JLI Teen of the Year Award | 2011

At the 2011 National Jewish Retreat two teenagers from JLI's Teens program were honored with the George Rohr JLI Teens Award for their leadership initiative. Michael Shaid and Silvi Specter were so inspired by the Teens course at Chabad of the Main Line, PA, that they began to play an active leadership role in their community.
For many Jewish teens, bar or bat mitzvah is the end rather than the beginning of their Jewish education, yet it is a time when young people most need the guidance and wisdom that Torah provides. To meet this urgent need, three years ago, the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) launched JLI Teens, a dynamic extracurricular program for Jewish High School students, designed to empower teens with a sense of purpose and direction through the study of Torah.
The lessons which are interactive and vibrant, deal with real life issues such as belief in G-d, the value of life, the Torah's view on suicide, abortion, love and relationships. Thanks to JLI Teens, thousands of Jewish teenagers in fifty cities on three continents are grappling with the meaning of moral life-and-death issues, mitzvah observance and much more.