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As the Temple’s new youth group leader, I have the challenge of getting our high school youth involved. We all know that kids have a lot of commitments, both inside school and out. I thought about Jewish youth group involvement from the kids’ perspective and had to ask myself some serious questions: “Why should our kids want to be a part of our youth group when there are so many other demands on their time? Why are Jewish youth groups important? What should they get out of it? And why should our parents encourage their involvement?”
I thought about my own Jewish youth group involvement when I was in high school in Dayton, Ohio. It occurred to me that, even though Dayton was a mid-sized city, we had about 200 kids in the B‘nai B‘rith Youth Organization. It was huge. It was THE thing to do in the Jewish crowd. Why? Because by being involved, we became a relevant part of the Jewish community. We did community service and fundraising for Jewish charities. I knew all the kids and all their parents. I felt a sense of belonging and purpose. And while it did teach me useful stuff (like Robert’s Rules of Order!), it also helped me solidify my identity as a Jew and a productive member of the Jewish community.
When I went to NFTY’s website to answer these questions, I found that — lo and behold — Jewish youth group did for me exactly what it aimed to do for all Jewish youth. NFTY lists its goals as instilling Jewish identity; increasing synagogue participation among high school youth; fostering long-term commitment to the ideals and values of Reform Judaism; and creating the Reform Jewish congregants of the future.
NFTY aspires to these lofty goals through education, worship, religious action, leadership, personal growth, and Zionism. NFTY aims to make high school-aged kids see that they are not only Americans, they are American Jews. But as Jews, they must see themselves as part of a much larger Jewish community spanning the world and centered in Israel.
So why should we encourage our Jewish high school kids to be involved in NFTY? Our own Jewish identity is clearly important to us (otherwise, you wouldn‘t be reading this). And by solidifying their Jewish identities, Jewish youth groups protect and ensure our own futures, not only as Jews, but as people who have the confidence to know that, one day, they may make our Jewish community — and the world — a better place.
Randi Emanuel
Youth Group Director
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