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Leadership 'Training Fellowship was one of the best-run
youth programs in America. Why did it stop?
ce Hi
"We haven't developed the
potential of our kids," said
Rabbi William Gershon of
Congregation Shaarey
Zedek. "They're not being
challenged. The problem
with the movement is that
there is a lack of vision with
regard to this. The local
rabbis have to take control
over the destiny of the
movement."
LTF left its mark on more
than the ranks of rabbis,
federation staff and
lay leaders. Many of its ex-
planatory materials —
which were written by Mr.
Potok — are now used as
texts in synagogue religious
schools. A group of essays by
Mr. Potok on Jewish ethics
have been compiled into
book form.
The LTF materials em-
phasized social activism in
the rubric of Judaism: chari-
ty, helping the poor and
disadvantaged and visiting
the sick. LTF wanted to en-
courage an informal but se-
rious appraisal of Jewish
ideas and law, and this
philosophy later became the
paradigm for Conservative
Jewish education.
But was LTF's success a
result of its programming, or
was it simply the beneficiary
of having collected together
so many religiously-inclined
Jewish teens?
"It may be that these in-
dividuals were predisposed
toward community life,"
said Mr. Potok. "But this
program gave them the in-
centive to stay involved. And
out of this cadre would
emerge the leadership for
the Conservative movement
and the Jewish community,"
he said.
In its final years, however,
LTF withered. JTS
withdrew funding for the
program during a financial
crunch and has yet to revive
it. Some feel the program
outlived its utility. Others
feel its elitism alienated too
many to survive.
"Elitism went out," said
Rabbi Roth. "Its part of the
reason it died. But whether
it was suicide, death, or
murder, I'll never be cer-
tain."
Mrs. Ettenberg, who shep-
herded the,program through
feast and famine, saw LTF's
demise as purely financial.
Mordecai Kaplan:
LTF founder.
"The Seminary is as com-
mitted to youth now, if not
more," she said. She cited
the growth of day schools,
Hebrew high schools and
other innovations as proof
that the Conservative mov-
ment has not given up on its
future.
Others disagree. They see
the demise of LTF as part of
a total pattern of neglect by
the movement of its future
leaders. •
"If you're serious about
creating a pool of potential
leaders, its got to be created
in your teen-age programm-
ing," said Mr. Levine, the
former LTF director. "The
kinds of people who sup-
ported Camp Ramah and
LTF were the same people
who supported day schools.
"What you have now is a
sorry echo," he said.
The Conservative
movement's other national
youth programs — the
Ramah camps and United
Synagogue Youth — have
come under fire for what
some critics believe is a
"watered down" Jewish
message. While those pro-
grams appeal to a large
group of youth and families,
they say, the best and
brightest are not getting the
nurturing they need.
"Unless there's something
I don't know about, the Con-
servative movement is not
paying careful attention to
the needs of its intelligent
and serious teen-agers," said
Mr. Potok.
Others disagree. Rabbi
Waldman said LTF's demise
was an indication of the
movement's all-around
success.
"LTF was an elitist
movement. In those days, to
be part of an elite didn't take
very much," he said. "The
average person now is far
more religious than what I
remember. Normal kids now
are more skilled and more
attached than we were in
those days."
"I view this as proof that
the rest of the movement has
caught up." CI
(not shown)
4
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
43