When a 14-year-old yawns during a youth group Rosh Hashanah service, what should the leader do?

There's one group of thought that urges patience. Another says, “Throw the kid out.”

The important question to ask, however, is, “What can I, as the leader, do to make services for my youth group better?” At my synagogue in Newton, Mass., we've tried everything.

One idea is to break up a long service with a game. A favorite is one where participants move to the sides of the room and a “moral dilemma” is asked. They then move to areas designated as “agree,” “disagree” and “in the middle.” Some topics are clear cut: “Should Israel be allied with the United States?,” while other questions are more difficult: “If Israel were attacked, would you join the army?”

These questions raise the level of discussion, especially considering that body language can create a spectrum of thought. Everyone knows where everyone else stands, in a literal and physical sense, and they get excited when their own opinions both literally and physically move another person.

Another favorite is to have themed, hands-on discussions. Cards are distributed to everyone present with random scribbles. Everyone then has to form a group with others until the random scribbles can be put together to form the map of Israel. The inverse of the game is to give out maps of Israel that are strangely formed, and to have everyone say what the pictures remind them of, and how those images connect to their own Jewish lives.

Games aren't the only answer, though. My youth group executive board once had a heated debate, the question being whether to have full-length services or cut them down, especially on the High Holidays. After all, the Rosh Hashanah service, being the first of the year, gives the rest of the year's Saturday morning services their flavor. Rosh Hashanah services are typically attended by every teen in the synagogue, whereas Saturday morning services are attended by the “regulars.” Naturally, the “regulars” want to be able to stay the entire service.

The compromise is little less than crowd control. The guarantee is that the short service will encompass every component of a real service. For the beginning prayers of Psukei D'Zimra, those prayers that have tunes are sung while prayers without tunes are said silently. For Shacharit, the same is true, and a silent Amidah is said so that some participants can pray, while others can reflect on the meaning of Rosh Hashanah.

The Torah service is also included, but in a different way. Since most participants know the service, the prayers are said, but the reading is substituted by the games described above. This breaks up the service, making it easier to follow, but also lets those who want to hear the Torah crawl upstairs for 10 minutes.

The games, with their thought-provoking questions, also act in the same way as the Torah to raise moral and ethical questions, attempting to answer them with discussion rather than words.

Thankfully, most participants catch prayer fever on Rosh Hashanah and end up coming back for more throughout the year.