Tell us about your nominee. Why should he or she be recognized as a Jewish Community Hero?
Rabbi “Mike” introduced the Jewish Student Union of St. Louis (JSU) in 2003. JSU seeks to combat assimilation at its root by making Judaism “cool and relevant” to the largest, fastest growing, and most difficult to find and reach population of Jewish teenagers – the unaffiliated and under engaged. To achieve this goal, he facilitates bi-weekly club meetings in public schools. By bringing JSU to the teens in their own school environments, JSU has access to thousands of teens, over 75% of who are unaffiliated and under-engaged Jewishly. Despite the continued growth of this critical demographic, these teens were virtually invisible to and beyond the reach of the Jewish community prior to the advent of JSU
By providing Jewish teens attending public schools the opportunity to view and engage their Judaic heritage through a prism of modernity and relevance, they are inspired to become more engaged Jewishly by introducing them to the myriad of Jewish teen organizations and Jewish involvement opportunities available within the St. Louis Jewish community. By bringing in speakers and promoting other community activities, JSU facilitates their initial involvement to teen programming within our community through BBYO, NCSY, JCC, USY, NFTY and others. Furthermore, as a result of JSU involvement, they are much more likely to take an active role in college campus life, the broader Jewish community when they graduate, and ultimately marry Jewish. Through fun, creative and informal educational programming Rabbi “Mike” develops within these teens a sense of Jewish identity, relationship to the State of Israel and a connection to the broader Jewish community. Upon graduation, JSU assists their smooth transition into Jewishly active college life via our partnerships with Hillel, Maimonides, and other similar Jewish student groups on campus.
From a small pilot program at Ladue High School, which served an average of 15 students per week, JSU now boasts clubs in 6 schools and a weekly Jewish Book Club servicing 650+. Thanks to Rabbi “Mike” JSU has truly become the portal for St. Louis teens into the broader Jewish community, as evidenced by the numerous community partners who rely on JSU for getting their information out to this demographic. JSU is the key to stemming the tide of assimilation and Jewish apathy amongst the greatest resource of our people, our teenagers.
Rabbi Mike was also the founding director of Camp Nageela Midwest, a Jewish camp located in Marshall IN that caters to Jewish youth grades 3-11. Campers hail from all over North America and come from literally every type of Jewish affiliation and UNaffiliation. The common link is that as a result of outstanding staff and programming they leave with a totally new appreciation and excitement for their Jewish identity which they take home and transmit to their families. In three years the camp grew from 80 campers to 246. It is also set up that finances never hinder a campers acceptance.
Rabbi Rovinsky also travels throughout the United States making Bris Milah a heartwarming and meaningful Jewish experience for Jewish families of all denominations very often at his own expense. In addition, he is involved in many aspects of Jewish education and communal youth work. He is an educator for the Florence Melton Adult Education Program and a highly sought after speaker for synagogues and temples throughout the Midwest.
