by Steven Portnoy

The mission of the Men of Reform Judaism’s (MRJ) Reform on Campus (ROC) committee is “to assist students in creating meaningful Reform Jewish experiences on campus that will lead them to being active and involved Reform Jews for life.” Because I have been an involved member of this committee for eight years, the last five of which I have served as chair, I am intimately familiar with the committee and its work.

Once upon a time, in fact, I compiled some fun facts and figures about Reform on Campus:

• Since its founding in 1995, Reform on Campus has awarded close to $600,000 to Reform groups on campuses across North America, and numerous foreign countries, including, naturally, Israel.
• In a typical year, Reform on Campus funds 30 programs, which means that we’ve funded approximately 540 programs to date.
• Although it’s a bit more difficult to calculate the total number of attendees at Reform on Campus programs during the last 17 years, I would guesstimate that between our guest speaker events (which garner 200 or more attendees apiece) and our Havdalah service and dinner events, 16,000 lives have been touched by ROC initiatives in about a dozen countries across the planet.

Programming, too, is as varied as you might imagine. Dessert Shabbatons in the Negev? Yes. Mitzvah days? Yes, many of them. Holiday celebrations from Passover and Sukkot to Rosh HaShana and Hanukkah? Yes, we fund the programs and the food that goes with them. After all, what’s a Jewish gathering without food? We support out-of-the-box programming, too, including disaster relief in New Orleans and, more recently, in Neponsit following Superstorm Sandy.

Job #1 has been a good job.

Soon enough, Job #2 will join its ranks.

At a recent MRJ Executive Council meeting, I was nominated to be a vice president and the next Chancellor of the Jewish Chautauqua Society. I’m running unopposed, which means I’ll officially take office—adding to my portfolio—at the MRJ Biennial in June. I am, of course, honored by the nomination, but feel the weight of a 120-year-old organization on my shoulders. Interestingly, one of my rabbis took the opportunity for a teachable moment, pointing out that the Hebrew kof-vet-dalet root is the same for kavod (honor) as it is for kaveid (weight).

Will it too be a good, honorable job? Yes, I’m sure it will be. Will it be a weighty job? Yes, in some regards it will be, in part because I would surmise that most readers of this blog have never heard of the Jewish Chautauqua Society (JCS) and have little, if any, idea of what it does. And so, one of my primary responsibilities will be to raise awareness.

With that in mind, here’s a brief tutorial about JCS, which was founded in 1893 by Rabbi Henry Berkowitz of Philadelphia, and seeks to:

• Provide knowledge and education about Jews and Judaism;
• Promote an appreciation of the Jewish people, their history, religion, and culture; and
• Build bridges of understanding between peoples of all faiths and cultures.

Originally designed to teach Jews about Judaism, today JCS focuses on promoting interfaith dialogue and education. JCS’s current Chancellor, Thomas E. Wiener, has this to say about JCS and its newest initiative, the MRJ Congregational Interfaith Mini-Grant Program:

“There is clearly a need to bring greater interfaith understanding not only to students in formal educational institutions, but to promote it within thousands of local communities. With this in mind, in 2011 MRJ initiated the MRJ Congregational Interfaith Mini-Grant Program, whereby congregations can obtain financial support to engage in one or more interfaith programs within their own local community.  We urge and encourage congregations throughout the Reform Movement to take advantage of this special opportunity.”

Although it won’t be easy, I am looking forward to the task, hopeful that with your help, when JCS turns 220, the incoming Chancellor will not have to ask if you have heard of us.

Steven Portnoy, in addition to his leadership role with Men of Reform Judaism, is a member of Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York, NY.

I was thrilled to participate in Reform Judaism magazine’s winter cover story, “Forum for the Future,” a symposium that provides Jews in their 20s and 30s a platform to speak candidly about what young adults want and need to find their home in the Jewish community. Historian and Brandeis University professor Jonathan Sarna sets the stage, shedding light on what history can teach us about the challenge of engaging the next generation of Jews and what to make of young Jewish leaders who are questioning and disrupting the establishment.

And then, the panelists:

• Yoav Schlesinger, 32, executive director of Reboot, says his experience with an Orthodox minyan at in college taught him the value of Jewish community. He says, “I am a Jew with a tattoo, a nonobservant theist, an unapologetic culturalist, a determined skeptic, a lover of yiddishkeit and of Carlebach melodies, a sukkah builder and a yontif chazzan (holiday cantor)…” but admits he sees little value in joining a synagogue.

