Rivka Alt helps teens spy out the leader in themselves.

I entered high school as a typical 14-year-old, focused on all things teenage. Growth was the last thing on my mind. But somehow, I made friends with a group of girls who had more on their minds than shopping and good times. We did that too, but between runs to the mall and slumber parties, we’d grow our quote collection and feistily debate the latest Rabbi Wallerstein shiur.

Then one summer, the head counselor of the day camp I was supposed to work in called me right before camp and asked if I could take on the shiur counselor position for the entire day camp. I was amused; my summers up until that point were about one thing — fun. Teaching was the last thing on my mind. In fact, coming from a family of teachers, my siblings’ favorite way to annoy me (I’m the youngest) was, “Rivka, one day you’re going to be a big teacher, and we’re going to have the last laugh.”

To this day, I wonder which sibling paid off this head counselor to offer me the job, and I still have no idea why I agreed. I just remember pretending that I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I actually was.

Once I’d tasted the sweetness of sharing Torah, there was no looking back. By the time I reached my second year of seminary, I could hardly sit through classes. I was itching to get up and teach.

Igniting the Spark

The second-year program I attended in Eretz Yisrael had a daily Aish HaTorah kiruv-training program taught by some of the most prestigious speakers in Yerushalayim, explaining how to give over basic concepts in Yiddishkeit.

Rav Noach Weinberg passed away that year, so I never actually met him, but his teachings definitely had an impact on me. We were girls who were already very committed to Torah, but there was something so empowering about learning in order to give over. The common refrain you’d hear among us after an Aish class was: “Why didn’t we have this in high school when we really needed it...?” Young and idealistic, I started dreaming of somehow bringing this kind of curriculum back with me to high-schools in America.