This year’s Mid-Winter Kallah was AMAZING! USYers enjoyed great programming, Ruach, and friendships that will last for a lifetime. The theme, “METNY Goes Greek,” enticed everyone to wear togas, wreaths, and truly be a METNY God/ Goddess. The two co-Chairs, Yuval Yoseffy and Jillian Mergruen, worked tirelessly to make sure that everyone had a great time! And everyone surely did have a great time! With icebreakers about designing your own God/Godess and a Tikkun Olam fashion show, everyone was sure to enjoy this event. USYers learned about the Israeli government through a Knesset Government simulation, where USYers debated numerous issues that are being argued in the actual Knesset today. On Saturday night we had a toga party, where everyone showed off their toga making skills. On Sunday, we started the morning with a creative service focusing on prayer through music! This service taught USYers that there are more ways to connect to God than through just prayer. We finally ended with a Social Actions program that taught USYers about disability awareness. Although everyone is sad that Kallah is now over, everyone should look forward to their spring kinnusim! Talk to your divisional youth director for more information.

By Stephanie Nelson, METNY Israel Affairs Vice President

      This past weekend 8^th graders and USYers experienced one of the most incredible events of their entire lives! METNY MID-WINTER KALLAH!

       The fun and exciting god and goddess themed weekend began with an incredible introduction from our co-chairs Yuval Yossefy and Jillian Merguen. Next, all of the USYers got to know each other a little bit better through some icebreakers. Now, we were all introduced and ready for some Kabbalat Shabbat! The room was filled with kavanah and enthusiasm within each USYer and 8^th grader as he or she welcomed Shabbat.

      Next came my personal favorite part… FOOD! We had a lovely Shabbos dinner, which ended with some incredible Ruach. The night wouldn’t have been complete without a sicha, Israel Program, and even a late night optional Heschel Session.

     Saturday morning was filled with tephilot, sichot, and some more food! Sadly, Shabbat eventually had to end but everyone was excited to see what was in store for the rest of the night. After changing into our togas, we came downstairs and experienced an awesome Tikun Olam program called MR. and MRS. METNY. USYers would vote with money for the couple that they wanted to win; it was a very entertaining and enjoyable way to begin our night. After some laughs at the competition, we all went into the dance where we truly did “dance the night away”.

     The next morning METNY woke up to an excellent Greek God themed Shacharit where we prayed with our friends one last time before we would need to say goodbye.

     Overall, Kallah was an astounding and remarkable event! I am so sad that it is all over but I can’t wait to see all of my friends again at the upcoming kinnusim!

Sara Finkelstein, METNY Membership/Kadima Vice President, 2011-2012

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to staff my last Kadima Shabbaton as a USYer. The weekend began on Friday afternoon when two buses filled with eager children arrived at South Huntington Jewish Center. By late afternoon all 100 Kadimaniks arrived and the extraordinary weekend began.

Everyone was welcomed and the Kadimaniks were split into groups to do icebreakers. This was a great way to start the weekend because all the attendees were able to meet new people and learn new things about each other. After icebreakers the Kadimaniks participated in a fun program in which they learned about Israel. This stirred up a big appetite so the Kadimaniks along with the staff and USYers who attended had a nice Shabbat dinner together. After dinner and Ruach we welcomed Shabbat by doing Kabbalat Shabbat, led by the Kadimaniks themselves. After services the Kadimaniks had a sicha session where discussed “What makes a Jewish hero and how can they be one themselves”.   Afterwards the kids got a late night snack and went home to their host homes for a great night’s sleep.

The next morning everyone arrived at shul bright and early. We had services and then a delicious Shabbat lunch. After lunch there was a treasure hunt done by grade, and a lot of free time for everyone to relax and make new friends. Then we sadly ended Shabbat with Havdalah. After this we had our Yad B’Yad program which was modeled after the popular television game show, “Don’t Forget The Lyrics”.  Yad B’Yad is the Kadima Tzedakah which helps special needs children partake in Ramah and USY/Kadima programs across the United States and Canada.  While everyone sang and danced we managed to raise $1,200 dollars for Tzedaka! Then we concluded our night with a dance with an awesome dj which was a ton of fun! Everyone was so sad to say goodbye to their friends but for the eighth graders, it wasn’t goodbye it was I’ll see you soon since they can see their friends if they sign up for eighth grade leadership in February! Overall this was one unforgettable weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

A message from Tamar Schwartz, METNY USY Regional Youth Director & Elan Weinberger, METNY USY President

