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Making the Case for Israeli Hummus
I have eaten hummus for breakfast. Just hummus, with help from its good friend pita. Same goes for lunch and, on occasion, dinner. Hummus is not just an appetizer, nor a condiment; really good hummus is a satisfying meal unto itself.
The Torah In Haiku: T'tzaveh
On the priests' vestments
Ancestors are remembered
For us, and for G-d
When Numbers Aren’t Everything: Defining Qualitative Success
The Journal of Youth Engagement is an online forum of ideas and dialogue for those committed to engaging youth in vibrant Jewish life and living. Join the discussion and become a contributor.
By Michael Fuld
Defining success is one of the key components to any organization. As a youth professional, when someone asks me, “How did the event go?” it’s almost always followed by, “How many people were there?” As we continue to innovate and provide new and unique entry points for Jewish teens, the number of teens shouldn’t be the only benchmark by which we judge success.
In our field, the number of participants that we serve is something that is constantly being scrutinized. We’ve all heard the numbers. 80% of teens leave our movement after b’nai mitzvah. The Campaign for Youth Engagement began with a goal that defines the quantity - that we see a four-fold increase in the number of Jewish youth engaging in Jewish life by 2020. When we look at our best youth-friendly congregations, we often refer first to the number of participants that are coming through our doors.
My Jewish Journey
By Susan Klau
To my family, one of the most important aspects of Reform Judaism is community. My Jewish journey through adolescence was much different than my parents'. My dad, born in New York and raised in Puerto Rico, experienced a limited and informal Jewish education. Puerto Rico’s Temple Youth Groups are associated with NFTY-NAR (the New York Area Region) and my dad did one year of NFTY his sophomore year of high school. As he tells it, his NFTY experience consisted of sitting in a circle with some of his classmates, eating pizza, talking about Jewish 'hot' topics, and singing To Everything There Is a Season.
My mother became a Jew by choice after meeting my dad, and one of the things that she loved so much about Judaism was the friendship network that came with the religion. When I was born, my parents knew that they wanted Judaism to be an important part of my identity.
Challenging Impossible: 10,000 Likes for a Baby Goat
by Sarah Moody
Yesterday, my boss asked me to make something go viral. I looked up from my computer. Then he said, smiling, “You know I’m kidding, right? I know that’s impossible.” I laughed.
I started thinking.
As he walked out of my office, I said, “Hey David, if I can get 10,000 likes on a picture, can we get a baby goat for the URJ Camp Kalsman farm?”
This time, he laughed. “Sure, Sarah,” he said, “10,000 likes and I’ll get you a baby goat.”
Impossible challenge accepted.
The Music of N’ilah - Part Two
By Cantor Barbara R. Finn
Last week, in my discussion of the beginnings of the N’ilah service, I reflected upon the contemplative nature of the concluding service for Yom Kippur. The music of the actual conclusion imparts additional urgency in our pleas for forgiveness as the “gates are closing.” There are many interpretations of when the gates actually close: at the closing of the ark after N’ilah, at the end of Simchat Torah, or the particularly appealing idea that in fact the Gates of Heaven are always open. Beth Schafer expresses this sentiment in her beautiful arrangement of Psalm 118, “Open the Gates,” offering a thoughtful and soulful musical texture. Beth shares that she “wanted to capture the personal heartfelt plea that comes as N’ilah comes to a close. Assuming the submissive pose of head bowed and knee bent (or body prostrated), asking for God’s forgiveness as the last slivers of sunlight fade from view, is an awesome moment. From that most vulnerable position, we have a chance to offer our humblest prayer and feel the magnitude of what it means to be worthy of forgiveness.” LISTEN
Bringing Nothing But Nets Back to Campus
This past weekend the Religious Action Center and Nothing But Nets welcomed our Malaria Fellows to Washington, D.C., for a two-day retreat.
Jewish Disability Advocacy Day: A Big Success!
I spent yesterday on Capitol Hill for Jewish Disability Advocacy Day, which is an opportunity to learn about legislative issues of importance to individuals with disabilities and their families and to lobby members of Congress. People came from all over the country and the day was an inspiring day of learning and advocating as a Jewish community. The morning started with welcoming remarks from David Feinman, Senior Legislative Associate at the Jewish Federations of North America and co-chair of the Jewish Disability Network. Following Dave, Rabbi Lynne Landsberg gave a beautiful d’var about the importance of both work and rest in the Jewish tradition. Rabbi Landsberg explained that “resting” is different than “doing nothing” and that we need to fulfill our obligation to make sure that people with disabilities are able to participate in the workforce and in all aspects of society.
NFTY's Early Years: A Snapshot of the 1940s
By Andrew Keene
Generational Leadership (Hanhagah L’dorot) is the notion that a leader cannot be successful without a true appreciation and understanding of its organization’s past leadership as well as its future generations of leaders; or as the North American Federation of Temple Youth’s (NFTY) homepage states, having “a panoramic view of leadership, learning from those who came before us, and making choices to ensure the existence of the next generation.” While it is hard to predict the future of NFTY, our current leaders have the unique opportunity to learn from and be mentored by NFTY leaders of past generations. Kathryn Kohn Beckman, active in NFTY during the movement's formative years, provided local NFTYites with a glimpse into the NFTY of the 1940s. Sharing her insights with today’s NFTY leaders is an example of the power of practicing Generational Leadership.
The Chadash Program – A New Path for Young Adults with Disabilities
by Rabbi Michael Torop and Rabbi Betsy Torop
The first summer after we arrived in the region, we began to serve as rabbinic faculty at URJ Camp Coleman. After a long day in the car, we arrived at Coleman for the first time at dinnertime. We walked into the chadar ochel (dining hall) with Gideon, who had just turned six, and our two other children (ages 4 and 18 months). We were thrilled to be there and instantly felt at home when we walked in. Gideon buried his head in his father’s lap and covered his ears against the din of 500 campers eating dinner.
Gideon is on the autism spectrum and has some intellectual disabilities as well. The noise of the chadar ochel was just the first of many challenges that he faced at Coleman – the place he has come to love more than any place on earth. We are both products of NFTY, and Jewish camping has been central to our lives in every way. It never occurred to us for one minute that our URJ camp wouldn’t be the place that our children “went home” to every year. But it was clear early on that Gideon would need some help. His self-care and language skills were well below age level and his inability to read social cues made us worry that he would be the target of teasing. The thought of just putting him into the mix of a boys bunk was terrifying.