• David Cygielman, 30, tells of how his organization Moishe House was born and questions the Jewish establishment: “In order to create strong Jewish communities for the future, established institutions must understand that the infrastructure they have built may not be what my generation is willing to take on. We need to put the needs of potential participants first and foremost.”

• My colleague and friend Rebecca Missel, 32, founder of Jersey Tribe, spends her holidays bopping from synagogue to synagogue but says none seems particularly welcoming in the long run. “If I could find a congregation that “got it” when it came to 20s and 30s, that showed me it can offer something for people like me who are transplants and not yet married with kids, I would absolutely want to get involved,” she says.

• The only rabbi in the bunch is Rabbi David Gerber, 32, who finds that because young Jews “want to be around others who share their passions,” he values smaller interest groups for Jews with similar hobbies and, well, interests. When it comes to congregations, he says, “No single medium for outreach will apply to every community member, so it behooves us to reach out in as many ways as possible.”

• Sarah Lefton, founder of the multimedia Torah teacher G-dcast, is the oldest panelist at 38, and focused primarily on young families: “There’s a missed opportunity for the ‘establishment’ to create Jewish daycare centers, services with childcare for babies and tots, Torah study that happens online after the kids are in bed.”

• Popular Jewish musician Josh Nelson, 34, another friend of mine, hasn’t settled down into synagogue membership because his busy performance schedule keeps him on the road. But, he adds, “I have also often felt uncomfortable with the worship options available to me. Starting in my mid-20s, I wanted to experience powerful, meaningful communal prayer without pretense, pomp, and a holier-than-thou attitude.”

• Boston-area non-profit fundraising professional Joanna Brinton, 28, isn’t a member of a congregation because, she says, dues are too expensive. Friendly attitudes aren’t enough for young Jews who are too scared to attend temple events alone. “That’s where Facebook and other social media come in,” she says, “when you can see that people you know will be there, it lessens the apprehension and fear.”

• And then there’s me: “I’d prefer to follow and donate to Jewish organizations that don’t require in-person involvement, attend independent minyanim, interact on social media with rabbis and other engaged Jews about topics that matter to me—like feminism, civil rights, and pop culture—and ease into congregational life by being a wallflower for a while.”

If you’re a young Jew in your 20s or 30s, we want to hear from you: Do you belong to a congregation? Why or why not? What makes you feel connected and what do you find alienating?

I was on the phone a few months ago with Marshall Einhorn, executive director of Brown-RISD Hillel, discussing a talk I was asked to give at Brown, where my younger son is currently a junior and of which my older son is an alumnus. As an aside, I asked Marshall who would be leading the campus Reform services for the High Holy Days. When he said he had asked a number of people but without success, I offered to help.

“That would be great!” Marshall said. “Let me know if your networks surface someone interested.”

“No,” I told him. “Maybe I could help” – as in, “Maybe I could come and lead services.”

It was this fortuitous conversation that led me to one of the most eye-opening experiences I have had so far as president of the Reform Movement. Much of the time, I sit with my colleagues in meeting rooms, strategizing about the Jewish future and how to excite young people about Jewish life via our Campaign for Youth Engagement. By leading Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur services at Brown-RISD Hillel, I would have the opportunity to learn more directly, in a hands-on way, about the challenges Judaism faces on college campuses.

I started preparing for my time on campus by looking up Brown University in Reform Judaism magazine’s “Insider’s Guide to College Life,” which provided me a startling statistic: Of the approximately 1,300 Jewish students at Brown, only a hundred or so are active in Jewish groups on campus. With this data in mind, I knew that I wanted, in my time at Brown-RISD Hillel, to get a firsthand look at why this may be and what we’re dealing with – and perhaps come up with some new ideas about how to lower barriers to entry and be more welcoming to students who are currently uninvolved in Jewish campus life. Over the summer, I participated in the National Hillel Institute in St. Louis, which helped me better understand the smart strategies so many Hillels are employing to “get outside the walls of Hillel buildings” to engage students where they are: their dorms, fraternities or sororities, etc.

