NFTY: The Reform Jewish Youth Movement (formerly known as the North American Federation for Temple Youth, often referred to simply as NFTY) is the organized youth movement of Reform Judaism in North America. Funded and supported by the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), 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.
Reform Judaism is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of the faith, the superiority of its ethical aspects to the ceremonial ones, and a belief in a continuous revelation, closely intertwined with human reason and intellect, and not centered on the theophany at Mount Sinai. A liberal strand of Judaism, it is characterized by a lesser stress on ritual and personal observance, regarding Jewish Law as non-binding and the individual Jew as autonomous, and openness to external influences and progressive values. The origins of Reform Judaism lie in 19th-century Germany, where its early principles were formulated by Rabbi Abraham Geiger and his associates; since the 1970s, the movement adopted a policy of inclusiveness and acceptance, inviting as many as possible to partake in its communities, rather than strict theoretical clarity. It is strongly identified with progressive political and social agendas, mainly under the traditional Jewish rubric Tikkun Olam, or "Repairing of the World". Tikkun Olam is a central motto of Reform Judaism, and action for its sake is one of the main channels for adherents to express their affiliation. The movement's greatest center today is in North America.
The Union for Reform Judaism, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms established by Rabbi Wise are the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. The current president of the URJ is Rabbi Richard Jacobs.
NFTY is the North 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.
Netzer Olami is the worldwide youth movement of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) and is affiliated to Arzenu. "Netzer" is an acronym in Hebrew for Reform Zionist Youth, and Netzer Olami means 'Global Netzer'.. Today there are 16,000 members active in our different sniffim (chapters) that are located in the following places: Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Germany, Israel, The Netherlands, North America (NFTY), Panama, Russia, South Africa, Spain, France, United Kingdom and Ukraine. The Netzer Olami head office is in Beit Shmuel, in Jerusalem.
History
Founded on January 15, 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.[1] NFTY was originally focused in three regions - New York City, Chicago, and Pennsylvania; it soon expanded to all areas of the UAHC.[2] The first national officers were: Richard Bluestein, president; Bernard Sang, first vice president; Lewis Held, second vice president; Daniel Miller, third vice president; Lenore Cohn, secretary. The executive committee of NFTY met in June 1939 in New York and discussed college activities, publications and social justice while also confirming cooperation with the UAHC as an affiliate and to cooperate with the National Conference for Community and Justice in interfaith work.[3]
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering vocational education or a secondary school.
The City of New York, usually called either New York City (NYC) or simply New York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2018 population of 8,398,748 distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass and one of the world's most populous megacities, with an estimated 19,979,477 people in its 2018 Metropolitan Statistical Area and 22,679,948 residents in its Combined Statistical Area. A global power city, New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, and exerts a significant impact upon commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. The city's fast pace has inspired the term New York minute. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy.
Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the most populous city in Illinois, as well as the third most populous city in the United States. With an estimated population of 2,705,994 (2018), it is the most populous city in the Midwest. Chicago is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, often referred to as Chicagoland, and the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States. The metropolitan area, at nearly 10 million people, is the third-largest in the United States.
Rabbi Sam Cook organized one of the first regional Labor Day Conclaves of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) Pennsylvania State Federation, held at Pinemere Camp in 1939.[4] The next convention was February 1940 in Chicago with former President Hoover as a Speaker.[5] National conventions continued every two years until 1948 and the organization began to focus on High School aged students.
Pinemere Camp is a Jewish overnight summer camp for children in grades 2–9. Its 300 campers are primarily drawn from the United States.
High school, in the United States and Canada, is the education students receive from approximately 13 to 18 years old. Most comparable to secondary schools, high schools generally deliver phase three of the ISCED model of education. High schools have subject-based classes. The name high school is applied in other countries, but no universal generalization can be made as to the age range, financial status, or ability level of the pupils accepted. In North America, most high schools include grades nine through twelve and students attend them following junior high school.
In 1952, NFTY began Jewish summer camping in the newly purchased facility in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin later called the Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute Camp (or OSRUI). In 1964, the Kutz Camp in Warwick, New York became NFTY's North American leadership camp and the site of North American board meetings.[6] The successful Jewish camping movement expanded under the UAHC/URJ and NFTY to Jewish camps around the United States.[7]
A summer camp, or sleepaway camp, is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers. Summer school is usually a required academic curriculum for a student to make up work not accomplished during the academic year, whereas summer camps can include academic work, but is not a requirement for graduation.
