ir I Thoughts

A MONTHLY MIX OF IDEAS

George Cantor's Reality Check column will return next week

A Vision For A Vibrant Future

W

ords are funny things. The
letters we write, the language
we use — words send signals
about who we are and what we value.
As Americans, the ability to use any
words we wish at any time (other than
in a crowded movie theater) stands with
freedoms of religion, association and
press as the first rights enumerated in
our Constitutional amendments. As Jews,
words are more important; our sages spent
innumerable hours debating each word in
the Torah to divine its exact meaning in
an attempt to live out God's mitzvot.
In modern business, we select words
that explain our mission. For-profit, non-
profit and public sector institutions spend
countless dollars and hours creating mis-
sion statements, signaling to stakeholders
the key information they need about the
institution's purpose.
For decades, B'nai B'rith Youth
Organization has been known as a Jewish
youth group that solidifies our teens'
Jewish identities, gives them a sense of
belonging and provides tools to turn the
teens of today into our community's lead-
ers of tomorrow. For 84 years, BBYO has
done this avodat kadosh, holy work, that
helps ensure the continuity of our people.
When I assumed my role as director
of Michigan Region BBYO — our local

branch of a 26,000-teen inter-
national Jewish organization
— I knew that continuing
this tradition was my mission.
Engaging more Jewish teens in
BBYO's activities was my vision.
As we entered 2009, I had
an epiphany; this simply isn't
enough. What is a Jewish youth
group? Those three words signal
that we are a collection of young
Jews. While we are, in fact, a
collection of more than 1,000
young Jews in Metro Detroit
alone, the concept "Jewish youth group"
conveys no sense of purpose.
As I engage our teen leaders, I realize
that being members of a Jewish youth
group is not sufficient for them either.
Today's teens want to do tikkun olam
— they want be active participants in
repairing our world. They have access to
information that previous generations
could never imagine and they want to
take that information, combine it with
their need for instant gratification and
make their world a better place right NOW.
While our Jewish teens might still enjoy
being a group, they want more.
The words "Jewish youth group" sim-
ply do not carry the necessary meaning
anymore. If our Jewish community wants

to connect with teens, to show
them that they can make a dif-
ference in the world and (this
part is important) that they can
do it in a Jewish milieu, with
Jewish values and with a Jewish
soul, we must change the words
we say.
So what is my vision? What
is BBYO's purpose? United with
our community's teen lead-
ers and adults who care pas-
sionately about developing the
next generation of our Jewish
community, we will transform BBYO from
a Jewish youth group to a Jewish Teen
Movement.
Jewish Teen Movement. That is a pow-
erful vision. Like the suffrage, Zionist
and civil rights movements before them,
Jewish teens will band together to move
our community and our culture forward.
They will do it on their terms — they
will discover their passions, learn how to
transform their passion into action and
learn how and why this is the most Jewish
of pursuits.
BBYO will not do this alone. We will join
with our partners — synagogues, the JCC,
schools, secular organizations — who
also pursue avodat kadosh to transform
the 7,000 Jewish teens in Metro Detroit

into a powerful Jewish Teen Movement
that repairs the world today while learning
the skills that will allow them to lead our
world and our community tomorrow.
Our teens have passions and visions that
go further than any adult can imagine.
BBYO and our partners will — nay, must
— nurture these passions, give our teens
the tools to make the change they wish
to see, and get out of their way. They will
inspire and impress us — and they will
learn that making change as a movement
is the most Jewish activity imaginable.
Then, most importantly, they will share
their experiences with their children,
who will create new movements and new
changes that are inconceivable today.
BBYO is no longer a Jewish youth group.
We are a Jewish Teen Movement — 1,000
strong (and growing) and committed to
tikkun olam. These words send powerful
messages to our teens, their parents and
the rest of our community; our Jewish
teens will learn and implement the skills
that will support our community l'dor
va'dor, from generation to generation.
Please join me in supporting them
— and learning from them what a Jewish
Teen Movement can accomplish. ❑

Eric Adelman is the West Bloomfield-based
Michigan Region BBYO director.

A Call To Jewish Service

WashingtonlJTA

B

arack Obama has made national
and community service a cor-
nerstone of his vision for trans-
forming our country. The intimate linkage
between his inauguration and call for
widespread participation in the national
day of service on Martin Luther King Day
on Jan. 19 actualizes his vision of igniting
long-term commitment to meaningful
community service.
As we celebrate his historic inaugura-
tion, the Jewish community should issue
our own call to serve that will engage our
young people, re-energize our community
and inspire us to fulfill the Jewish man-
date to repair our fractured world. We
should take full advantage of this moment
to promote service as a defining feature of
what it means to be Jewish.
We can and must provide young Jews
with opportunities to address real needs
in the context of Jewish tradition and
with a connection to Jewish community.

A36

January 29 • 2009

We have the chance to educate
an entire generation about
how service is an expression of
Jewish values and identity, and
to awaken them to their ability
to work as Jews to make the
world a better place.
Young Americans today are
choosing to volunteer as never
before. Teach for America
has seen applications nearly
double this year. According to
the Boston Globe, teenagers
are twice as likely to volunteer
now compared with past decades. More
than 90 percent of college freshmen
report having done service in the past 12
months, and a full third do service on a
regular basis.
Young Jews are well represented — dis-
proportionately so — in this growing
volunteer force. More than 10 percent of
Teach for America corps members report
Jewish involvement. More than half of
Jewish young adults report engaging in

service in the past year, and
Jews are leading campus ser-
vice organizations, and pursu-
ing volunteerism and social
action opportunities post-col-
lege in record numbers.
This impulse to serve is alive
and well among young Jews.
Evidence suggests that demand
for Jewish service programs
among college-aged students
exceeds the supply. Yet only a
fraction of Jews aged 18 to 24
are participating in service
experiences sponsored by Jewish organi-
zations.
The secular service community is
already engaging our young people. Now
we must seize the moment to ensure that
we create the infrastructure, programs,
support and visibility that will inspire
and enable tens of thousands of young
Jews to serve in a Jewish context. Linking
service to Jewish values and community
creates a potent nexus that can indelibly

impact both the individuals serving and
the communities served.
We also can expand the number of
Jews serving within a Jewish context by
providing Jewish experiences and con-
nections to those in secular service. By
crafting creative, relevant Jewish points of
entry to enrich the secular service work
done by young Jews, we can tap into their
passion and link them to our community
in deeply resonant ways.
Finally, we can cast the widest net pos-
sible by demonstrating that we value
the service work to which young Jews
already are committed and validate it as
a fundamentally Jewish act. When young
Jews understand that their urge to heal
the world is rooted in Jewish teaching
and that Judaism provides a value-added
lens for their work, they will be stronger
volunteers, stronger leaders and stronger
Jews.
Whether giving more young people the

Jewish Service on page A38