An Invitation to Reform College Students and Teens Approaching College

For many college students, campuses have become fraught, overwhelming and challenging spaces as tensions have risen around the war in Gaza. We recognize the stress and uncertainty of this moment, the fear many are experiencing in the face of antisemitism, and the distress held by folks across the political spectrum. We also share a profound sorrow for the immense loss of life and grave concern for those still in danger.

We want to be here for you at this painful moment. So, we are offering the programs below as spaces for college-aged members of our community to feel seen, to listen to the challenges we are facing, and to process and share our experiences. Our aim is not to tout a particular viewpoint or to convince you to agree with the URJ’s position on the conflict. We hope to create a space for civil discourse, curiosity, and support within our community. We condemn the use of violence, hate speech, and behavior that seeks to dehumanize or deny the sanctity of all human life. We welcome and encourage Reform college students who need a space of this kind and who accept these guidelines to join us.

• For college-aged young adults who are experiencing this first-hand, we will be offering a zoom session on May 16th at 8pm EST to have dialogue about what you are experiencing.
  • • These calls will be facilitated by Rabbi Isaama Goldstein-Stoll, URJ’s Director of Youth Organizing – North America and Bryan Oren, the URJ’s Director of Youth Organizing – Israel.. Rabbi Isaama is the former Senior Jewish Educator at Yale Hillel and a trained mediator skilled at fostering dialogue across lines of difference. Bryan is a Resetting the Table fellow and has significant expertise in education and dialogue facilitation around Israel-Palestine.
    • Participants will be invited to share and process their experiences on campus. Together we will engage in open dialogue about the war, the response on college campuses, and the impacts both have had on your lives. Our aim is to provide an opportunity to support one another, listen to the challenges we’re facing, and to process and share our experiences.
• High school students transitioning to college in the fall: the aforementioned call will be reserved for those in college. We will offer a unique session for you all in August to help you process your thoughts and feelings stepping onto campus for the first time.
• For those seeking a learning space, we invite you to join a movement-wide webinar led by Rabbi Rick Jacobs and Professor and URJ Board Trustee, Marc Dolinger. More details TBA shortly.

We believe in the power of coming together and want to reiterate our willingness to assist in any way you might need. We encourage those looking for support to attend the Zoom sessions. Should you need support beyond that session, Bryan Oren, Rabbi Issama Goldstein-Stoll, and Rabbi Esther Lederman will be available to schedule one to one meetings.

With love,

Henry Barron
North American Leadership Team President 2023-2024

Nadine Katz
NFTY North American Leadership Team 2023-2024; GW University

Rabbi Esther L. Lederman
Vice President, Leaders in Action

Rabbi Isaama Goldstein
Director of Youth Organizing -North America

Bryan Oren
Director of Youth Organizing- Israel

NFTY’s Impact On My Life

By: Maya Kirzner – 2023-2024 NFTY Ohio Valley Communications Vice President

As I start my last semester as a high school student, I have been taking a lot of time to reflect on my past four years and looking at what has left the biggest impact on my life up to this point. One of the very first things that came to mind was NFTY. As a GUCI camper for 6 summers, attending my first NFTY event (JYG Spring Kallah, Spring 2019) seemed like an easy choice. Little did I know it would be one of the best choices I could have made for myself. Being able to be part of a Jewish teen community that I feel so much love and support from during the school-year is such an important thing. I am so glad NFTY has been there for me. Being a part of the NFTY Ohio Valley Regional Board this year has also given me so much hope for the future of NFTY-OV, as I want to make sure that the love and community I have felt for the past four years is there for so many other Jewish teens for years to come.

If you have not yet attended a NFTY event, but are thinking about it, this is your sign. At any and every NFTY event I promise you will be met with open arms and friends for life. I would love for you to come to our event, Wild (Mid)West, with NFTY OV and MV at URJ GUCI Friday, March 29 – Sunday, March 31 to not only witness, but also experience first-hand this amazing community for yourself. I love NFTY Ohio Valley with all my heart and I can’t wait to see what this last semester brings me and all of you. I look forward to seeing you at NFTY OV/MV Wild Midwest in a few months (be sure to register by Sunday, February 18 to guarantee your spot!)

I would love to get to know you all better; If you have any questions about NFTY, Ohio Valley, or the Wild Midwest event in March, DM me on Instagram @nftyov and I would be more than happy to connect with you!

Fellowship Fosters Community Amidst War in Israel

By: Josh Jury, NFTY Teen

As a community organizer, what’s a pressing need for our community around Israel, and how can we call people to take action and repair the world?

This is the question posed to those of us participating in the Israel Youth Organizing Fellowship. This fellowship is a staple of the Heller High Fall ‘23 semester and a crucial part of creating our close-knit semester community. For those of us studying on the Hod Hasharon campus in Israel this meant occasional workshops with community organizers and several big Shabbatonim.