With Brown-RISD Hillel’s staff and student interns, we planned engaging, dynamic, and interactive High Holy Day services. This wasn’t a “sit out there in the congregation and zone out while the choir sings” service; it was a “get involved, have substantive conversations, and see how Jewish traditions and ideas are relevant to your life as a college student” service – a holistic experience. As a contributor to Hillel’s Ask Big Questions initiative, I decided to frame our tefillot with “big questions” that emerged from the students, and to make sure we were current with the most innovative liturgy, we piloted the CCAR’s new High Holy Days machzor. We also brought in musician Max Chaiken, a teacher at the Rashi Reform Jewish Day School, who added his signature warmth and spirituality to the entire experience.

My goal was to attract students who otherwise wouldn’t have participated; we met that goal and then some. At times, leading discussions during the services with students and faculty felt like a philosophy or literature seminar, with ideas from a broad religious spectrum. The young man who lifted the Torah had shoulders as broad as our bimah. I suggested he bend his knees and get down under the scroll before lifting, but he smiled as he popped the Torah off the lectern and hoisted it above his head without any strain whatsoever.

“Are you on the football team?” I asked. He nodded yes. “Offensive line,” he told me –and I told him that holding the Torah on Yom Kippur would give him extra strength for the upcoming game against Georgetown. (Brown 37-Georgetown 10!)

After Kol Nidrei services, I joined Hillel’s Rabbi Mordechai Rackover, an exceedingly open-minded Orthodox rabbi who was supportive in every way, in a dialogue on the challenges and opportunities of Jewish pluralism. And on Yom Kippur afternoon, when most people are itching for a nap, a group of students from across the religious spectrum gathered for a Talmud study session titled “From Roman Gladiator to Talmudic Sage: A Narrative of Transformation.”

For the final shofar blast and havdallah, the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform services joined together. There was a palpable feeling of k’lal yisroel, Jewish peoplehood, as we prayed and studied together as one people.

In all, hundreds of people attended these campus High Holy Days services – not just Brown and RISD students, but faculty and staff, Hillel Board members, parents, and members of the community. Based on past years’ turnout, the Reform Rosh HaShanah service took place in Brown-RISD Hillel’s smaller upstairs space, while the Conservative students occupied the larger social hall – but given the turnout on Rosh HaShanah for the Reform service, we switched spaces for Yom Kippur. Nobody was turned away – and the services were as distinctive as each of the people who showed up.

Reform students from Rutgers Hillel welcome previously unengaged Jewish students to get involved (Photo from Facebook)

Developing a serious, effective long-term strategy for our Movement on the college campuses of North America is no simple task, but it is one we are committed to creating. A number of Hillels (Rutgers, Cornell, Mizzou and Bradley come to mind) are trailblazing new Reform engagement strategies, and the national Hillel leadership is committed to engaging more of our Jewish students on a deeper level. There are plenty of opportunities for most college students to experience Orthodox Judaism but not nearly enough non-Orthodox experiences that can ignite the heads and hearts of those who are spiritually at home in our Movement. I hope 5773 is a year of growth and discovery for our college students – and for all of us who care deeply about the Jewish future.

Throughout Jewish life there are many benchmarks. Some are optional, and some come with tradition. The path I have taken has definitely been one of structure. First there was the bris, than there was Sunday school, then Hebrew school, then my Bar Mitzvah, then Mitzvah Corps, then Confirmation, then NFTY-STR regional board, and now North American Board.

By the end of one’s B’nai Mitzvah, many Jewish youth simply stop taking a Jewish path. Trends show us that around 80% of Jewish teens just stop being…well, Jewish. For those of us who have found our post-bar/bat mitzvah niche, it seems like a wild idea- to just simply stop living a Jewishly structured life.

So there are two big questions: how and why? WHY? It could be a multitude of things.

At the URJ Kutz Fellowship this summer, I had the opportunity to observe and take notes on the Kutz Fellowship program, in which they broke down these stages of childhood and teenage reform Jewish life. The participants were questioned about their own experiences through Hebrew school, and their families’ engagement in Jewish life and the Synagogue thereafter. I heard things like, “My family never pushed me to continue…” or, “My parents promised me that I could stop after I did my Bar Mitzvah.”