September 16-17, 2011

This past weekend, METNY USY held its Regional Board Weekend at Hillcrest Jewish Center. The weekend, designed to strengthen the leadership skills of the METNY USY Regional and Divisional boards, was both exciting, fun and informational. Activities ranged from ice breaker musical chairs, to sessions on public speaking and the five dysfunctions of a team. Members of the Regional and Divisional boards got to know each other and learned how to best work together. There were tons of discussions and brainstorming about our METNY Kickoff event in October, International Convention, the future of our organization, and the different ways to get new faces to join USY. Overall, the weekend was filled with laughs and some tears from the moving sounds of slow ruach on Shabbat afternoon. The future of METNY USY looks bright because of the motivated and talented boards we have this year.

What can I say about my very first Regional Convention (RC) as Director…except that it blew me away.

It all began with Senior Night, a very moving evening for our 12th graders, some of which have been with METNY USY for four years and more with Kadima, some new to our family this year. Either way, it was clear that all of our seniors haven’t had enough, and wished they could stay in USY longer.

Our Senior Night Cochairs, Jordan Mor and Louisa Alter, put together an evening to remember. Tears were shed as the group sang along to David Hauser’s Encampment 2010 video. Every 12th grader  exchanged little gifts that reminded them of one another and each had a few minutes to speak. It was clear that the bonds that were made and reinforced are ones our new alumni will take with them for life.

Friday we kicked things up a notch as the rest of RC and 8th Grade Experience attendees arrived. The excitement was palpable as our Convention Cochairs, Avi Pusateri and Shelby Levinson, opened up the weekend with an incredibly creative video presentation of the rules of the weekend.

Our Regional Board candidates were glad once elections arrived, and with the help of our Youth Commission Chair, Mindy Liebman, we counted the votes in some incredibly inspiring elections. Mazel tov to all of the candidates for putting together such wonderful speeches and videos, and for going after the opportunity to be a part of our METNY USY leadership. They all deserve a yasher koach!

Mazel tov to our new METNY USY Regional Board! I am looking forward to an amazing year working together.

Once the winners were announced it was on to Divisional elections. Once again, the excitement and nerves were felt. Mazel tov to the new Divisional Boards!

Shabbat arrived and everyone came together after the hype of the day to sing and daven as one. Shabbat evening was full of ruach and learning with study sessions led by our enthusiastic staff educators on the topic of Jewish Music. Thank you to the faculty!

Shabbat day was busy with icebreakers and our Israel program where the USYers learned about African refugees living in Israel. And then of course came the incredibly moving Havdalah service where the outgoing Regional Board rolled their own Havdalah candles and passed along “the flame” to the newly elected Board.

Our Social Action Tikkun Olam program was an exciting game similar to capture the flag which raised over $4,000! And the dance was a great time as always as the USYers sang and danced their hearts out.

Sunday was a bittersweet day as the outgoing boards were discharged and the new boards installed. We welcomed our enthusiastic 8th graders into METNY USY and said goodbye to our seniors who we know will go out into the world and spread the word of what METNY USY has meant to them – and hopefully return next year as Interns and after that as staff.

Thank you to all of those that made this incredible convention possible. Our four Divisional Directors – Bruce, Todd, Mark and Mike; all of the convention staff, as well as David Hauser, Ivan Goodstein, Rebecca Kane, Ashley Lehrman, Seasons Catering and the Hilton Stamford.

This was a Regional Convention I will surely never forget. I encourage you to read what our USYers had to say about RC. Check out RC Recaps from METNY USYers!

Have a great summer!

All the best,
Tamar Schwartz
Director of Youth Activities
Metropolitan New York District of USCJ

P.S. I hope you’ll join us for the USY Alumni Picnic on July 10.

Dear Parents of PJC students and incoming USYERS,

I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Arielle Mendelson and I am Plainview Jewish Center’ United Synagogue Youth’s Communication Vice President. I am writing this letter on behalf of my fellow board members and I to welcome your child into the program.

In joining USY they explore both their individuality as a Jew and what it means to be Jewish. In writing this I ensure that your child’s experience will stay with him/her for a lifetime. I started in Plainview Jewish Center’s youth program back when I was in third grade. I’d like to start by telling you a little bit about my history in USY.

The program was entitled Tironim. In Tironim, I made new friends and got a small sense of what Judaism really was about. We did activities from tye-dying to having chocolate seders, and I always had a blast. It occurred to me after a while, “Hmm, why does Tironim only meet once every month, that’s not enough time to celebrate the joy of being Jewish with other Jews.”

