As I sit here staring at a blank page about all the wonderful things I could say about what NFTY means to me, it’s nearly impossible to narrow it down. The most accepting community of reform Jewish teenagers is the most immediate concept that comes to mind. A place where people can completely feel like themselves, and not have to think about the idealistic harsh realities of society.

Recently, I experienced NFTY on a new level; North American. At NFTY Convention 2013 in Los Angles with over 900 other NFTYites from all over the country, never have I prayed, laughed, cried, or sang so hard in my life. Upon arrival to JFK airport, I knew this was going to be the best 5 days of my life. I engaged myself in so many different programs ranging from gun control, to how to be a better group-leader to how to be an influential teenager. While participating in these programs, I started to find myself. Who I am, not who people think I am.

Stepping into the hotel was an overwhelming situation. A large room filled with screams of hellos and tears of joy. As a NFTYite who didn’t know anyone out of their region, this was a very scary time. I knew that by next convention that would be me. I would be that girl screaming across the room to a friend I haven’t seen in two whole years.

On the last night of convention, Dan Nichols put on a concert for us. Even though I may not be as familiar with his music, never before had I danced and sang so much in one night. I made a pact with my best friend that we would go up to small close nit groups of friends dancing, and no matter how well we knew the people, break in and join. While running from group to group with him, right then and there, I knew this would be a memory and friendship that would last forever.

By Lathan Lev, NFTY-NAR Member and BNTY Religious & Cultural Vice President

The following piece is an address given by Lathan to his congregation at a recent Youth Group family service.

Shabbat Shalom. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Lathan Lev, and I am the Religious and Cultural Vice President of the temple youth group BNTY. Todah Rabah to everyone in BNTY especially our song leaders Jacob Derwin, and Sabrina Chasen, they have worked so hard and they are rock stars.  Also I want to thank Emily Besthoff and Erin Kratina our youth group advisors for working with everyone including me.  To everyone in BNTY, this was a crazy year for all of us, I’m glad we went through it together. Thank you for continuing to give me a reason to be out on Monday nights and miss How I Met Your Mother.

When I was young I was given helpful advice. If you want people to remember a speech always start by telling a story.

I was at school one morning and a fellow student said something I hear on a daily basis… “What’s NaFTY NAIR???” He was reading my bracelet the one I wear every day, since I got it at a Kallah. I tell him NFTY NAR is a youth organization I am a part of. I cannot fully explain it to him because NFTY is something you have to experience.

I have recently been quoted for saying “Mom and Dad, I want to go on an adventure!” This past February with fellow BNTY member Adam Cohen, I represented our temple at NFTY Convention, where over 860 Jewish teens shared their love for Judaism.

Upon arrival I instantly started talking with fellow NFTYites. Throughout the week, I met people from Texas, Washington, California, and Missouri…; I basically worked my way across the lower 48 and Canada within the first two days. My name tag was the ultimate pick-up line, “WOW Lathan, it’s like Nathan with an “L” right? That is so cool!”

Throughout the weekend we went to different workshops and learned how to be Jewish teens in this ever changing world. We spent most of our time inside the hotel.  In addition to workshops we attended services, eating meals, and attending a Dan Nichols and a Josh Nelson Concert.

The offsite trip involved lunch at the beach. It was amazing to just experience the beautiful area we were in. We walked in the sand and just enjoyed life! It was then everyone realized that this was NFTY Convention in LA!!

The offsite workshop I attended involved Jewish Art. We went to an art gallery and met Jewish artists and discussed the differences of Jewish art. The gallery was filled with photography, sculptures, and drawings inspired by different aspects and interpretations of Judaism.

That night NFTY took over Universal Studios. During our back-lot tour, who else but a bunch of Jewish teens would sing Mi-Chamocha as they crossed the water where Jaws was located? And of course it was the only night our food did not come from the hotel. It was ironic to find that when the park was filled with Jews, the longest line was at Panda Express.

One of the most remarkable phenomena was when Adam, myself and others attended a t’filah in which we took different prayers and wrote new ways to experience the service.   The Mi Chamocha you heard tonight was the song my group wrote. As the guitars were passed from person to person I took a minute to look around.  Having never played before, I strummed along to Wonder Wall and watched a group of teens who were able to leave their personal troubles behind. They didn’t care what the rest of the world thought, they were still singing at the top of their lungs. THAT’S WHY NFTY IS SPECIAL! This is why I have missed so many other events to be at Kallahs and now NFTY Convention. It is living proof that Judaism has places to go, and that it will go places. Most importantly, it proves the way this service tonight does, that the future of the Reform movement is in capable hands.

