Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on December 4, 2014

Rabbi Yitzchak Sakhai (right), program director of STAR, at a Sukkot party hosted by the groups founder, Hyman Jebb Levy. Photo courtesy of STAR

Who knew that playing paintball and taking trips to the Santa Monica Pier could be so Jewish?

Since 1998, mixing social activities with Judaic values has been at the core of the nonprofit group Sephardic Tradition and Recreation (STAR). Thousands of the areas young Sephardic Jews have mingled with others like themselves while learning about their roots and having some serious fun in the process thanks to the Van Nuys-based organization.

We at STAR have one fundamental goal, and that is Jewish pride, said Rabbi Yitzchak Sakhai, the organizations program director. As we like to say, empty pride is what has always been frowned upon by Judaism. We at STAR try to instill in our youth enough knowledge of their background, customs [and] history that when they do feel proud of their Judaism, its not just empty pride, but filled with history and knowledge.

The organization sponsors a host of activities for children ages 7 to 18, who are divided into four age groups. They gather for movie nights, parties, paintball, even trips to Israel all in the hope of instilling a sense of pride in the younger generation of Jews. A trip to the Santa Monica Pier for Chanukah, for example, might also include arts and crafts or a show-and-tell on how to press oil from olives, Sakhai said.

STAR is the brainchild of Hyman Jebb Levy, 88, a retired businessman and member of the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel in West L.A., who saw a need to connect young Sephardic Jews to their Jewish heritage. (Ashkenazic Jews are welcome to take part as well.)

Ive always been interested in Jewish education, and Ive always believed that if you dont educate the youth about their Jewish roots, you have no future, Levy said. So when I retired ... I saw there was no youth program in the Sephardic synagogues in the city, and so I got together with some friends in the community and we started STAR.

The key to STARs success, he said, has been working with children starting at a young age, and gradually sharing the beauty of Jewish traditions and cultures with them through different activities. The program focuses on six principles: community, tradition, values, preservation, Israel and pride.

At age 7 is when you want to start educating them about what it means to be Jewish, and they have a place where they can make other Jewish friends and just have fun, said Levy, who hosted a Sukkot party at his Encino home that drew about 120 people. Studies have shown that Jewish children who are more involved in the Jewish community at a young age typically tend to remain connected to Judaism as adults and marry other Jews.

STARs leadership said they try to offer a friendly approach without coming across as aggressive.

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STAR mixes tradition, values, fun for Sephardic teens

Category: Sephardic
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