Then on to Kadima I went. There I was the shy little 6^th grader because I went from being the oldest child in Tironim to the youngest in Kadima. Eventually after a Kadima lounge night, I was no longer shy I had met half the people in one night, and there were many there. I made friends from other chapters in Rakevet (our division), and I still keep in touch with many of them. In any event, we met twice a month, instead of once, so I was really happy. We’d go on trips together, we learned a little bit more about Judaism and what it entails.

Now here I am, a sophomore in USY. Both this year and last year have impacted me the most. I went from being the quiet 8^th grader to the confident sophomore. When I walked in the first day of my freshman year in USY, I said, “I’ve been looking forward to this, but is it as good as people say it is?” and let me tell you after the first meeting, I was like I never want to leave and in closing my sophomore year, it is sad looking at the fact I only have two years left.

I feel like I started a journey that I never want to stop. I’ve met so many sincere people on my journey that have really impacted me and left me thinking, “Wow I’m so lucky to be Jewish!” We meet every Sunday and there are many more regional events open to USYERS. Last year’s Regional Convention experience will stay with me for life. Other events that USYERS have the opportunity to do are: the two divisional kinnuism, International Convention (which I would have gone to if I was available, I heard it was awesome!), METNY (our regional division) Kallah, METNY encampment (I am attending this summer), Kick-off dances and many more.

To conclude this letter, USY has really made me understand Judaism a lot more than I did. From benching (blessings after meals) to hearing interesting presentations at convention, what I learned, I will pass on to others. My fellow board members and I would like to take a moment to thank you for your time and hope you consider enrolling in this wonderful program.

See you at our open house date,

Arielle Mendelson

Sincerely,
Elan Weinberger
METNY USY President 2011-2012

You are invited to join the United Synagogue Alumni Association for dinner and drinks in support of USY’s 60th anniversary.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS	vs	WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Nationals Park 1500 South Capitol Street, SE Suites 39 & 40, Jefferson Level Washington, DC 20003  Doors open 6:00 p.m. Game begins 7:05 p.m. Minimum donation $500 per person Kindly reply to Wendy Glick, Director of Alumni Affairs, by June 1 usy60@uscj.org or 646-519-9260. With gratitude to Mark D. Lerner, Principal, Lerner Enterprises for donating the executive suites and to Shalom Caterers for the food. Douglas Baskies, Event Chairperson Complimentary parking in VIP garage C USY: Shaping the future of Conservative Judaism…one leader at a time. More info

By Marla Cohen, Jewish Federation of Rockland County

(This article is reposted here with permission from the author. For the original article, click here)

In pairs and small groups, still groggy, teenagers trickle into the empty Langerman Sanctuary at New City Jewish Center. A “do not disturb” air hovers about them. Brushing sleep from their eyes, they look like they’ve been up most of the night.

They find friends and take seats, more than halfway filling the sanctuary. With little fuss, they go about their business. The boys all don tallit — as do a handful of girls — and tefillin.

Noah Singer, a synagogue member and “rel ed” or head of religious education for METNY’s Koach division, tinkers with a computer and sound system so the service that’s about to begin can be injected with the songs of Jewish rapper Matisyahu. Rina Schulberg, a freshman, gets in place in the front of the room to lead prayers.
And then, without adult prompting, 240 teens begin to pray.

The Sunday morning service is the coda to a weekend-long divisional kinnus, where teens from across the Conservative movement’s New York region known as METNY, gather beginning on Shabbat for a weekend of Jewish exploration and socializing. The Koach kinnus, which brings in teens from Rockland, Orange, Westchester and Putnam counties, and Greenwich Conn., took place in early April and attracted 240 kids. It was the largest kinnus since METNY began holding the weekend events decades ago.

At a time when the Conservative movement has been struggling with declining numbers and a way to recast itself from a movement that bridged assimilation into something new, its youth movement, USY, is going strong. Somehow, by deftly combining dances, davening, serious Jewish discussion and a lot of hanging out, USY, as it heads into its sixth decade, has found a way to be cool.

“I got into USY because basically I saw a lot of older kids than me at shul, cool kids,” says Marisa Kelly, a member of the Orangetown Jewish Center’s chapter and Koach divisional president. “They did USY, and they sat me down and said you’re going to do USY and dragged me to my first event, and I’m forever grateful.”

Those involved attribute the organizations success to the fact that it offers teens community without pandering or platitudes. For the kids, it feels real and it feels fun.
Alex Hausner, 17, a junior at Clarkstown High School South and a member of Nanuet Hebrew Center, had been involved in USY since middle school as part of Kadima, the group that caters to that age division. He attended his first kinnus in the fall in Greenwich, Conn. and was really looking forward to the spring event at NCJC.

