National Council of Young Israel

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National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel (in Hebrew: Yisrael Hatza'ir, ישראל הצעיר), is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. NCYI was founded in 1912 by Rabbi Israel Friedlander and Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan to combat the wave of assimilation by Jews into secular American society.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Early in the 20th century, American Jews were striving primarily for social and economic advancement, often leaving their religious observances behind. Because most jobs required working on Saturdays, observance of the Jewish Sabbath was rare, as were many other traditions. The Young Israel movement aimed to provide a positive Orthodox synagogue experience for newly arrived immigrants and their future generations. The organization used the traditional communal synagogue to provide educational, religious, social, and spiritual programming.[2] The first Young Israel synagogue was established in 1913 on East Broadway, on Manhattan's Lower East Side.[3]

Today, NCYI serves as the national coordinating agency for nearly 150 Orthodox congregations of nearly 25,000 member families throughout the United States and Canada. NCYI also serves as a resource to its sister organization in Israel, entitled Yisrael Hatzair - "The Young Israel Movement in Israel", encompassing over 50 synagogues in Israel.[2] It is a grass roots organization administrated on the congregational model, taking its direction from local and national lay leadership as well as rabbis and professional staff. Its socio-cultural outlook is strongly influenced by the Religious Zionist Movement, with strong support of Israel as the homeland for the Jewish people. Congregations belonging to NCYI are generally named "Young Israel of...", followed by the name of the city or neighborhood.

NCYI is a not-for-profit service organization, as defined by their 501(c)(3) status. The main headquarters is located in Manhattan, with regional offices in Florida, California, New Jersey and Jerusalem.

In recent years the movement has moved closer to Haredi Judaism with many Young Israel affiliated rabbis being alumni of the Haredi Lithuanian yeshivas. The National Council of Young Israel has resisted attempts by the Orthodox Union to create a union between the two organizations.

In 2006, after lengthy litigation, Young Israel sold its 3 West 16th Street national headquarters and moved its small staff to leased office space in lower Manhattan; the sale of the building was the subject of litigation by what was then the Young Israel of Fifth Avenue, which was based in the building and would have been evicted if the sale went through as planned by the National Council.[4][5] The organization had been subject to an investigation by then New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's Charities Bureau.[6]

[edit] Young Israel Council of Rabbis

The Young Israel Council of Rabbis is the rabbinic arm of the organization.

[edit] Divisions

Two components of the organization are the Women's League and the InterCollegiate Council (ICC).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, Jewish Virtual Library. Accessed October 11, 2007. "He helped to create the Young Israel Modern Orthodox movement with Rabbi Israel Friedlander."
  2. ^ a b Young Israel:About Us Accessed December 5, 2007.
  3. ^ "David Warshaw traces the origins of the new synagogue to the summer of 1913, when some members of the YI group were asked into a storefront shul (at 205 East Broadway) to complete a minyan, and much to their delight, were allowed to lead the service." Kaufman, David. Shul with a Pool: The "synagogue-center" in American Jewish History, Brandeis University Press, University Press of New England, 1999, ISBN 0874518938, pp. 202-203.
  4. ^ Wakin, Daniel J. " A House Divided, and for Sale; Real Estate Splits Jewish Group and Synagogue", The New York Times, June 20, 2003. Accessed October 11, 2007.
  5. ^ Wakin, Daniel J. " Metro Briefing | New York: Manhattan: Synagogue Wins Reprieve", The New York Times, September 11, 2003. Accessed October 11, 2007.
  6. ^ Popper, Nathaniel. "Probe of Shul Group Had N.Y. Crimebuster’s Office in Tangles", the Forward, December 9, 2005. Accessed October 11, 2007. "New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, renowned for his jousts with the titans of corporate America, recently saw his own office tied in knots and thrown into turmoil during a three-year investigation into a small Orthodox synagogue organization. The group, the National Council of Young Israel, came under scrutiny in 1999 after applying for a mortgage on a nursing home it owned and operated in a New York City suburb."

[edit] Books

Kraut, Benny "A Modern Heretic and a Traditional Community: Mordecai M. Kaplan, Orthodoxy, and American Judaism" American Jewish History - Volume 86, Number 3, September 1998, pp. 357-363

[edit] External links

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