Youth Director -

Shalom! 

When I moved to Dallas a year ago from Cleveland, I was looking for a synagogue where I could become involved and feel spiritually connected.  Congregation Beth Torah is everything I had hoped for. I instantly found a home that is kind, warm, inspiring, and has a dedicated community of professionals and lay people. I am excited to be part of the synagogue family and staff as the new youth director!

I grew up in Michigan in a family extremely involved in the Jewish community. We attended a Conservative synagogue and my brother and I graduated from a Solomon Schechter Day School. My brother and I both attended Jewish summer camps and my family was a pioneer in the Jewish family camp movement in Detroit. Over the years, my parents have been involved with our congregation –  Shaarey Zedek, Men’s Club, Hadassah, Hillel, B’nai B’rith International, B’nai B’rith Women and BBYO. With such dedicated parents as role models, it is no surprise that as a teen and young adult, I also chose to become extremely involved with Kadima, BBYO, USY, and Hillel – holding leadership positions in each.

My love of Judaism and dedication to the Jewish community is cemented into my very being. During college, a late-night conversation with my dad convinced me that I was destined to become a Jewish professional. I hold a B.A. in Religious Studies from Michigan State University and an M.A. in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary. My experience has made me passionate about teaching our youth and developing the next generation of Jewish leaders. I worked as a Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow at Wayne State University’s Hillel and in the Education Department of the Detroit Jewish Federation. I have taught at a variety of day schools and religious schools and I have been a volunteer youth group advisor. Most recently, I served as a BBYO Program Associate in Northern Ohio. I moved to Dallas a year ago to work at Ann & Nate Levine Academy, where I currently teach fifth and sixth grades.

I have an unbreakable love for Israel. I made my first trip in high school on a pilgrimage that included a week in Poland. I was lucky enough to go back with my brother while in college and again as a Jewish Communal Professional. I also spent six months in college on a Kibbutz Ulpan (a Hebrew immersion program, while living and volunteering on a Kibbutz).

It is my hope to be a partner in instilling and cultivating a love and dedication to being Jewish, the Jewish Community, and Israel in our youth. I am looking forward to working WITH our youth to help them create programs that speak to them.

I, along with our teen leaders, have many great ideas, and we are always open to new ones and to new people – never be afraid to share your ideas or come to your first (and second, and third…..) event. We are always glad to hear from you!

Be on the lookout for our upcoming calendar of events!!

I am looking forward to meeting you and your teen soon and embarking on this journey together!  Please feel free to e-mail me at youth@congregationbethtorah.org or stop by the synagogue to get involved, share your ideas, introduce yourself, or even just to say “Shalom!”

B'Shalom, 
Debbie Ornstein
June 2009