The dances are fun, he says, but it’s the group’s discussions, or sicha, that really interest him.

“I like to question things,” he says. “I’m a teenager, so I question my beliefs sometimes. I know I’m Jewish and sometimes question that, others do as well.”
Most importantly, though, “They listened.”

—–

What METNY is experiencing is happening throughout USY, according to Rabbi Charles Savenor, executive director of the METNY Region of United Synagogue. For individual programs the numbers are up, with divisional kinnusim, or conventions, and regional programming is strong.

“We’re seeing a dramatic increase,” he says. He attributes the strength to a savvy use of social media, which all the teens have access to through Facebook, email and twitter, and to good old-fashioned arm-twisting.

“The old recruitment tools still work,” he says. “Getting a phone call from someone still works.”

While participation in programs is way up these days, overall membership is not, he says. As go the Conservative congregations, shedding members each year, so goes its youth movement. What organizers are seeing that’s new, he says, is teens participating in individual programs, participating when they want to participate.

“USY participation rates in divisional and regional New York is going through the roof he said, noting that at mid-winter Kallah, a regional gathering in a hotel that can cost upwards of $200, attracted more than 100 teens more than it had the year before.
“We live in an age where the concept of membership doesn’t resonate with people as much as it used to; people participate in activities when they want to participate.”

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism is the umbrella organization to approximately 652-member congregations. USY, it’s youth movement, is divided into 17 regions. METNY, which represents the metropolitan New York region, is further broken down into four divisions, Chazak, Kiryah, Rakevet and Koach, which includes Rockland County synagogue youth groups. The program begins in middle school with Kadima and continues through college, with Koach, though that program has not been as successful.
Throughout the year, member teens plan and attend events and run for office at the synagogue, divisional and regional levels. Once a year, they can attend IC, or International Convention and meet up with teens from other regions around the country. The program meshes handily with other USY programs, such as Encampment, a 10-day intensive Jewish camp at the end of the summer, USY on Wheels, a summer-long travel camp that takes teens across the United States, and USY Israel Pilgrimage, a similar program in Israel.

At the mid-winter Kallah, adult organizers polled participants, asking the more than 400 teens who attended why. The most common answer was completely expected, says Savenor. They wanted to be with friends.

But the next most common answer was completely unexpected: To be part of a Jewish community.

“The second one really surprised us,” says Savenor.

The teens, he says, want connection. They want to interact with one another in real and meaningful ways, not just at the dance, which, of course, is part of these events. But what adults are finding is the teens want to learn something, and they want to do it with their friends, in a Jewish context

All of these intensive weekends do just that. A kinnus, for example begins with an icebreaker after the kids arrive, check in with their host families and head back to the synagogue just before Shabbat services at the host synagogue, which play that role on a rotating basis. Following services is dinner and ruach, the spirited singing that takes place after each meal during the weekend. The entire weekend is built around alternating davening, or prayer, with free time and learning built around a theme, which for the Koach spring kinnus was “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” using the Rabbi Harold S. Kushner book of the same name.

There’s a Saturday night dance, and a lot of built up emotion as kids from the various regions, who’ve bonded at previous events, reconnect, often for the first time in months.
“We are doing something right,” says Bruce Varon, the Koach divisional director, who has been involved in USY since 1975, when he was a member himself. “The kids that I have love what we do and want to share it with everyone else.”

Varon, who met his wife as USY staff, began working with USY straight out of college, first in Howard Beach, then Staten Island, Jackson Heights and finally, Pomona Jewish Center, before taking on the divisional role in 1983. He has the unbridled enthusiasm of the teens he works with, and will be the honoree on Nov. 20th, when the organization celebrates its 60th year.

Varon is easily fired up by ‘his kids. ‘He loves seeing them engaged in Jewish activities, and excited by the simple connections created when one teen reaches out and calls another, inviting them to a kinnus.

But all that energy, he admits, has little place to go after high school. Koach, the college program of the Conservative movement, is not working, he says. And Conservative synagogues have not always offered their own kids, who grew up on the USY ruach, that kind of engagement when they reconnect to synagogues as adults.

His youngest son, Benny, prefers davening at an Orthodox synagogue. Modern Orthodoxy, especially the more progressive congregations that incorporate the vibrant tunes of Shlomo Carlebach, have attracted their fair share of Conservative movement “graduates,” according to movement leaders.