One year ago, I never would have thought I would be giving a speech like this, nor would I think that some of my closest friends live on the other side of the country. NFTY changed my life, it continues to do so every day, and it will continue to influence me the rest of my life.

NFTY is the chance to find yourself, and find your ambition. It’s opening up to this one big opportunity in life! You have the ability to take once in a lifetime chances, with complete disregard for those who doubt you; because it’s worth taking those chances. I did, and as soon as I was shouting the NFTY cheer at the top of my lungs with the others who took this chance with me, I found myself, and my 862 new friends had our adventure!

AMEN!

By Annie Abrams and Maddie Satin, NFTY-NAR

I had been told multiple times to go to a NFTY-NAR Kallah. As a senior I never thought that I would experience the same feelings of community as those who had gone since freshman year or even before but I was very, very wrong. The moment I walked in I felt the same sense of community you could expect from any NFTY event. Everyone was so incredibly welcoming.

Seeing familiar faces from my NFTY in Israel trip was as fun as seeing all the new faces of NFTY-NAR. What eased me into the NFTY-NAR community most was the Big-Little program. My ‘Big Sis’ showed me the songs I didn’t previously know and introduced me to so many new people I may not have otherwise met.

Something that is unique to Winter Kallah is the fact that it’s a home-stay and we all stayed with a family in the area. My home-stay experience was especially great because I was able to reconnect with people I had spent my entire summer with. Solidifying our friendships while meeting new people showed me what it means to connect with the larger Jewish community.

After being involved in such a strong community in Israel I was looking to further explore my Judaism with people who were interested in doing the same. NARdi Gras provided a place to do just that and I couldn’t be happier to call myself a NFTYite.

~Annie

The theme for this year’s Winter Kallah was Nardi Gras. At first I was apprehensive about this theme and what it entailed. How could a non-Jewish holiday unite so many of us and bring us closer? Ultimately, it wasn’t so much the idea of partying that brought us together, it was the idea of celebration. We watched multiple videos about hurricane Katrina, and were inspired by the community of New Orleans to put the pains of our past behind us. We wrote postcards with our secrets and threw them away, symbolizing a new start and the judgment free world that is NFTY-NAR.

But most significantly, we partnered with Be Positive (B+), an organization that helps to pay medical bills of struggling families. We had a bowl-a-thon in honor of these families, and our three sub regions, Westchester, NYC, and Long Island, competed to see who could raise the most money through coin wars. In less than three days, we had raised over $1,000 from pocket change. It was definitely one of the highlights of this weekend for me. Not only did I leave feeling better about the connections I had made with my Jewish peers, but I knew that I had left doing something good for other people.

~Maddie

Thank you NFTY-NAR for an amazing weekend, and memories that we won’t be forgetting anytime soon!

~Annie and Maddie

NFTY NAR- We make it happen

On January 8^th, 125 Long Island parents and teens gathered at The Community  Synagogue of Port Washington to participate in a presentation on the dangers of distracted driving.  Sponsored by The Jewish Education Project (beneficiary of UJA Federation of New York), Sid Jacobson JCC, Temple Sinai of Roslyn, and The Community Synagogue of Port Washington, the event featured Jacy Good, nationally renowned advocate for cell-free roads.

In May of 2008, Jacy and her parents were driving home from her college graduation when a young man talking on a cell phone ran through a red light and caused an accident that killed her parents and left Jacy in a coma, fighting for her life.  Jacy beat the odds and miraculously survived, but it has been a grueling road to recovery and she is still left with physical and cognitive disabilities that she struggles to overcome every day.  Jacy now travels the country sharing her story at high schools, colleges, conferences, and corporate events in an effort to prevent such horrors from touching others’ lives.

The group of teens and parents listened so attentively to Jacy’s story that one could have heard a pin drop.  Jacy’s presentation, and her call for an end to the epidemic of distracted driving, not only moved the group emotionally, but it also moved them to action.  Everyone in attendance signed a pledge to make their car a “No Phone Zone” and each participant received a tzitzit key ring to remind them of their responsibility to themselves and to others.  Jacy and her story deeply affected all of us and taught us the importance of mindfulness, of taking responsibility for ourselves and for others, and taking a stand to be the change you wish to see in the world.

Below, one teen shares his own response to Jacy’s presentation.