WHY do these young Reform Jews develop a negative view on maintaining a Jewish life through their adolescent years? Another type of answer I heard (which upset me because I had a vastly different experience) was, “I hated Hebrew School. It was so boring and it was such a drag. It was a chore to go.” This answer wasn’t universal, but many of the participants in the group I was in shared this sentiment.

HOW do we change this? How do we make it so that NFTY as a movement can stand strong at 10,000 members, or more? How do we reach those teens that are uninspired to become engaged in their Reform Jewish lives? We need to start reaching them earlier. Those of us in Temple Youth Groups have a responsibility as the grassroots movement of NFTY to create amazing programming and fun activities for those younger groups of Jewish children, so that by the time they reach the end of their Bar Mitzvah, instead of saying, “Whew, glad this is over,” they can say, “Whew, now on to the next step!”

So how do we inspire those to join us who haven’t yet been inspired?  There is a leadership model that I encountered this summer that explains the difference between pulling and pushing in our our movement. As the North American Board, Regional Board members, and TYG board members, we can pull our regions along as much as we want, but they’ll never go farther than where we pull them. But, if we get under them and push them, there is no telling how far we’ll go and how much success we will achieve.

As my teenage Jewish journey comes to an end, I reflect back on the experiences that have shaped who I am. Regional board was an experience that I will never forget. It allowed me to understand the important connections that TYGs make to their congregations. North American board, even though I am just beginning my term, has already taught me so much. One lesson I’ve learned is particularly important: when we reach a place of leadership, it is no longer about the goals that we own that we see fit for our respective homes. The needs of our constituents become our own, and we shape the movement in their vision.

When my term officially ends next June, it will mark the end of my five year NFTY Journey. I am truly honored and grateful to be one of five NFTY-ites who get this extra year of opportunity. NFTY has been my safety net for keeping a Reform Jewish life, and I am a bit nervous about leaving it behind in my sophomore year of college.

What other experiences lay ahead for me in the Jewish world? Hillel and Chabad perhaps, maybe even a Jewish fraternity. It is all brand new, but I know that because of NFTY, I will have the skills it takes to create yet another meaningful Jewish experience. I will be forever grateful to our movement for providing teens like me with those skills.

It is time for us to start broadening our horizons. It is time for all seven thousand of us to get with our TYGs, have a meeting, and say “NFTY is a great place, but what does NFTY need? How can we make Youth Group event even better than it is now?” We need to start asking, “How can we broaden our Jewish identities, and what would we love to experience in a Jewish light that we may have not been exposed to yet?” All of these questions will strengthen our movement, and create a positive space for those who will soon be acquiring this great land of opportunity after we’ve departed.

Jacob is from West Palm Beach Florida, where he was an active member of NFTY-STR in high school.  He is currently a Freshman at the Univeristy of Central Florida. Follow Jacob on Facebook (NFTY-RCVP) and Twitter (@NFTYRCVP). 

Continue the conversation at www.reformjudaismmag.org/teens, where four other teens from across the nation share their experiences as Jewish youth.  Comment on their stories and let your voice be heard!

So you’ve just graduated from high school. First of all, mazel tov! But… now what?

Moving from high school to the next phase of your life is an exciting time and there is much to do. Living away from home or attending college may be the first opportunity you have to make decisions about how you want to live and learn Jewishly.  Will you celebrate Jewish holidays away from home? How do you meet other Jews like yourself?

The Union for Reform Judaism wants to be there for you as you begin to choose your own Jewish path by keeping in touch while you are away from home. We’re committed to continuously engaging our youth and young adults (that means you!) in Reform Jewish life, and we don’t want to lose contact as you move on. We hope you’ll take a minute to confirm your upcoming plans and email address.

In doing so, you will be informed of various opportunities open to you, such as Shabbat programs, special holiday programs, Birthright Israel trips, alternative spring break options, advocacy seminars, and more. If you want us to, we will also share your contact information with our friends at Hillel, the Jewish campus organization, with whom the URJ is working closely to meet the needs of Reform Jews on college campuses. If you’re planning to attend college, we want to help you stay connected – and to connect further – with the Jewish community. With your go-ahead, we’ll ask the folks at Hillel to reach out to you once you’ve arrived at school, and they’ll be able to help you foster a meaningful on-campus Jewish experience.

