Teens Take the Lead: Reflecting on NFTY Convention and What Comes Next

Pulsing music. Cheering crowds. A roar of enthusiasm as fans rushed the stage. 

No, these aren’t scenes from the last time I went to a Bruce Springsteen concert. Rather, they're from this past Friday night as I celebrated Shabbat with 1,400 Jewish teens, young adults, alumni, congregational professionals, and lay leaders at NFTY Convention, the largest Reform Jewish youth gathering in North America.

As the Union for Reform Judaism's Lay Partner for Youth, I have the privilege of spending time with our Movement’s youth and teens at programs large and small across North America. NFTY Convention was my chance to experience firsthand the magic of our teen programs, which reach tens of thousands of young people each year. 

One of those young people is Joe Lichtenstein, a sophomore from Temple Emanuel in Roanoke, VA, and a member of NFTY's Mid-Atlantic Region. Joe is this year’s winner of the Wendy Blickstein Memorial D’var Torah competition for his original d’var Torah, "The Quiet Message: How Parashat Yitro Teaches Us to Lead," which focuses on leadership and authenticity. His presentation of his d'var - and the wisdom he shared in it - was, quite simply, incredible. 

Joe passed by me as he left the stage, but I couldn’t get close enough to wish him a yasher koach (good job) because he was surrounded by so many of his peers. He was like a rockstar – friends embraced him, cheering, giving him high-fives, and posting photos to Instagram – all for a d’var Torah. And it wasn’t just in that moment, either. Every time a teen took the stage or the microphone, led the group in song or in blessings over a meal, their friends embraced them and lifted them up. 

This is where the magic happens. 

Everywhere I looked at NFTY Convention, our teens were defying stereotypes. That stereotype that teens are apathetic? NFTY launched a Racial Justice Campaign to pursue justice and equality for all people. The perception that young people are self-centered? Spend a moment listening to "Tzedek," the winning song from the NFTY Song Competition, written and performed by Jacob Rubin, a senior from Temple Beth-El in Boca Raton, FL. Like me, you’ll be convinced that our teens are the role models we should all aspire to:  

I cried and I shouted but no justice came,
I stayed and sat what could I stand to gain?
Why should I be the one to take all the blame?

Afraid to be outcast too, what should I do,
Justice you shall pursue
Tzedek Tzedek tirdof, L’maan tichyeh
Stand up for what you believe in and fight

As a lay leader, I was brought into this community through my own children, whose experience in NFTY compelled me to get involved in engaging the next generation. But there are also adults who have chosen this work as their life’s path and who have dedicated their professional careers to mentoring and nurturing our teens. Nearly 150 of these professionals are here with me at the URJ Youth Summit, running parallel to NFTY Convention, where they are honing their skills and developing a new language of mentoring, agency, and partnership. The saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child" – and by offering a parallel learning experience for the adults who inspire and mentor our teens, we're training an entire village that supports and nurtures this rising generation of world changers.

Yes, this is where the magic happens. All under one roof, 1,400 Reform Jewish teens and congregational leaders are creating community, embracing one another, and taking action today to make their world a better place. I entered NFTY Convention full of anxiety about the world, but I'm leaving full of hope, inspiration, and excitement about the rising leadership of our Movement who will create the world of wholeness, justice, and peace that we seek.

Our teens will blaze the trail – and I can’t wait to follow them.

Shelley Niceley Groff is the youth lay partner of the Union for Reform Judaism’s North American Board. She formerly served as the president of Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, FL.

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