THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEMPLE YOUTH NFTY CONVENTION EDITION. FEBRUARY 2011. DALLAS, TEXAS NFTY is not only our programs or events or meetings. NFTY is a community of individuals – teens, staff, FROM THE EDITOR, ALY PAVELA friends, volunteers, and teachers, each with a NFTY Membership and Communications story and a life and a spirit. Vice-President NFTY is a place where teens hang out with teens; Convention is a lot to handle. Hundreds of And NFTY is a place where Jews do Jewish. foreign teens, a new city, crazy programming and various different NFTY strives to understand multiple points of view demoninations of Reform Judaism. And, of even if we disagree. course, all the different accents. NFTY strives to take stands in concert with But instead of being overwhelmed, I hope Reform Jewish values and to take action based you were open. I hope you opened your on those stands. mind to different points of view, to different NFTY strives to live within the flow of Reform kinds of people and ways of being a Reform Jewish values and text. Jew. I hope you turned the the person next NFTY strives to develop leaders and mentors to you at dinner and extended your hand. If beginning when teens walk in our doors. you didn’t, there’s still time. You have a whole bus ride to the airport. You still have NFTY Evolves. the rest of your NFTY career. So I challenge So? How are you going to help NFTY evolve? you to open yourselves up. Read this Ani V’atah in the way that you And NFTY gives thanks. hopefully handled convention. Be open. Who are you going to thank? Regional NFTY Expand your horizons. And enjoy! Staff? Your camp leaders? Teachers? TYG Advisor? Rabbi? Cantor? Educator? Parent? NFTY Friend? God? By Mike Mellen, Director of NFTY NFTY is the Reform Jewish Youth Movement. I give thanks too. Truly. Thanks NFTY. NFTY is not a stopping point or a social club or a It’s been fantastic. clique. NFTY is part of our journeys; it’s social, And fun. educational, spiritual, prayerful and fun. NFTY is not all about “me”. At the same time NFTY strives to be a place where our members say, “I can truly be myself.” NFTY is not just our regions and North American programs. Rather, NFTY is a network of Temple Youth Groups supported by and part of a regional and North American structure. Bye NFTY! We miss you already! Join the Campaign for Teen Engagement implementation of the NFTY Strategic Plan, By Rabbi Laura Novak Winer, RJE increasing funding for NFTY staffing and training URJ Director, Teen Engagement and helping congregations promote teen engagement. I am sure that all of you have friends that you wish The Campaign for Teen Engagement is about would get involved in NFTY. Maybe you have had changing the conversation we have about being a conversation with them that went something like an involved teen. No longer do we want to view this: bar/bat mitzvah as an end point to one’s active “Why don’t you come to the next NFTY event?” participation in Jewish life. Rather we should view “NFTY? Oh, I don’t do NFTY.” it as a launching pad to new conversations, to “How come?” new ways of thinking about and acting as a Jew. “Because I’m sick of that Jewish stuff. Religious The time after b’nai mitzvah is about making School was so boring, and this would be too. conscious decisions about how one wants to Besides, I didn’t make any friends in Religious shape his/her Jewish life and frame his/her School, so why would I want to hang out with ongoing Jewish learning and development. We those people again?” need to work together as a Movement to make this the tenor of our conversation. Sound familiar? Think for a moment about why some of your Jewish friends aren’t involved in The Campaign for Teen Engagement is about NFTY, or even in Jewish life, for that matter. listening. We are encouraging congregations to They thought Religious School was boring and talk, to listen, to learn from the teens in their irrelevant. They didn’t make friends at the communities about what ongoing engagement synagogue. Other activities like sports or music would mean to them. Why is Judaism important have taken a higher priority in their extra- to you? How do you want to learn and grow as a curricular lives. These are all valid reasons for Jewish teen? What kinds of friendships would loosing interest or not being actively involved in you like to form? How can we help you make that Jewish life. But that doesn’t mean we have to happen in your own life? Think about these settle for this status quo. Right now, only 20% of questions for yourself. Ask these questions of our post b’nai mitzvah teens in the Movement stay your friends. Then share your answers with