The Maccabee Emblem

This past Sunday, I had the honor of awarding two Temple youth with their Maccabee Emblem during religious school.  I want to wish a hearty mazel tov to Jaycob Prahl and Paul Shatzkin for this achievement.  Read on for more information about the award, but know that it represents a commitment to not just Scouting and Judaism, but to personal growth, leadership, and service in our community as well.  Please join me in congratulating our youth on their accomplishment. 

A little more about the award: The Maccabee Emblem is one of four awards Jewish scouts can earn.  For our local scouts, these awards are not earned through programming with their troop or pack.  Cub Scouts work with individually to complete a workbook under the supervision of a Jewish professional as a mentor to explore questions in four categories: Family Life, Jewish life, Jewish History, and Our Place in the World.  Offered through the National Jewish Committee on Scouting and the National Jewish Committee on Girl Scouting, in coordination with their respective Scouting organizations, these awards aim to prepare Jewish scouts to instill Jewish and Scouting values in their lives, and are available to all age groups within the organizations. 

As a Rabbi, I always enjoy the honor of working with students to earn these awards.  It seemed especially apt this week, with a big rebranding move announced by Boy Scouts of America.  BSA has made the news a few times in recent years.  Its mission to teach young people to be prepared for life remains unchanged, but the young people that are able to participate in the organization has broadened.  In 2013, BSA began allowing openly gay members into its ranks.  In 2017, BSA announced that its flagship program, Boy Scouts, would be renamed Scouting BSA to reflect the admission of female-identified scouts into both Scout and Cub Scout groups, in addition to transgender boys joining boy-only programs.  In 2018, the organization ended a ban on gay adult leaders.  This week, BSA announced a rebranded name for the entire organization to Scouting America, taking ‘boy’ out of the title completely.  This change will officially go into effect in February on the organizations 115^th birthday; it already represents another step to inclusion, allowing more Jewish youth to participate in Scouting. 

If any youth in our community are interested in working towards a religious emblem as part of Scouting, I will be thrilled to be your mentor through the process.