That phenomenon, according to Savenor, is something that needs to be addressed.. The movement has not succeeded at the college level and is looking to reconnect with 20- and 30-somethings afterward, feeling that this age group will be a better one to focus resources.

The movement, through USY, its Solomon Schechter day schools and the Camp Ramah movement, has produced a great deal of innovation, just outside the movement, Savenor points out. Independent minyanim such as Kehilat Hadar, in New York, which was founded on principals of lay-led volunteerism and IKAR, in Los Angeles, which describes itself as a “spiritual community,” and seeks to combine that with a focus on social justice, both have members with their roots in the Conservative movement. As well, organizations such as Reboot, a non-profit organization in Manhattan that seeks to redefine and reinvent Jewish identity through books, film, music and gatherings and attract people looking for alternative Jewish expression, is also “a product of our movement,” Savenor says.

Erica Leventhal grew up in New City and attended Congregation Sons of Israel in Nyack. For her, USY gave her a strong Jewish background, her best friends and a career path. Today she’s the executive director of Beth El Synagogue Center in New Rochelle.
“USY is the best and worst all rolled into one,” she says. “It provides this incredible experience for our years in high school and then it drops them.”

USYers will find an active Hillel or Chabad House while in college. After graduation, unless someone is particularly observant, she notes, belonging to a synagogue is “falling toward the bottom of the priority list.”

For those who are committed, they gravitate toward modern Orthodox congregations because there are other young people there who join as a matter of course. If they go hunting for community in a Conservative congregation, they’re likely to find it filled with people much older and at very different stages in life.

“The job of the Conservative moment and member shuls is to make Conservative Jewish life available for our young families,” says Leventhal, who points out that the sheer expense of settling in a suburb of New York, like Westchester or Rockland often puts synagogue membership out of sight for a young family.

“It really has to be our priority for our movement as a whole. What’s the reentry point for those in their 20s and 30s. How do we reengage them?”

———

At the Koach spring kinnus, no one is worrying about disengagement, much less reengagement. At this moment, the kids are 100 percent committed and involved.
Rockland congregations have particularly strong USY chapters, with their members regularly elected to leadership positions on the divisional, regional, and occasionally the international boards. Local rabbis are supportive, seeing the value in what USY does as something larger than just a teen activity.
“I’ve always felt it was our job as a congregation to incubate our youth and to give them the tools that they are going to need to be leaders in the Jewish community, not just bystanders,” says Rabbi David Berkman of NCJC, where they refer to the youth program and the “youth community” and focus on it being a kindergarten-to-high school social experience.

“The shul should be an incubator of this type of thing,” he says.

Rabbi Craig Scheff of Orangetown Jewish Center voices similar sentiments. Scheff was president of the New City Jewish Center USY chapter growing up, and has seen the youth program build leaders and lovers of Judaism.

“We need to create more opportunities for them to be creating communities of their own,” he says. The Conservative movement needs to look to models that work in other streams of Judaism so that when a group of friends who daven together, marry and form families, they can be encouraged to move as a group to a community and energize it.

For the USYers, heading to college is either here or shortly on the horizon. Graduating into life, finding a mate and starting a family are barely blips on the future’s radar.
But according to Terri McGuire, immediate past-president of New City Jewish Center’s chapter, it prepares you for the future in ways she could not have imagined as an incoming freshman. McGuire, who will be heading to Israel this fall to attend the Conservative movement’s Nativ program, for a year of study. In addition to great memories and great friends, USY gave her the poise and leadership to speak in front of a group of 240, the ability to talk to adults and believe they cared about her opinion, she says. Attending USY on Wheels and Pilgrimage, she says, let her leave home, work with great leaders, and find her own way.

For McGuire, the kinnus at NCJC was her last as a member of the chapter. It was bittersweet, providing a moment to bask in success and to feel sad that her time was coming to an end. But like almost anything Jewish, she notes, USY is built into a lifecycle of events. Older teens move on and make room for the new kids.

“For me it was strange, I thought I’d be more emotional, and I did cry, but when it comes down to it, I have to move on and make room for new freshman, for eighth graders to come in,” she says. “Welcoming in a new gen. I really believe that that’s kind of the point of all of it. I can come back and visit and share those experiences, but I want other have those great experiences that I had.”

And those great experiences transformed her. Today, when a younger member says they want to be like her, or gets up in front of everyone to speak or lead services, she feels she’s accomplished something.

“It’s life changing,” she says. “I’d be a different person today it it were not for my experiences in USY.”