North American Federation of Temple Youth
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The North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) is the organized youth movement of Reform Judaism in North America. Funded and supported by the Union for Reform Judaism, NFTY exists to supplement and support Reform youth groups at the synagogue level. About 750 local youth groups affiliate themselves with the organization, comprising over 8,500 youth members.
NFTY is the American branch of Netzer Olami, the worldwide Progressive Zionist Youth movement. This relationship was formalized at the biennial NFTY Convention in Los Angeles, California in February 2005.
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[edit] History
Founded in 1939 by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now called the Union for Reform Judaism), the then-titled National Federation of Temple Youth was a program to encourage college students to engage in synagogue life. The early national officers were in their twenties. NFTY was focused in three regions - New York, Chicago, and Pennsylvania.
National conventions were dropped in 1948 and the organization began to focus on High School aged students. In 1951, NFTY began Jewish summer camping in the newly purchased facility in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin later called the Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute Camp (or OSRUI). The successful Jewish camping movement expanded under the UAHC/URJ and NFTY to 13 Jewish camps by 2006. In 1965, the Kutz Camp in Warwick, New York became NFTY's North American leadership camp and the site of North American board meetings.
In the 1950s, NFTY began to focus on social action and mitzvah themes, capitalzing on the vision, ideals, and energy of teenagers to help transform the world. Local, regional, and national social action efforts were commonplace on issues from the releases of Russian Jews to the fight against poverty to hunger in Darfur conflict. Mitzvah Corps groups were established in many regions.
In 1961, NFTY began Israel programming with the Eisendrath International Exchange (EIE) High School semester in Israel. NFTY summer trips to Israel, often attended between sophomore and junior years of high school have been attended by thousands of Reform Jewsh teenagers. Trips to Europe, mitzvah trips to locations such as Puerto Rico and Mexico, and archaeological digs have also been sponsored by NFTY in recent decades.
In 1983, NFTY reintroduced the NFTY Convention in Washington, DC. Every other year on President's Day weekend, hundreds to thousands of Reform Jewish teenagers gather for study, prayer, music, and socializing in a major North American city. A youth advisor's professional training conference was added to run concurrently in 1999 with a youth clergy track added in 2001. Convention typically alternates between the East and West coast.
In the late 1980s at Mechina, a leadership training and policy setting gathering of the NFTY General Board, NFTY officially recognized itself as a North American movement, in response to a growing and influential Canadian population. To this day, the movement still works to get all of its membership, and more importantly, outside press to correctly identify the movement and its various events, i.e. NFTY Convention as opposed to National Convention and North American Executive and General Boards as opposed to National Board.
The first NFTY director was Rabbi Sam Cook. He was followed by several adult leaders including Rabbi Hank Skirball (1962-1971), Rabbi Allan Smith ("Smitty") (1983-2003), Rabbi Eve Rudin and most recently Hope Chernak. Rabbi Michael Mellen is currently the Director of Youth Programs for the URJ, and oversees all College, High School, and Middle School programming for the Union.
Today, NFTY has over 750 local youth groups in 19 regions in the United States and Canada with over 150 regional events a year. Past NFTYites and NFTY leadership can be found as numerous rabbis, cantors, educators, social workers, synagogue leaders, and active Reform Jews across the world.
[edit] Music
Music has been at the heart of NFTY since its beginnings. In NFTY's early years, traditional Jewish and Yiddish melodies were common as well as spirituals such as "Elijah Rock". In the 1960s, folk music became dominants with guitar-led teenagers leading the songs of Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary, and Bob Dylan, among others, as well as original compositons not usually recorded for posterity. Following the Six-Day War in Israel, a surge of Zionism in Jewish life pushed Hebrew, Israeli, Chasidic, and liturgically based songs to the forefront. The Mi Chamocha hymn, for example, was set by NFTY participants to the melody of Bob Marley's Redemption Song. Similarly, the traditional Adon Olam can be set to nearly any melody for any situation.
In 1968, Michael Isaacson introduced a NFTY Folk Service at the Kutz Camp demonstrating the growing trend of participatory, informal, mixed Hebrew/English services and songsessions that have remained the hallmark of a NFTY service. This style of American-born Jewish music came to be known as "American Nusach."
As the number of original compostions, often usually traditional Hebrew prayers for lyrics, became widespread, the first NFTY album, "Songs NFTY Sings" was produced for about $100 at the then-UAHC Kutz Camp. It contained eight contemporary Jewish folk pieces and 10 songs from Isaacson's Folk Service. The album, produced by Loui Dobin, now the director of Greene Family Camp, was quickly followed by 5 more albums: "Shiru Shir Chadash" (1973), "Ten Shabbat V'Ten Shalom (Give Us Sabbath and Give Us Peace)" (1974), "Eit Hazmir, The Time of Singing" (1977), and "nfty at 40: this is very good" (1980). In 1989, "Fifty Years in the Making 1939-1989" was released with new music and retrospective hits. The 7 albums are often also referred to as "NFTY I," "NFTY II," "NFTY III," and so on.