By Miles Kurtz, Co-President of POWTY from The Community Synagogue in Port Washington, NY

As a high school senior, I have heard my fair share of speakers over the years on drugs, alcohol, and of course, distracted driving. I think many teens thought they knew what they were going to hear going into Jacy Good’s presentation, including myself, but I realized that I was wrong very quickly.

I had the pleasure of arriving early and helping Jacy set up her projector; within a minute of meeting her it was obvious that she was an incredible person. You know sometimes how you can just tell that a person is so honest and passionate about what they do and it makes you respect them and can change your mood. Well, that is what it’s like to be around Jacy. She was always smiling, and nobody else could stop smiling because of it. When Jacy started to speak, I was captivated. Rather than just presenting us with traumatic photographs and pessimistic statistics, Jacy let us into her life. She was in the engineering club at her school; she loves math and science and considered herself to be sort of a “geek”. I could relate to her, her experiences in high school are what I am experiencing now. When she talked about her accident and recovery process, it let you see the years and years of recovery that go on after you read the story in the news one morning, and makes you think about how when you drive, you aren’t just responsible for the safety of yourself, but for the safety of others, as well. Perhaps most surprising was that she didn’t seem angry at all. Yes, she has a pending lawsuit against the driver, but she was not vengeful and didn’t seem to ask “why me?” like so many audience members must have been thinking. Later in her presentation, Jacy presented statistics on distracted driving. I didn’t feel pressured or threatened at all listening to Jacy, as is sometimes the case at school presentations. She seemed to say “Here are the facts, do what you will with them.”

After hearing the facts from Jacy though, and listening to her inspirational story of struggle, bravery, and strength, I think everyone present will think twice before engaging in distracted driving and allowing others to do so.

By Jackie Kalter, NFTY-NAR Member and Honorary NFTY-SW Member

Being able to walk in a community and feel so at home really says something. On Thursday, October 25^th, after three planes, some birds in the way, hour-long delays and a detour in Chicago, I was able to experience this first hand.

I stepped off a plane, into my surprised best friends arms, into a new group of people, and was immediately engulfed by the welcoming community of NFTY-Southwest.

Being able to participate in another region’s event, aside from the ones I attend in NFTY-NAR, was really special and a very different, yet similar experience all in one. Being that I attended the URJ Kutz Camp this past summer, I met so many outstanding individuals and decided to surprise some of them at their Fall Kallah! I was able to create parallels between the services, programming and overall community compared to Kutz, and to my own region.

Services especially made me feel like I was back in Warwick: back home. Through the prayers and songs we sang, sitting with old friends, and the use of meditation during the service, I imagined myself sitting in the Teatron with my #Kutz12 family, as well as my NAR family during Kallot. What amazed me, though, was that despite the similarities, I still felt like it was a completely different experience because of the new family I was with, in a new home. It’s really nice to see that no matter where you go, there’s always a little bit of comfort and yet new beginnings.

Of course there are programs that make each event unique in itself, and the ones this weekend did just that. Similarly to NAR events, there were a variety of activities planned and lead by the regional board and various group leaders. What stuck out as something Southwest does and NAR doesn’t is a more relaxed class time. In NAR, we sometimes end up having heartfelt conversations, which turn into emotional hours with others in our grade. Southwest on the other hand, has the seniors create Wooden Ships. It’s a tradition that their region has done for years, where each senior is given a block of wood to decorate with items and ideas from their NFTY experience. Coming as an outsider, I had nothing to really add to mine. I named it the S.S. I Don’t Even Go Here, which got a laugh out of the region when I shared it with them. Despite being from another region that is miles away, I was able to show that my differences make me have the ability to open up to new ideas. When everyone laughed at the name of my ship, I took it as all of them accepting me for my own acceptance of joining a new group. Traditions like this one are really what make a region different than any of the other eighteen, and being able to experience one of Southwest’s many traditions was really great!

Continuing on through my wonderful adventure in El Paso, friendship circle was a huge shock to me, to be completely honest. Madness. Yes, I did just call what is usually a sentimental activity one of the craziest things I have ever experienced. More often than not, NAR’s friendship circle gets everyone crying by the end, and Kutz’s Siyum is heartfelt and emotional. By no means was Southwest’s friendship circle like either of those! There was jumping and screaming, seniors going crazy and everyone having a good time. I was beyond confused at first, but come Sunday morning everyone was showing me what to do and I got the hang of things. It was actually a lot of fun, and totally unlike what I’m used to.

