Highlights from the 2022-2023 L'Taken Season

June 1, 2023Kara Weiner

An incredible L’Taken season has come to a conclusion! Over the 2022-2023 season, we had over 2,300 Jewish high schoolers from across the country join us in Washington, D.C. over our five weekends. They visited the sites, met other Reform teens from all parts of the nation, learned about social justice and advocacy, and made their voices heard.

Read about our season highlights of the 2022-2023 season of the Bernard and Audre Rappaport L’Taken Social Justice Seminar and then register to join us for the 2023-2024 season!

THE RETURN OF L’TAKEN!

This was our first L’Taken season following the COVID-19 pandemic. It was so incredible to be back in person, learning together, and growing our collective power. Seeing teens connect was so meaningful, and fast friendships were made – even some cross-country connections!

L’TAKEN BY THE NUMBERS

Across the five seminars, this was one of the years with the largest number of teens welcomed to D.C. in L’Taken’s history. See some of our statistics for the year below:

  • With 1,887 teens and 448 chaperones registered, it was one for the books!
    • Our largest weekend was February 10-13, 2023 with 436 teens in attendance.
  • We scheduled 479 meetings with congressional offices, representing the Senate and House offices of our attendees.
  • 13 brand new delegations attended L’Taken for the very first time this year!
  • We had 34 states represented, encompassing all 208 delegations in attendance across the five weekends.
    • The state with the most delegations in attendance was California, with a total of 32 groups.
    • The runner-up was New York, with 23 groups. Third place goes to New Jersey, with 20 delegations in attendance.

AFFINITY GROUPS

This year, we piloted our very first affinity groups! We had several communities gather at different points during each L’Taken seminar. Our Jews of Color Affinity space gathered over lunch on Saturday afternoon, and our LGTBQ+ Affinity group gathered over snack on Saturday night. We also hosted a lunch for teens interested in learning more about NFTY. Each affinity group was guided by a member of the RAC staff to facilitate community, safe space, and meaningful discussion. We can’t wait to continue these in the future and add more affinity space into our program!

SUPER BOWL LVII

Our February 10-13, 2023, weekend had the unique experience of being a Super Bowl L’Taken! Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs was streamed during our Sunday lobby prep time so everyone could watch. With delegations representing the Philly-area and Kansas City, we had a healthy rivalry on our hands. And of course, we had to pause to watch Rihanna perform her amazing halftime show!

OUR NEW ANTISEMITISM PROGRAM

This year, we launched an incredible new program around antisemitism in the US. The program covered traditional stereotypes and antisemitic tropes, antisemitism in modern news and pop culture, and reflection on making change in our current experience. It was a wildly popular program, and we’re excited for teens to learn more in future seasons.

SNOW!

Our February 24-27, 2023 weekend saw snow! While it didn’t stick or last for very long, it was a memorable experience, particularly for our participants from warmer climates that had never seen snow before! It was a special day for our New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and California teens.

SOCIAL MEDIA

When we use our collective power to advocate for change and lobby on Capitol Hill, members of Congress listen!

L’Taken 22-23 was an incredible season of coming together, community-building, and growing our power today. We love seeing a wave of inspiration in the next generation of Jewish social justice advocates.

We’re already planning for the 2023-2024 season. Join us! Registration has already begun.

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The RAC is proud to bring thousands of teens to Washington D.C. for our annual L’Taken Social Justice Seminars. After three days of intensive programming, learning about just a few of the many issues prevalent in our country today, all participants travel to Capitol Hill to meet with their members of Congress and advocate in support of the things they care about.