In recent years, as individual artists, many of them former NFTYites themselves, found it easier to produce their own solo-albums, NFTY has shied away from producing records. However, in 2003 released all of the original 7 albums on compact disc in the 5-disc set "The Complete NFTY Recordings 1972-1989". At recent NFTY Conventions, NFTY has highlighted some contemporary artists and recordings on CD releases "Ruach 5761," "Ruach 5763," and most recently, "Ruach 5765," which focused on music from and about Israel.
Performers popular within NFTY include Debbie Friedman, Kol B'Seder, Ramie and Merri Arian, Doug Mishkin, Peri Smilow, Julie Silver, Dan Nichols, Noam Katz, and Rick Recht.
[edit] Structure
NFTY is divided into three levels: Temple Youth Group (TYG), Regional, and North American. At each level, authority is divided between elected youth boards and supervisors employed by the URJ or local synagogue. Boards vary widely between youth groups and regions, but typically include positions such as: President, Executive Vice-President, Programming Vice-President, Social Action Vice-President, Religious & Cultural Vice-President, Membership Vice-President, Communications Vice-President, NFTY-Representative, Treasurer, Secretary, Historian, and Grade Level Representatives.
TYG level: Individual youth groups affiliated with Reform congregations are the foundation of NFTY. TYGs are youth-run and offer participants educational, social, and religious programs. Each TYG has a youth group board and an adult advisor appointed by the congregation. The youth group advisor or director is sometimes a volunteer in the congregation, a parent, a part-time staff person, or, in a small, but increasing number of synagogues, a full-time position. While the board structure is at the direction of each group, most are modeled after the regional or North American board.
[edit] Regions
Regional level: NFTY is currently divided into nineteen regions which hold events to bring together different TYGs based on geographical distribution. For example, NFTY-NE (Northeast), the most populated region, includes 72 TYGs and over 1200 members. Each region has an elected executive board, who coordinate the efforts of their TYG counterparts and provide support to regional events. There is also an adult Regional Director, a paid staff position, who supervises the executive board and is a liaison with TYG advisors.
- Note that until 2001, NFTY-SAR and NFTY-STR comprised one region, known as NFTY-SER (formerly known as SEFTY). The regions still work together to run certain social action projects. Additionally, until 2003/2004 NFTY-NAR (New York Area Region) comprised of three regions, NFTY-NYC (New York City, formerly known as CRaFTY), NFTY-LI (Long Island, formerly known as LIFTY), and NFTY-W/F (Westchester/Fairfield and parts of Connecticut, formerly known as WooFTY). Additionally, a 21st region, NFTY-Central New York (formerly known as CNFTY) existed until 1995. In that year, the Central New York region, which included synagogues along the Hudson Valley from Rockland County, N.Y., north to Albany and west to Syracuse, N.Y., was split among the Northeast region, the Northeast Lakes region, and the New Jersey region (formerly known as JFTY).
The current regions are:
- NFTY-CAR: Chicago Area Region
- NFTY-CWR: Central West Region
- Northern California, Nevada, Hawaii
- NFTY-GER: Garden-Empire Region
- Northern and Central New Jersey and parts of downstate New York.
- NFTY-MAR is supported by the Mid-Atlantic Council of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ-MAC).
- split into subregions 1) The Northern subregion comprises most of Delaware and all of Northern Maryland 2) The Eastern subregion comprises parts of Southern Maryland and all of the District of Columbia 3) The Western subregion comprises one TYG in Maryland and all of Northern Virginia and West Virginia. 4) The South subregion comprises the southern parts Virginia, and the northernmost part of North Carolina.
- NFTY-MAR holds seven events, or kallot (plural of the Hebrew kallah), each year in various locations throughout the region. Every event has some sort of theme determined by the event co-chairs in conjunction with the board. Plenary is held at Summer Kallah which is a four-day event held in August at Camp Harlam in conjunction with NFTY Pennsylvania Area Region. There is also a Fall Kallah held in different locations and a Winter Kallah which is also held at Camp Harlam but without the participation of Pennsylvania.
- NFTY-MI: Michigan
- Includes 15 temple chapters
- Elects a state-wide regional board annually
- Events include an annual Summer Kallah which is the main convention, a leadership kallah of NFTY-MI's leadership, a fall kallah usually around some type of "social action", a Winter Kallah held at a synagogue and with a formal dance and a Spring Kallah.
- NFTY-MoV: Missouri Valley
- Greater Midwest
- NFTY-NAR: New York Area Region
- Long Island, NYC,' and Westchester/Fairfield
- NFTY-NE: Northeast
- New York's Greater Capital Region, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maine
- NFTY-NEL: Northeast Lakes
- Around the Great Lakes (both in the US and Canada) including parts of the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and all of Ontario, Canada.