Teaching the Wobble (a Kutz and now NFTY tradition), creating new meaningful friendships, and learning about the NFTY Study and Actions themes made my stay a time well spent. How is it that NFTY events always fly by? If I could, I would go to the rest of Southwest’s events this year, and explore various other regions’ traditions too.

Thank you so much to their advisor, Lynne, for making my attendance at all possible. And a special thank you to each participant, board member, and friend for making me feel so accepted and able enjoy every second I was there. From the beginning, I knew Southwest was an open community based on the friends I made from there at Kutz. But little did I know that the rest of the one hundred and fifty or so participants would be just the same.

By Sam Barnett, NFTY-NAR

A Weekend of ‘Doing the Work’: The Shulhouse Rock 2012 Experience

From October 26th until October 28th, Jewish teens from around the country gathered at Woodlands Community Temple for a weekend of songleading training. These 24 teens represented both coasts of the United States and eight different NFTY regions: NAR, NE, PAR, GER, SAR, NEL, OV, and SoCAL. From our own region, Jacob Derwin, Leah Monack, David Klein, and myself, represented clearly the best region, NFTY-NAR. We learned from the masters themselves, Dan Nichols, an accomplished Jewish songwriter; Ellen Dreskin, a cantor/songwriter; and Kenny Green, an educator in multiple Westchester Temples.

As we each arrived at WCT on that Friday afternoon, we sat waiting for the other people to arrive—nervously exchanging glances and feeling fairly uncomfortable. From this first experience in that quiet library room, I had serious doubts about how fun this weekend was going to be. But luckily for me, I could not have been further from the truth. Dan, Kenny, and Ellen each walked into that room and instantly starting to sing a niggun that nobody had ever heard before. We all started to sing nervously, unsure of how to act. But as we looked around and saw that nobody sought to think badly about how well anyone else sang or how good our ability to carry out a melody was, our strength as a whole group formed. Everyone began to sing loudly and proudly—and we sounded incredible.

This moment really represents my experience with the ‘Shulhouse Rockers’ throughout that weekend. With each new activity that we participated in, Dan, Kenny, and Ellen would give us an entirely new challenge that we would have to overcome in order to develop a certain skill. Whether it was teaching an entirely new song to the crowd all by yourself, or learning how to interact with the audience, each program pushed us out of our comfort zones in order to establish a good foundation for songleading. Just as Dan Nichols reiterated throughout the weekend, “The only way to get better, is to do the work and push yourself to be better” And that’s just what Shulhouse Rock was, an opportunity for developing songleaders to ‘do the work’ by practicing in front of a group so that we could learn from the feedback we received and improve for the future.

As I look back to the start of every program after hearing what we were to do, I remember my heart dropping and thinking to myself, “What?!? I have to do what?” Yet regardless of how uncomfortable we each felt at the start of each program, we quickly overcame our feelings as our confidence built up and we ‘did the work’.

The weekend culminated in the showcasing of our skills by leading tefila and music classes for the WCT Religious School on Sunday morning. It was incredible to not only see how far we’ve come, but how much fun we could have while songleading.

It was an incredibly spiritual, exciting, fun, and indescribable weekend that truly gave all of us the tools and confidence we needed to songlead any song, at any time, in front of anyone. I am so happy that I attended Shulhouse Rock and I will not miss Shulhouse Rock 2013 for the world!

- Sam

By Miranda Rosenblum, NFTY-NAR Member

“We NAR the world”: this was the saying during the weekend of NFTY-NAR’s Fall Kallah 2012. The meaning of this quote, however, baffled me. It was my first Kallah, and I barely even knew what NAR was. I didn’t know the traditions, the songs, or the people. When I first walked in to the URJ Kutz Camp that weekend, I did not know how a group of teenagers could affect the world in any way at all. However, I was about to find out.

After my long, nervous, trip to Kutz, delayed by three hours thanks to traffic, I was finally there. Holding hands with my one friend accompanying me from my Temple Youth Group, I jumped off the bus, nervous yet excited. As I exited the bus, screams and shouts filled the air; hugging, crying, and laughter surrounded me. It was overwhelming, to say the least. But there was an overall sense of happiness and serenity in the excitement of reunion influenced everyone, even to somebody who had never met anybody there before. I couldn’t help but smile at everybody else’s joy and wonder, “next Kallah, will I have made friends like these?”

