thursday at 7 p.m, a Jewish Trivia multiple-choice question is sent out.

Each participant responds with the number they believe is correct. The 7th person to answer correctly wins a $20 gift card.

There is a 2-hour window, providing all participants with adequate time to answer.

JText has featured a range of questions from "Which country had the earliest settlement of Jews?" to "Who were the first set of twins in the Torah?" to "Which location celebrates the longest Shabbat?" Following the question, the text includes 4 multiple-choice answers. Teens receiving the text can respond "1," "2," "3," or "4." Once they submit an answer, the teens immediately receive a response telling them if they are correct or not. 

With teens being on their phones approximately 1,440 minutes a day, JText is a great way to meet them where they are. As one JText player, put it, "Teens can put their time on their phones to good use by learning important Jewish facts with JText."

"Chabad has always been on the cutting edge of technology and using it to make Torah and Judaism more accessible to all," said Rabbi Yanky Majesky of Chabad North Orlando. "Our goal is to engage the teens Jewishly on a fun creative way, where they are, this project does just that."

"JText is a simple concept, rich with Jewish values and thought. It's a real win-win-win," said Chanshy Majesky of Chabad North Orlando "We were looking for a program that could attract the broad spectrum of teens that we engage with, and this one fit the bill perfectly."

JText is open to all Jewish teens from bar/bat mitzvah through high school. To sign up, simply text the word "JoinJText" to 407-612-2552. For any questions, please contact Rabbi Yanky Majesky 407-636-5994 or Rabbi@JewishNorthOrlandocom.