your involved through their 12th grade year. That is clergy, educator, youth director or parents! They you! Yet, you know what the benefits of your want to hear. They need to hear. Only through ongoing involvement in Jewish life have been in dialogue on this level will we move forward in our your life. We need to think seriously about how efforts to meet you and your friends where you we can keep everyone else involved as well! are. Teen engagement is one of the Union for Reform The Campaign for Teen Engagement is about Judaism’s highest priorities. This fall, the Union taking action and trying new things. We want and partners around the Reform Movement congregations to think about how to create new launched the Campaign for Teen Engagement. opportunities and avenues of engagement. We Working in partnership with the Commission on want congregations to consider how their youth Lifelong Learning, Just Congregations, NFTY, the program can look and do differently. TYGs should URJ Camping and Israel Programs system, the try this too! CCAR, WRJ, HUC-JIR and other Movement affiliates, the goal is to improve the ability of NFTY is a central partner in this Campaign. The Reform institutions to involve young people in Union is committed to increasing the resources meaningful Jewish life and strengthen post-b’nai and training for our NFTY regional staff, in order mitzvah retention and engagement in to support congregations more directly with synagogues, day schools, camps, and youth building and strengthening their TYGs and youth programs throughout North America. With regard programs. Our hope is that in strengthening the to NFTY, these efforts include furthering the NFTY infrastructure we will: UPDATES FROM YOUR NORTH AMERICAN BOARD - see more teens reaping the benefits of the friendship and the learning you get PRESIDENT BOARD REPORT out of NFTY DANIEL LANDESBERG - see more teens exploring their own Jewish connection and involvement This year has been one of connections. From - see more teens making an impact on the those within the world through their leadership and action NFTY Regional - and, with more teens involved in our Presidents’ Network youth movement, NFTY will have a to larger, stronger voice on the issues you interdenominational care about as Reform Jewish teens meetings of Jewish youth leaders. Right To learn more about the Campaign for Teen off the bat this year I Engagement go to www.urj.org/teen. If you want set up a pairing to get your congregation involved, talk with your initiative which clergy, educator or temple president about how assigned each NFTY they’d like to partner with you in getting more Regional President teens involved in Jewish life. How could they one other person with refuse?! If you have specific questions or ideas whom they talk to at you would like to share, I want to hear them! least before and after Please be in touch with me at [email protected]. every event. This networking fosters growth of ideas, leadership abilities, and friendships among the Presidents. In fact I would encourage every NFTYite to reach out to someone else- whether in their TYG, their region, or across the country- that has a similar job or aspirations as their own and talk to them regularly. I found that some of my most valuable lessons as a NFTYite came from the experiences of others. I also connected with the North American and International Presidents of other major Jewish youth movements such as BBYO, USY, NCSY, and Young Judea. We dubbed ourselves the Coalition of Jewish Teen Leaders (or CJTL) and held conference calls, exchanged emails, and even wrote a letter on behalf of our organizations taking a stance against bullying. Regardless of our differences (which there are less of than you might think) there are certain issues that we stand as a united front on. Through the rest of the year, Ani v’atah neshaneh et ha’olam. Together, and and hopefully for years to come, the Coalition of only together, will we change the world. Please Jewish Teen Leaders will continue to be in touch join me. and learn from one another while working together to better our society. NFTY went even further on our stance against bullying and created an entire NFTY E- source titled “Living NFTY” which deals with all kinds of bullying, teasing, and harassment. The E- source provides helpful websites, articles and resources, videos, books, and more that help us to abolish bullying from our communities. UPDATES FROM YOUR NORTH AMERICAN BOARD From the East coast to the West coast and While what’s in my room begins to sum up in between I have been doing some traveling for my life before entering college as well as who I NFTY this year too.