As the weekend progressed, my question was answered. Everybody who I met was overwhelmingly friendly: introductions and smiles were shared, pictures taken, and friendships made. The wonderful thing about NFTY is that each person you meet seems genuinely kind and excited to be participating in such a unique and amazing experience. The atmosphere made it simple for somebody, even somebody naturally shy such as myself, to feel welcome and included. With our one common similarity, Judaism, the weekend was a discovery on both a spiritual and community level. Through activities and song sessions, meals and dances, kids that had arrived as individuals merged into a truly united group with the title of NFTY-NAR.

At the friendship circle at the end of the weekend, I heard the phrase again: “We NAR the world”. But this time, the saying had meaning to me; I realized that we, as the group that came together as NFTY-NAR, are truthfully able to influence the world around us. We may not be able to change everything all at once, but as we sat together with our arms around each other singing Hashkiveinu, I understood that the ability for a group to be so welcoming and so dedicated is the first step to making the world a better place. NFTY-NAR is to me; it made me feel like a part of something bigger and showed me what it means to NAR the world.

Thank you NFTY-NAR for making my first Kallah the best experience possible, and I hope to join you all again!

NFTY NAR’s Leadership Training Institute, the first event of the year, took place at the HUC in NYC on Sunday, September 9th. After such a long summer being away from friends, LTI was the perfect place for NARites to reunite, catch-up, and learn how to become better leaders for our region’s TYGs. Walking in and watching everyone jumping into each other’s arms with large smiles and enthusiasm was a great start to a great event! We spent some time socializing with new and old friends, eating bagels, and participating in mixers to get to know each other a little bit better.

Yes, talking and reconnecting with friends is very important, but let’s not forget the prime reason of why we were all there on this Sunday in September: leadership. It was time to get down to business and all of the participants split up into their networks where they met with the NAR board member who fits their TYG board position. Network time was probably the most meaningful and important discussion of the day because it is where TYG board members learned the obligations and responsibilities of their specific position. During this time, the regional board members gave the teens in their networks, packets that not only outlined the main duties of that position, but it was also filled with pages of advice and tools to help along the way!

Following network time were the advisor electives where participants heard about different programs and then got to choose where they wanted to go. There were a variety of electives ranging from the history of Jewish music to how board members can better their TYG’s involvement and membership. Each teen was able to pick two electives to attend. Before the second elective, everyone was treated with some pizza and snacks for lunch!

After the final advisor elective, everyone was split up into groups to participate in the regional board program. Each group went to a different station led by a regional board member and experienced unfortunate situations that could take place on a board. It made people realize what happens when there is a lack of communication, cooperation, and effort on a board. It showed NAR’s leaders, that as board members, it is important for everyone to do their jobs, work together, and collaborate in order to be prosperous.

The day was concluded with everyone regrouping into individual boards. It was a chance for all to reflect on everything that was learned that past day. NFTY NAR’s LTI taught everyone how to be the role models and leaders that board members should be. Everyone improved their leadership skills and learned various leadership tactics to bring back to their TYG’s. It was a fantastic first event of the year for NAR and we’re all looking forward to what is coming up in the future!

Picture this…

It’s late June, an extremely hot day, your entire body is shaking because you are so nervous, you’re walking through the gates of a place you’ve only attended with your NFTY region, and have no idea what was going to happen.

Well, on my first day of the URJ Kutz Camp, that was me. Yet, when I went to check-in with the three Avodah sitting behind the table I knew it was going to be a great summer.

“Welcome Home” was the saying of the summer. When I first heard it I was completely thrown off. How could people call a place they’d stay at for only about four weeks, home? My opinion shortly changed when I met my RA’s. They became my “mom-dads”, the people I could have serious, funny or even random conversations with. They were always there to make my experience a little better. Another thing that had changed my opinion was meeting an entire new crowd of people. The people that impacted my summer the most were my cabin, Bayit Three.

Bayit Three was an all-senior girls cabin. When I walked in and saw 20 beds my heart dropped. How were 20 girls supposed to live in such a small space for an entire month? But boy was I wrong. Who would have thought that 20 strangers would become 20 sisters? These people really made me feel so comfortable with who I truly am. I’m so glad that I was able to meet them all.

At Kutz each participant had a major, and would attend different types of programs that related to their majors. There was Songleading, Regional Board Track, Digital Media Track, Hagshama, TYG Track, Ulpan, Jewish Studies, Creative Arts, Mitzvah Corps and more.

My major was Songleading. Not only was it the largest major on camp, but it had some of the most talented people I’ve ever met in my entire life. I learned so many new prayers, melodies, ways to lead services, ways to lead song sessions and even guitar! I guess that means no more ukulele at NAR Kallot!