- NFTY-NO: Northern
- Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Manitoba
- NFTY-NW: Northwest
- Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho
- NFTY-OV: Ohio Valley
- Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia
- NFTY-PAR: Pennsylvania Area Region
- Most of Pennsylvania and South Jersey
- Split into Eastern subregion which covers southern New Jersey and the Philadelphia metropolitan area and Central subregion which covers central and western Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh metropolitan area was recently added back to NFTY-PAR. The NFTY-PAR office are located in downtown Philadelphia.
- one of the original three NFTY regions created in 1939. In the early 1950s, the regions was combined with the Maryland area region, but in the mid-1960s, the two regions became independent of one another. Until the mid-1990s, the region was known as PAFTY.
- regional events include Haggiah-Maccabiah (Hag-Mac-in early to mid May for new members,) Bi-Regionals (held with our southern neighbors NFTY-MAR and the longest event of the year in late August,) LTI (Leadersihp Training Institute-held at synagouge where NFTY-PARs participants learn about leadership,) Fall Kallah (held generally in October or November, and it is NFTY-PAR's main social event of the year,) WINSTY (NFTY-PAR's social action weekend at a local congregatoin,) and Spirng Kallah.
- NFTY-SAR: Southern Area Region
- North Florida, Georgia, the South Carolina, Charlotte, NC, Chattanooga, TN and Alabama (except for Birmingham).
- Founded in 2001
- NFTY-SAR consists of 20 local Temple Youth Groups (TYGs) across the region.
- Current adult advisor is Seth Freidman.
- Three conventions, called kallot are held each fall, winter and spring.
- The mascot of NFTY-SAR is the duck.
- NFTY-SO: Southern
- Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, West Tennessee, and Birmingham, Alabama
- NFTY-SoCal: Southern California
- All of Southern California
- NFTY-STR: Southern Tropical Region
- ALl of Florida outside of the panhandle
- NFTY-SW: Southwest
- Las Vegas, Arizona, New Mexico, El Paso
- NFTY-TOR: Texas-Oklahoma Region
- Texas and Oklahoma
[edit] North America
North American level: A North American executive board of recent graduates is elected each year to establish general policy and themes for the organization as a whole. The board currently consists of a President, Programming Vice-President, Social Action Vice-President, Religious & Cultural Vice-Presidentt, and Membership & Communications Vice-President.[1] Three North American gatherings are held: NFTY Convention (held every other year and open to all members), Mechina (held in the summer at the URJ Kutz Camp for regional executive board training), and NFTY Veida, formerly known as Mid-Year Boards, (held in non-Convention years for regional boards).
[edit] Names
Originally, all NFTY regions were known by short acronyms ending in "FTY" (Federation of Temple Youth) such as LIFTY (Long Island Federation of Temple Youth) or OVFTY (Ohio Valley Federation of Temple Youth), etc. Many synagogue youth groups had similar names such as TEFTY (Temple Emanu-El Federation of Temple Youth) or BESTY (Beth Elohim Senior Temple Youth).
In 1994, to create greater connection to the North American movement, the names of all NFTY regions became a two- or three- letter region specific abbreviation, preceded by "NFTY-"—thus, LIFTY became NFTY-LI, OVFTY became NFTY-OV, JFTY became known as NFTY-GER (NFTY-Garden Empire Region) and PAFTY (Pennsylvania Area Federation of Temple Youth) became NFTY-PAR (NFTY-Pennsylvania Area Region). While resisted at first, regions adapted to the new names and sometime began to pronounce the geographic abbreviation. For example, TOFTY (Texas-Oklahoma Federation of Temple Youth) became NFTY-TOR (Texas-Oklahoma Region) and is often called simply "TOR" (pronounced tour). During the conversion, SEFTY became NFTY-SER, and then in 2001 split into two regions: NFTY-SAR (the previous Northern Region of SEFTY/NFTY-SER, plus the Jacksonville and Pensacola TYGs) and NFTY-STR (the remainder of the Southern Region of SEFTY/NFTY-SER).
[edit] NFTY Convention
NFTY Convention is a biennial convention where 1500 teenagers travel to a hotel and experience 4 days of social, educational, charitable, and religious programming. The conventions also feature competitions in music, art, and oratory. Each convention is held in conjunction with the URJ Youth Workers Conference and a plenary session, or asefah, for regional board members. NFTY Convention is the largest convention of its kind.
| Year | Location |
|---|---|
| 2009 | TBA at NFTY Convention 2007 |
| 2007 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 2005 | Los Angeles, California |
| 2003 | Washington, DC |
| 2001 | Los Angeles, California |
| 1999 | Los Angeles, California |
| 1997 | Washington, DC |
| 1983 | Washington, DC |
| 1948 | Boston, Massachusetts |
