Blog post June 27, 2011
One week ago, a group of 16 regional Religious and Cultural Vice Presidents arrived at Kutz Camp for their first round of training on the RCVP trip. They came with minds ready to be pushed, ideas ready to be dreamed up, and spirituality that was about to be challenged.
I had been on two of my own RCVP trips, and was well familiar with what it was like. I knew how I had felt, and I wanted to recreate those same feelings for the network that I could now officially call mine.
I must admit that I was nervous. I dreaded the thought of screwing up, having my network not like me, or not being able to provide the same benefits to them that I had been given. It turns out that these fears were unnecessary.
Within the first few hours, the group instantly formed a deep and meaningful connection. We weren’t just gathering to hang out or chill; we were coming together to do holy work, and to become closer as the teen spiritual leaders of our movement.
After an RCVP trip that was most definitely the best that I could have remembered, we headed into Mechina apprehensive about what we were going to do about staying together. It is easy to stay close when we are the only 17 people on camp. When there are 130 others, it can become more difficult. Again, these issues were averted, because of the tight bonds that we had already formed. I have never seen a group get as close as the RCVP family became in such a short time.
When I led services on Friday evening, the family sat in the front row. Each one of them took in the experience and saw what I was doing that they liked, what I was doing that they would change, and what I was doing that they had questions about. They made the service even more meaningful for me, which was just another of many times when they moved my spirituality levels up several notches.
As we head into the year as a network, I cannot stop repeating the same phrase: “We will accomplish great things.” I hope that, over our terms, we each can have a profound impact on our regions, nations, and movement, so as to better create the end goal that we are so constantly grappling for. I am excited to see the extent to which we can make a difference in the lives of our participants.
Our job is to push others to reach their maximum height. I was pushed this weekend to reach farther than I have ever done before. If the regional RCVPs were able to push me as far as they did, I can only imagine where they will push their own regions.
May it be God’s will.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
June 8
I recently made the very bad decision of looking up "NFTY" on UrbanDictionary.com. For those of you who don't know, Urban Dictionary is a website that gives real life definitions for popularly used words (including all slang and abbreviations and any other commonly used diction.
That being said, on my particular inquiry, I got several definitions for the acronym NFTY. The first few were mainly biased in a positive direction. Things like "the best organization for Jewish youth" and the likes, which just further demonstrates the passion for the movement that the members have. The next few definitions, however, quickly switched biases. These now included phrases like "they suck" and "an epic failure." What came along with this was remarks like "Organization X is a little better than Y, but still sucks in comparison to Z."
When I then went on to check the two other Jewish organizations that are prevalent in our area, I found similar results on BBYO and USY's pages. The first few, glowing remarks; the last few, hateful and slandering.
What I don't understand is why there is such a nasty relationship on the internet between these groups. In some regards there is very little competition between them, as NFTY is a Reform movement, and USY is Conservative, while BBYO is intentionally non-denominational.
The real issue I have with this, though, is in the hate that emanates from it. While this subtle "screwing around" is just for fun, it actually hits a very core issue in American Judaism. We, as a people, have experiences generations of hatred and antisemitism. We experienced slavery in Egypt, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust. These acts of horror against Jews all came from ignorance and cruelty. Why is it, then, that we, within our own faith, are now bashing on another, simply in the act of putting another organization at the top of the pile?
I cannot speak for any organization, although I will attempt to speak for my fellow NFTYites. I have many friends in both of the other organizations, and I have always appreciated the good work that they are doing. Although I would love to see everyone participate in NFTY because of how awe-inspiring it is, I would rather someone was involved in SOME FORM of Jewish participation than none at all.
All of this being said, I am calling for the end to the meaningless badmouthing that goes on between the groups. I, personally, will refuse to say anything untrue or unquantifiable about an organization, especially one I have no experience with. I also call for a collective effort to bring Judaism into the public light as a movement of peace, friendship and love, working to eliminate petty cruelty and bullying.
May it be God's Will
That being said, on my particular inquiry, I got several definitions for the acronym NFTY. The first few were mainly biased in a positive direction. Things like "the best organization for Jewish youth" and the likes, which just further demonstrates the passion for the movement that the members have. The next few definitions, however, quickly switched biases. These now included phrases like "they suck" and "an epic failure." What came along with this was remarks like "Organization X is a little better than Y, but still sucks in comparison to Z."
When I then went on to check the two other Jewish organizations that are prevalent in our area, I found similar results on BBYO and USY's pages. The first few, glowing remarks; the last few, hateful and slandering.
What I don't understand is why there is such a nasty relationship on the internet between these groups. In some regards there is very little competition between them, as NFTY is a Reform movement, and USY is Conservative, while BBYO is intentionally non-denominational.
The real issue I have with this, though, is in the hate that emanates from it. While this subtle "screwing around" is just for fun, it actually hits a very core issue in American Judaism. We, as a people, have experiences generations of hatred and antisemitism. We experienced slavery in Egypt, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust. These acts of horror against Jews all came from ignorance and cruelty. Why is it, then, that we, within our own faith, are now bashing on another, simply in the act of putting another organization at the top of the pile?
I cannot speak for any organization, although I will attempt to speak for my fellow NFTYites. I have many friends in both of the other organizations, and I have always appreciated the good work that they are doing. Although I would love to see everyone participate in NFTY because of how awe-inspiring it is, I would rather someone was involved in SOME FORM of Jewish participation than none at all.
All of this being said, I am calling for the end to the meaningless badmouthing that goes on between the groups. I, personally, will refuse to say anything untrue or unquantifiable about an organization, especially one I have no experience with. I also call for a collective effort to bring Judaism into the public light as a movement of peace, friendship and love, working to eliminate petty cruelty and bullying.
May it be God's Will
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