Oconomowoc is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The name was derived from Coo-no-mo-wauk, the Potawatomi term for "waterfall." The population was 15,712 at the 2010 census. The city is partially adjacent to the Town of Oconomowoc and near the village of Oconomowoc Lake, Wisconsin.
In the 1950s, NFTY began to focus on social action and mitzvah themes, capitalizing 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. Mitzvah Corps groups were established in many regions.
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word mitzvah. meaning "commandment", מִצְוָה, [mit͡sˈva], Biblical: miṣwah; plural מִצְווֹתmitzvot[mit͡sˈvot], Biblical: miṣwoth; from צִוָּהṣiwwah "command") refers to precepts and commandments commanded by God, with the additional connotation of one's religious duty.
Poverty is not having enough material possessions or income for a person's needs. Poverty is a multifaceted concept, which may include social, economic, and political elements.
In 1961, NFTY began Israel programming with the URJ Heller High School (formerly Eisendrath International Exchange) 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 Jewish 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.
From the very beginning, the work of NFTY's Youth Leadership has been supported by the adult Professional Staff of NFTY and the Union for Reform Judaism. Directors of NFTY include Rabbi Samuel Cook (1945–1967), Rabbi Henry Skirball (1963–1971), Rabbi Allan Smith (1971–2002) Rabbi Michael Mellen (2005–2011).[8][importance?]
Today,[when?] NFTY has over 450 local youth groups in 19 regions in the United States and Canada with over 150 regional events a year. Past NFTYites and NFTY leadership[8] can be found as numerous rabbis, cantors, educators, social workers, synagogue leaders, and active Reform Jews across the world. For example, Eric Yoffie, recent President of the URJ, was a member of NFTY-Northeast and served as their regional president in 1964.[9]
Mission
Throughout the 2014-15 NFTY year, the Regional Presidents Network drafted a new mission statement to reflect the cohesive values, aspirations, and goals of the North American Federation of Temple Youth. This mission statement was formally adopted by the NFTY Board, General Board, and adult leadership after being presented at the 2015 NFTY Convention in Atlanta. The mission statement reads as follows:
NFTY is a movement that builds strong, welcoming, inspired communities through teen-powered engagement. Together, we pursue Tikkun Olam, personal growth, youth empowerment, and deep connections, all rooted in Reform Judaism.
Structure
NFTY is divided into three levels[10]: 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, Programming Vice-President, Social Action Vice-President, Religious & Cultural Vice-President, Membership Vice-President, Communications Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
TYG Level
TYGs, or Temple Youth Groups, are individual youth groups affiliated with Reform congregations and are the foundation of NFTY. TYGs are youth-run and offer participants educational, social, action, and religious programs. Most TYGs have 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.
Regions
NFTY is divided into nineteen regions [11]which hold events to bring together different TYGs based on geographical distribution. For example, NFTY-STR (Southern Tropical Region), the most populous region, includes around 30 TYGs and over 600 members.
Relations between regions range from friendly "rivalry" to "alliance" and are subject to combinations and divisions that occur due to membership fluctuation. For example:
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 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).
Each region has an elected executive board of teens, who coordinate the efforts of temple youth groups, plan/assist regional events, improve marketing, and recruit new members. There is also an adult NFTY Regional Advisor, a paid staff position, who supervises the executive board and is a liaison with TYG advisors.
Each executive board consists of 6-10 teen members, each with a title and designated responsibilities. While each region's board is slightly different, many positions are similar across North America. Some common positions are: President, Programming Vice President, Religious & Cultural Vice President, Social Action Vice President, Membership Vice President, Communications Vice President, Financial Vice President.
The NFTY board[12] is elected each year to establish general policy and themes for the organization as a whole, as well as lead the various leadership networks. The board members are typically recent high school graduates, although there are occasional exceptions to this trend. The board currently consists of a President, Programming Vice-President, Social Action Vice-President, Religious & Cultural Vice-President, Membership Vice-President, and Communications Vice-President.