We can also offer more personalized help, whether you’re headed off to college or the military or taking some time off to figure out what comes next. If you have any questions about how the Reform Movement can be helpful to you, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at lbarzilai@urj.org or (212) 650-4081.

http://blogs.rj.org/blog/tag/outreach/

We at the URJ know that leaving high school and facing whatever comes next can be a scary time, but there’s so much to look forward to. Post-high school life offers incredible opportunities to connect with Judaism and engage with the Jewish community, and we want to do all we can to help you capitalize on these opportunities. Don’t lose touch with us!

Know of a Jewish teenager who would benefit from reading this post? Please send it along! We have also created a letter for synagogue leaders to send to your congregation’s high school seniors and another you can send to their parents. Thanks for helping us spread the word!

“Rabbi Hanina taught: ‘I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, but from my students I have learned most of all.’” A few days ago, I had the honor of serving as a staff member for a group of 40 college students from the Hillel Foundation at Miami University and UConn Hillel on a whirlwind 10-day journey with Taglit-Birthright Israel. While the students had a tremendous time, I want to assure them and all others that they taught me far more than they realize.

“May it be your will, our God and God of our ancestors, that You lead us in peace and help us reach our destination safely, joyfully, and peacefully. May you protect us on our leaving and on our return…” With these words from the Traveler’s Prayer ringing in our ears, we journeyed from the Golan to the Negev, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. We traversed the Jewish homeland, taking in its many sights, sounds, smells, and tastes. I knew our students were in for a feast of the senses and the spirit as I shepherded them them from place to place, from one experience to the next. I did not know which moment would touch one student over another so they were exposed to the many sides that create Israel. After all, our “destination,” as stated in the Traveler’s Prayer, was indeed Israel and all it has to offer. Wasn’t it?

Jeremy Leigh, in his book “Jewish Journeys,” reminds us that travel is both toward places and also within ourselves. As our 10-day trip progressed, the concept of travel itself changed. So often travel implies a set destination and a journey toward it. Even the commonly used cliché “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey” implies that there is an endpoint in mind. However, what if such an arrival point does not actually exist? What if the journey is the entirety of the experience? There truly are no strict end goals or conclusions in one’s Jewish journey. Traveling toward a destination sets you in the driver’s seat; it is something that we create. Traveling with only a journey ahead leaves one wide open to the events that lie ahead, ready to be mystified, energized, and challenged. Perhaps “destination” is idiomatically the wrong translation for the phrase “michoz chaifeitz” in the Traveler’s Prayer. Instead, the literal translation, “a wishful place” is more apt. For in a wishful place, in this journey, in this travel we have no end, only the desire to keep going.

This is the lesson my students taught me, and for this I offer them thanks. These students amazed me with their grace, their insight, and their openness. The journey overtook them like a whirlwind and they never fought against it, never held back. College students can sometimes be perceived as needing direction, a push down the right path, or even a bit of handholding. We may attempt to create moments artificially—with a wink and a nod to what we hope they may learn or internalize. While I do not deny the experience and knowledge we can impart on the college-age members of the Jewish people, this 10-day experience with Taglit-Birthright Israel gave me pause. I am not their shepherd; I am their passenger. Their journey will inspire us to see with new eyes, revisit old ideas, regain a bit of long-lost idealism, and even awaken a dormant voice in our soul. From now on, when I travel, I will not seek out places or moments like lit-up trail markers. I will follow the lesson of my students and allow the journey to overtake me.

Traditionally, upon arrival at one’s destination, you are to recite Birkat HaGomeil, a prayer for thanksgiving. The Talmud restricts the recitation of this blessing to those who have been in dire peril, fearing their lives. However, with my students’ lesson in mind, that destination does not exist and the journey is a reward of its own, I proudly thank them for their wisdom and inspiration through the recitation of Birkat Gomeil, thanking them for the journey they took me on:

“Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has bestowed every goodness upon us.”

With a readiness for the next step, I follow my students, our young people, and let them show me the way, through Israel and through our personal Jewish journeys. I thank them, and all young people, for their willingness to travel on the journey alone and their willingness to teach us.

Jason Levine is a rising fifth-year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. He currently serves as the student rabbi of the Hillel at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He previously served congregations in Pine Bluff, AR, and Bristol, TN, and as the Assistant for Jewish Life and Learning at URJ Camp Harlam, as well as the rabbinic intern at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah