Think your kid has to stay tethered to the computer? How about connected to a fishing line, with a live fish on the other end? Glued to his smartphone? Not when he’s gluing the final touches on his Pinewood Derby racecar. Cub Scout Pack 613, the only shomer Shabbat cub scout group in Bergen County, is looking to entertain and inspire our children with a robust program of outdoor wholesome and healthy activities for children in kindergarten to fourth grade (Boy Scouts follow).

Scouting has old-fashioned values: “A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.” So goes the Scout Law. Those sound like Menchlichkeit Jewish values—because they are intensely Jewish values. Scouts visit the police, fire and ambulance departments, and express hakarat hatov (while getting great photo ops!). They clean parks, visit Care One and learn the Pledge of Allegiance. The Aleph badge marks religious studies.

Scouts have a strong sense of personal accomplishment. When a kid dons an athlete’s uniform, he’s wearing someone else’s accomplishment. In Scouts, the uniform is his own and every badge he earns gets sewn on; he literally wears his pride on his sleeve. When your scout learns to build a fire—he wins. When he can cook a meal over that fire he’s built—he wins again. And when he can teach a younger scout how to do it—they both win.

Pack 613 invites all boys K-4 and their families to our annual open house BBQ from 4 to 7 p.m. on September 16 in Votee Park to meet other boys and experience some scouting fun (and food).

By Ari Jacobson