Term
President
Programming VP
Social Action VP
Religious & Cultural VP
Membership VP*
Communications VP*
2019-20
Maya Levy
Hannah Bender
Jessica Becker
Brandon Morantz
Jake Forstein
Hannah Maxick
2018-19
Lila Greene
Marissa Klass
Zoe Terner
Garrett Layton
Ione Heigham
Zenobia "Nobie" Fried
2017-18
Zachary Herrmann
Max Zucker
Adam Friedman
Eliza Lieberman
William Saltzburg
Asher Suloway-Baker
2016-17
Kathryn Fleisher
Jordan Iserson
Kathryn Fleisher
Kathryn Fleisher
Andrew Oestricher
Deni Budman
2015-16
Jermy Cronig
Alexa "Lexi" Chavin
Taylor Gleeson
Celia Tedde
Joey Penn
Aly Silverberg
2014-15
Deborah Rabinovich
Scott Rubenstein
Olivia Kessler
Max Spivak
Talia Capozzoli
Jacob Maier
2013-14
Andrew Keene
Morgan Weidner
Gordon Kaye
Micah Friedman
Aaron Heft
Aaron Heft
2012-13
Evan Traylor
Jordan Rodnizki
Joy Nemerson
Jacob Georginow
Marlee Ribnick
Marlee Ribnick
2011-12
Forrest Yesnes
Liza Moskowitz
Avra Bossov
Austin Zoot
Taylor Lyles
Taylor Lyles
2010-11
Daniel Landesberg
Julia Carpey
Molly Goldberg
Rio Cheyenne Blue
Aly Pavela
Aly Pavela
1939-2009
More Information needed
In 5774 (2014), the position of Membership & Communications Vice-President was split into Membership Vice-President and Communications Vice-President.
North American Gatherings
Three North American gatherings are held: NFTY Convention (held every other year and open to all members), Mechina, and NFTY Veida, formerly known as Mid-Year Boards. Mechina, meaning preparation, is held every year for regional board members and includes a business meeting as well as networking and other activities to prepare for the coming year. Veida, held on non-convention years, is the annual business meeting for electing the incoming North American Board, selecting Study and Action Themes, and performing other business as needed. On convention years, the business of NFTY Veida is done during NFTY Convention.
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). Many synagogue youth groups had similar names based on the name of their city or synagogue.
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 (informally known as NFTY-(t)OV), JFTY became known as NFTY-GER (NFTY-Garden Empire Region) and PaFTY (Pennsylvania 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 Tallahassee TYGs) and NFTY-STR (the remainder of the Southern Region of SEFTY/NFTY-SER; STR is pronounced "star").
NFTY Convention is a biennial convention for all of the NFTY regions and includes 3 days (as of NFTY Convention 2017) 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.[13]
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 1950s, high school aged students sang songs composed by Hy Zaret and Lou Singer to promote social consciousness in young people, such as "Close Your Eyes and Point Your Finger" and "It Could Be a Wonderful World" and learned the dance steps and music then popular on Israeli kibutzim such as the water dance ("Mayim Mayim"). 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 compositions 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 compositions, 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," "Ruach 5765" (which focused on music from and about Israel), "Ruach 5767," "Ruach 5769," "Ruach 5771," and "Ruach 5773." The series then stopped being produced on physical CDs, with "Ruach 5775" being released digitally at NFTY Convention 2015 and "Ruach 5777" being released digitally at NFTY Convention 2017.
Jewish leadership has evolved over time. Since the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, there has been no single body that has a leadership position over the entire Jewish diaspora. Various branches of Judaism, as well as Jewish religious or secular communities and political movements around the world elect or appoint their governing bodies, often subdivided by country or region.
United Synagogue Youth (USY) is the youth movement of USCJ.
NCSY is an Orthodox Jewish youth group under the auspices of the Orthodox Union. Founded in 1954, it has members in the United States, Canada, Israel, Chile, and formerly also in Ukraine. Its slogan is Inspiring the Jewish Future. NCSY is led by International Director Rabbi Micah Greenland and is directly supervised by the Orthodox Union's (OU) Youth Commission chaired by Avi Katz of New Jersey. In recent years, NCSY has been the subject of multiple child sexual abuse scandals involving chapter advisor and directors.
The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based in 40 countries with 1,275 affiliated synagogues, of which 1,170 are Reform, Progressive or Liberal and 105 Reconstructionist. It claims to represent a total of some 1.8 million people, both registered constituents and non-member identifiers. The WUPJ states that it aims to create common ground between its constituents and to promote Progressive Judaism in places where individuals and groups are seeking authentic, yet modern ways of expressing themselves as Jews. It seeks to preserve Jewish integrity wherever Jews live, to encourage integration without assimilation, to deal with modernity while preserving the Jewish experience and to strive for equal rights and social justice.
Eric H. Yoffie is a Reform rabbi, and President Emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), the congregational arm of the Reform movement in North America, which represents an estimated 1.5 million Reform Jews in more than 900 synagogues across the United States and Canada. He was the unchallenged head of American Judaism’s largest denomination from 1996 to 2012. Following his retirement in 2012, he has been a lecturer and writer; his writings appear regularly in The Huffington Post, The Jerusalem Post, and Haaretz.