One of the most magical moments at Kutz was Maccabiah. We were told that this day was also taking place separately at a BBYO camp located in PA. Yet, after being locked in the program for nearly an hour on one of the hottest days of the entire summer, the North American Board pulled posters board off the walls to find that the entire BBYO camp had traveled to Kutz to participate in Maccabiah with us. This was such a special day. This was the first ever event to happen like this at Kutz. It was also a huge step in CJT, the Coalition for Jewish Teens, because it was one of the first-ever combined BBYO and NFTY activities to be held together.

As the summer came to a close I realized something, I was home. I never wanted to leave the people, the place or my major. These people are my best friends. They’ve changed me as a person. It may seem a little tacky to say that a person can change so much in such a short period of time, but I am living proof. I love who I’ve become, who my friends showed me I really am and what one summer did for me.

It was once said that it was the people who make the place so amazing. I, for one, believe the place changes the people, opens them up, helps them let their guard down and shows them who they really are.

Kutz 2012 will forever be in my heart. Thank you for the best summer ever. I miss my home.

By Lauren Lev

“I’d like to go to NFTY convention.”

So says my sixteen year old son in anticipation of February 2013 in Los Angeles, California.  In these few words he reflects the depth of his involvement with all things Jewish –especially Jewish youth. But the journey didn’t start (nor end) here.

Flashback to 1:40 PM on a Friday—once in the fall, then winter, then spring. I am introducing (and reintroducing) myself to the East Meadow High School attendance officer, awaiting the beginning of period nine. The halls are filled with backpacks and high fives as Lathan and his excuse pass arrive. We make our way out of the building to the car in the adjoining lot. His weekend has begun.

For the next 48 hours, from early afternoon Friday to late afternoon Sunday he is no longer tortured by Trigonometry. Rather, he will be with peers from his temple youth group (BNTY of Temple B’nai Torah, Wantagh, NY), his region (NFTY-NAR), as well as his greater Jewish youth community and he will be enriched and nourished by their presence.

Most call this “Kallah”, Lathan calls it home.

What’s remarkable about these weekends is the way students like Lathan will get away… to get back and give back. Post-bar mitzvah, it is no longer what we as elder Jews can do for him, but what he can and will do to extend Jewish values for his temple community from the ethical and moral principles explored on these retreats.  Lathan and his cohorts take this role seriously.

We drive and arrive at the meeting point for weekend departure and Lathan embarks the bus to socialize with an amazing group of young Jewish leaders– a task as important as the planned activities to come. He has vividly described this moment in the past– the anticipation, the camaraderie — as he recognizes more and more participants every time he returns. There is a light from within him brightening with each friend’s arrival – a brilliance that no “high scoring test grade” or winning goal can match.

Furthermore, the expectations of the weekend do not fail him. There is Shabbat services and dinner, programs with those his own age and then all ages, deep personal conversations, official meetings, songs, dancing, more meals and services. All act as life lessons that help shape his identity and balance what is sacred and secular for a teen in 2012.

When he returns he is rejuvenated for another three months and he seems a lot more invested in the Jewish world around him.

At temple his involvement is stronger. He sings the now recognized and memorized NFTY tunes, music that we, the congregation, are learning for the first time. He invokes the essence of equality among peers when working as a Madrahim/student aide with third graders in our religious school. He runs for youth group religious and cultural vice president and wins. He attends a monthly rituals committee meeting or volunteers for a fund raiser and recognizes that temple commitment is not easy. He rationally understands why other kids dropped religious study after their thirteenth birthday, but in his heart he is sorry that they don’t see what he’s seen and get to feel what he feels. And he wears his youthful association to NFTY on a t-shirt and a rubber bracelet (the standard uniform of my teenager) explaining the initials to anyone who asks.

In a recent thank you to the temple for its continued support, Lathan explained what makes a Kallah so precious:

            …We still have the photos, the memories and the inside jokes that will last a lifetime. But as great as NFTY is, the part that makes it more special is that not only are these times fun, but they are times that most certainly need to be seized.

All in all, from shouting the NFTY cheer to saying Berkat ha Mazon with the table bangings, NFTY is a place that I always say is where “there are no egos and just friends. It is a very special place to me and I wouldn’t give it up for anything.

NFTY is where Lathan’s character is further developed and tested. It is where his identity endures and grows. And it’s safe among the friends he’s yet to meet in California next year.