Blog

On 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the RAC Talks Civil Rights

As the newly appointed director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, I am inspired by the storied history of our role in the critical social justice battles of our time. In fact, the RAC was founded at the height of the Civil Rights Movement to provide an outlet for Reform Jews to express their deep commitment to equality and justice in our society. Next weekend marks the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, which was one in a series of Selma-to-Montgomery marches demanding voting rights for African-Americans. Like Reform Jews 50 years ago, my colleagues and I will be in Selma - alongside President Barack Obama, Rep. John Lewis, a number of congregational and community leaders and civil rights activists.

Understanding Teen Brains, Creating Jewish Adults

Imagine it.  A group of teens, sitting together, talking Torah, or current events, or tzedakah.  It’s what we all hope for, aspire to, in youth group. Imagine it.  A group of adults, sitting together, talking Torah, or current events or Tzedakah. Oddly, the first scene is one we do imagine.  And the second scene feels less likely.  Or not our responsibility.

The Joy of Generational Leadership

by Dr. Madelyn Mishkin Katz It’s the summer of 1983. I’m a 28-year-old student at Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) preparing for a career in Jewish education, and spending my summer on staff at URJ Camp Swig (presently URJ Camp Newman) in Saratoga, California.

Striking the Balance Between Formal and Informal Learning

By Adam Organ During NFTY Youth's text study, Rabbi Aaron Panken, President of HUC-JIR (and former Regional Board member of NFTY-NAR, former trip leader for NFTY in Israel, and former Regional Advisor of NFTY-MAR) lead a discussion titled “The Study of Torah is Equal to Them All,” based on the teachings of RaMBam (Maimonides). The conversation focused on the obligation of every person to not only study Torah, but teach, too. After ruminating on the D’var Torah, I came away with some thoughts and ideas that apply to professionals who work with youth.  Below are some pieces of text followed by a Jewish youth professional analysis:

Why BBYO is Our Partner

by Rabbi David E. Levy 12 years ago, as we prepared to send our long-struggling NFTY chapter off into the sunset, Todd Markley, our Rabbinic Intern, now Rabbi at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, MA, said: “Mercaz is our Youth Group.” WRT has enjoyed a long history of engaging our teens in our educational program, Mercaz, meaning “Center,” a community hub where our teens can “center” themselves during their over-programmed and often stressed-out lives. We still retain 40% of our teens after B’nei Mitzvah, engaging them in an educational program that includes a range of elective classes including: Jewish Cooking, Holocaust studies, and deep engagement with classical Jewish texts.    While this exceeds the Reform Movement’s average (25% retention) for post-B’nei Mitzvah engagement, I believe we can do a lot better, and our present work reflects this hope.

Questioning the Essence of the B’nai Mitzvah

by Kathy Schwartz At a recent breakfast with the chair of the senior rabbi search committee, Congregation Har HaShem’s B’nai Mitzvah Revolution Core Team had the opportunity to speak about what kind of rabbi we were seeking. Our requirements: the rabbi should be willing to embrace change; be willing to partner with us in continuing our exploration of imagining what b’nai mitzvah can be; and must understand that at Har HaShem, professionals and lay leaders do things together. BMR is our joint project.

Asefa: A Training Ground for Future Management Consultants?

NFTY Convention (#NC15) means many things to many people. One of the key elements of every convention is Asefa, NFTY’s North American board meeting. Close to 200 teens participated in Asefa while their peers were engaged in off-site programming. Before I explain about Asefa, I want to share what the NFTY board members had to give up to participate.