The social hall at Beth El Synagogue in East Windsor was abuzz with conversation as close to 40 teens sat around tables eating pasta, exchanging news, and gearing up for their next session of Gesher LeKesher.

The tone was social, but there was serious business at hand — connecting Jewish 11th- and 12th-graders with Jewish eighth- and ninth-graders in a program of mentoring and peer leadership.

"It's to talk about hot topics in the lives of the eighth- and ninth-graders, and to create a safe space to discuss those issues — for example, peer pressure, or how to deal with family issues," said Celeste Albert, coordinator of teen programs for the Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Mercer County, which has been facilitating Gesher LeKesher for the past six years.

Gesher LeKesher is Hebrew for "Bridge to a Connection." The program is a collaborative effort of JFCS, Beth El, Congregation Brothers of Israel in Newtown, and The Jewish Center in Princeton.

"It fosters nurturing connections," Albert said. "It's basically to provide a safe space for them to discuss topics that come up in their everyday lives — and to be able to do that through a Jewish lens. It allows them to create self-esteem and to find out that they're not alone."

The program currently has 38 older teens mentoring more than 100 younger teens, according to Albert. She said that teens from Congregation Beth Chaim in Princeton Junction and Kehilat HaNahar, the Little Shul by the River, in New Hope, Pa., also participate. Plans are under way to extend the outreach program to younger teens associated with the Jewish Community Center of the Delaware Valley.

The older teens who volunteer to be mentors for Gesher LeKesher go through a training program, including a weekend Shabbaton in which they receive intense training in leadership skills, Albert said. "That includes active listening, team building, making supportive connections, group dynamics, asking open-ended questions, and other planning skills," she said.

They continue to sharpen those skills during their twice-monthly training meetings and during the seven Gesher LeKesher sessions throughout the year, she added. Currently, the teens are working with a curriculum on relationships developed by the Princeton Center for Leadership Training.

Rabbi Jay Kornsgold of Beth El said he sees Gesher LeKesher as "a great opportunity for students in 11th and 12th grade to continue their Jewish education."

"It's a way for them to come together with students of other congregations — to work together, to learn together, and to teach their peers," he said.

The teens who volunteer are very dedicated and committed to giving back to the Jewish community, observed Ilana Bohm, a social worker who serves as an adviser to Gesher LeKesher.

"They're really special kids," said Bohm, a member of Young Israel of East Brunswick and a doctoral student at Yeshiva University in New York. "A lot of these kids, when they first come in, have never done public speaking or taken on a leadership role before. But after a few months of being here, they take over the show themselves."

One teen who has grown through the program is 17-year-old Michael Alter of East Windsor, who became a mentor after participating in Gesher LeKesher. Now a senior at Hightstown High School, he expects to become an Eagle Scout within the next month or two.

"When I participated in it in eighth and ninth grade, I realized it was fun to be able to do it with friends and just a good way to give back to the community," Michael said. "It's helped me to become a better public speaker and a better leader in my community. It just really helps you to understand different aspects of life and how to be good to others."

Fifteen-year-old Emily Stern of Plainsboro was both looking back on her two years as a participant in Gesher LeKesher and looking forward to becoming a mentor next year.

"I liked having someone older teach me about the values of Judaism and tie them into everyday things we could relate to," said Emily, a 10th-grader at West Windsor-Plainsboro High Scholl North. "I think that I learned more about the values and morals of Judaism and just about my roots."

Leah Pepper of Princeton Junction, a ninth-grader at the same high school, has also been enjoying the program.

"What I like about it most is that you can be completely honest at a Gesher meeting," she said. "There's a sort of pact that what happens doesn't get repeated. It's safe to be there. You have people to trust — Jewish people."

Evan Moshinsky of Robbinsville, 17, a senior at Robbinsville High School, said the program helped him with his leadership, public-speaking, and presentation skills. "It's made me get interested in education when I go to college," he said.

And returning as a mentor has its own rewards.

"It's kind of like being a role model," he said. "I know when I was in Gesher, I looked up to the kids who were my mentors. It feels good — a full circle."

For information about Gesher LeKesher, call Albert at 609-243-0390.