On Sunday, April 21st, San Diego’s Jewish teens and young adults will have an amazing opportunity to learn about Israel, both modern and ancient, in an engaging and fun way.

As part of the San Diego Celebrates Israel Festival, and thanks to the generous support of The Jewish Federation of San Diego’s Innovation Department, NCSY has partnered with Bible Raps, a Slingshot recognized Jewish Education program and music group, to give San Diego’s teens an opportunity to explore Jewish textual sources through the lens of hip-hop and create their own lyrical story around the sources. Participants will first enter the “Hip-Hop Beit Midrash” and collaboratively explore primary textual sources with Matt Bar, creator of Bible Raps, and Rabbi Adam Simon, San Diego Director of NCSY, to gain a deeper understanding of the significance and importance of Israel in Judaism. After that, they will head to to the “Writing Room” where they will work with the guys from Bible Raps to draft their own personal rap-song based on their understanding of what they learned. This idea of “personal Midrash” is at the core of the Bible Raps program. Once they have their song, they will head to the studio to perform and record their track, which will also be mixed into a music video of the day. Some lucky participants will even have the opportunity to perform their rap on the main stage for the entire Israel Festival.

All in all, whether it be developing a deeper appreciation of Jewish textual study, a personal connection to Judaism and Israel, or an enhanced understanding of Jewish values and ideas, this day promises to make a huge impact on San Diego’s Jewish teens for years to come!