Surfing rabbi inspires urban youth to cast off stereotypes

By Tim Bueler

LOS ANGELES-Whether out in the curl with the other surfer dudes at Malibu, or teaching at his surfing camps in Hawaii and Mexico, Rabbi Nachum Shifren doesn't fit the stereotype of an orthodox Jew. Nor, after they've taken his courses, can the young inner city kids he reaches out to, continue to fit their own stereotypes.

The rabbi's passion is to bring kids a taste of success-to give them a chance to earn real self-esteem through a lasting connection with the great outdoors. He helps kids break the innercity trap of the street culture that spawns gangs, indolence and crime-and cuts down kids before they have any chance to grow and prosper.

He is concerned that 50 percent of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students do not graduate, that there are drugs in the schools, and that violence has become so common that in general, the no one cares.

"The administrators act like they don't notice," said the rabbi, reflecting on his time teaching at Dorsey High. "Some students burned down my classroom, and I was the only one who was punished!"

Kids are getting the wrong lessons in school and on the street, he said. They are not developing good study skills, and they are erroneously associating their self-worth with gangs and inner city lawlessness. Rabbi Shifren takes the kids out of the "hood" and uses the power of the ocean and the joy of surfing to guide each individual's contemplation about his place in the universe. He teaches the basics of cutting out excessive junk foods and getting plenty of good exercise, fresh air and sunlight.

The rabbi is an expert, with over 40 years of surfing and teaching, including ocean life-guarding, and using the ocean and surfing as a metaphor, he instills self-reliance, personal responsibility and an appreciation for life and nature.

He introduces his young students, some of whom have never had any ocean experience, to entirely new concepts. He explains the Surf and Soul holistic concept of incorporating the new knowledge they gain in surfing to their own physical fitness, nutrition and positive thinking. When they "get it," they incorporate these lessons into their personal lives, changing themselves, their relationships, and, he hopes, their neighborhoods and the world, for the better.

"In short," he said, "I show the kids ways to build REAL self-esteem, which they earn, instead of the false 'conferred' self esteem they have draped on them in schools-and they know the difference! Out here, they see the value of hard work, study, discipline, and never giving up."

Rabbi Shifren is a popular guest speaker, and has presented his philosophies around the world, on radio, television and in newspaper and magazine interviews. He is an engaging, thought-provoking speaker, and his book, "Kill Your Teacher," is considered essential reading by anyone concerned with today's state of education in America.

This is part of the May 14, 2008 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

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