Temple Emanu-El of West Essex in Livingston, New Jersey was founded in 1955 and is one of the oldest Reform synagogues in the West Essex section of New Jersey. Emanu-El means "God is with us" in Hebrew.
Reform Judaism Outreach refers to the organizational and educational efforts by the Union for Reform Judaism and the Reform Movement as a whole to draw into Jewish life the non-Jewish spouses of interfaith families and seekers who are looking for a new religious home in Judaism.
Rabbi David Eli Stern is the senior rabbi at Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, the largest synagogue in the South/Southwest United States and the third-largest in the Union for Reform Judaism. He was selected as the 26th most influential rabbi in America by Newsweek magazine in 2008 and the 30th most influential in 2009. Rabbi Stern graduated with high honors from Dartmouth College, earned his M. A. in Jewish education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR Los Angeles, California in 1988, and was ordained from HUC in 1989.
Alexander Moshe Schindler was a rabbi and the leading figure of American Jewry and Reform Judaism during the 1970s and 1980s. One of the last European-born leaders of American Reform Jewry, he served as president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) for 23 years.
Daniel Nichols is an American Jewish rock musician and founder of the band, E18hteen.
Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), formerly known as the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, is the women's affiliate of the Union for Reform Judaism. As the primary women's organization in the Reform Jewish movement, WRJ represents over 65,000 women. WRJ advocates for social justice, raises funds for charities and rabbinic scholarships, and educates congregational leaders.
Stephen Wise Temple is a large Reform Jewish congregation in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1964 by Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin of blessed memory, with 35 families, the congregation grew rapidly. At various times in its history it has been stated to be the largest, or one of the largest, Jewish congregations in the world, at one time having a membership of about 3,000 families, six rabbis, two cantors and two cantorial interns, and four schools on three campuses. As of 1994 it was the second-largest synagogue in the United States. The community was founded as the Stephen S. Wise Temple. In 2014 it was renamed the Stephen Wise Temple.
Angela Warnick Buchdahl is an American rabbi. She is the first Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi, and the first Asian-American to be ordained as a hazzan (cantor) anywhere in the world. She is also the first woman to become both a rabbi and a cantor; others had become one or the other, but not both. In 2012 she was named by Newsweek as one of "America's 50 Most Influential Rabbis", and was recognized as one of the top five in The Forward's 2014 "Forward Fifty", a list of American Jews who have had the most impact on the national scene in the previous year.
Richard "Rick" Jacobs is a Reform rabbi and the president of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), the congregational arm of the Reform movement in North America which represents an estimated 1.5 million Reform Jews in nearly 900 synagogues across the United States and Canada. He is the first Union president to have served most of his career as a congregational rabbi. Before being installed as URJ president in June 2012, he served for nine years at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue and then for twenty years at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, New York.
Temple Shaaray Tefila is a traditionally oriented Reform synagogue located at 250 East 79th Street on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City.
Jane Evans (1907–2004) was the Executive Director of the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods from 1933 to 1976. She was its first full-time Executive Director, as from 1913 until 1933 the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods was led by volunteer presidents. Evans also became president of the National Peace Conference in 1950. Evans supported ordination for women. On April 29, 1957, she spoke to 1,000 delegates at a biennial general assembly meeting of the Union for Reform Judaism in favor of ordaining women, a speech which the New York Times called a "strong plea," though the UAHC took no action. While Evans was still Executive Director of the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods in 1963, it approved a resolution at its biennial assembly calling on the UAHC, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion to move forward on the ordination of women.
Rabbi Seymour Rossel is an American author, publisher, editor, educator, and founder of Rossel Books. Through his work in editing, writing, and publishing, he has influenced Jewish education and culture throughout the English-speaking world.
Temple Sinai is a Reform Jewish Synagogue located in Houston, Texas. It primarily serves Jewish residents on the west side of the city as well as a number of western suburbs, including Katy, Cinco Ranch and Sugar Land. The congregation is composed of more than 200 families and is led by Rabbi Annie Belford. The synagogue is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) and its youth group is associated with the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY).
Maurice Nathan Eisendrath was a leader of American Reform Judaism, the head of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations from 1943 until his death, an author, and an activist, particularly active in the U.S. Anti-war Movement of the 1960s. The Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award, one of the highest honors bestowed by the American Reform Movement, is named in his honor.
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