One of the fellowship seminars involved a weekend of public narrative workshops on storytelling, finding our inner voice, and using our stories to inspire action in the areas for which we are torchbearers. In addition to being full of lifelong lessons, and conversation around Israeli culture and social justice, the fellowship also had moments of music and storytelling. One Kabbalat Shabbat dinner was followed by a fabrengen. It was a night surrounded by eating good food, singing songs, reading poetry, and telling stories.

On October 6th the Heller High community was on Kibbutz Gezer for Simchat Torah dancing and singing. And on October 7th we woke up to the sirens alerting us to go to a bomb shelter at our hostel in Jerusalem. The war flipped our reality upside down. From that point on we were uncertain what the Heller program would look like moving forward and questions arose about how we would continue to cultivate our special community. Luckily for us, we learned the fellowship would remain a constant and would not be going away anytime soon.

When I arrived back to the States and saw the extended invitation to attend the fellowship weekend in Atlanta alongside the Yallah Israel teens, it was an easy decision to make. The eight Heller kids who were able to join had an opportunity to not just reunite, but open our community to the Yallah Israel groups and connect under the fellowship we’re all a part of.

Once we arrived at Camp Coleman our awesome fellowship leader, Bryan Oren (Director of Youth Organizing, Israel), greeted us all with a smiling face. There was this immediate warmth and an energetic vibe to the event for people gathering together under the common link to Israel. A place that is close to heart for all of us, and a place that has been going through an unimaginable and horrific reality for the past two weeks at war with Hamas. The Heller community held each other especially close for the bittersweet gathering. Our hearts breaking for Israel, the lost time at the place we were supposed to be, but simultaneously feeling grateful to be back with our friends.

We arrived for a beautiful Shabbat outside in Coleman’s nature. We sang and we hugged and heard stories first-hand from Israelis who have experienced the war and who spoke on how it affects our Jewish community. The next day we heard from local community organizers from the Atlanta area and got an in-depth view of Israel history as well as more instruction on youth organizing and forming movements around social justice. We had a community organizing session about storytelling led by Logan Zinman Gerber (Director, Organizing and Mobilizing, Youth), and we focused on a plethora of social issues in Israel. The night ended with torchbearer tekes and havdalah. We each lit a ceremonial candle and spoke about what we were torchbearers for. The torch is the emblem of the fellowship and symbolically stands for leading a movement and pursuing social justice. A key part of the fellowship is organizing a community project around our passions in Israel and what we wish to be torchbearers for. As the weekend came to an end, we were happy to know the Israel Youth Organizing Fellowship is truly just beginning.

Making Amends: A Message for Yom Kippur 5784

By Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism
and Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman, Chair of the URJ North American Board

In the Mishnah, our ancient code of Jewish law, we learn: “For transgressions against God, the Day of Atonement atones; but for transgressions of one human being against another, the Day of Atonement does not atone until they have made peace with one another.”

This 2,000-year-old teaching reminds us that heartfelt prayers have never been enough to repair the harm our actions have inflicted on others, especially survivors/victims of bullying, harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct, abuse, and more.

In that spirit, this Yom Kippur video includes a liturgical confession that connects with our ongoing restorative justice work. While we have been working to strengthen our communities and culture since the February 2022 release of the Debevoise & Plimpton report, we acknowledge that there is still work that must be done to ensure that URJ spaces reflect our commitment to creating communities of belonging and a culture of accountability.

As Yom Kippur 5784 approaches, our commitment to making amends and pursuing restorative justice remains resolute. Even as the final shofar blast sounds at the end of Neilah, we will continue to hold ourselves accountable and atone for the harm suffered by victims and survivors. We will never shirk from this challenging, morally demanding work.

This year, we will continue to do everything in our power to make amends for the harms endured by victims/survivors. We will continue to build a Movement where every person’s dignity and sanctity is recognized. Most importantly, we pledge to continue to create URJ spaces where everyone is honored as b’tzelem Elohim, a reflection of the Divine Image.

You can access the full transcript of this video below.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

It has been 18 months since the URJ released the ethics accountability report by Debevoise & Plimpton that outlined the harms committed in our URJ workplaces, camps, Israel trips, NFTY programs, Religious Action Center, and other programs over the past decades. These harms included acts of bullying, harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct, abuse, and more, as well as the failure to respond institutionally, as we should have, to these incidents, compounding the ripples of pain. Victims and survivors have lived with the pain and consequences of these harms, some for many decades. As the URJ, and part of the wider Reform Movement, we have been diminished by the loss of the infinite potential of victims and survivors who have left our Movement because of our failings.

While we have strengthened our URJ spaces and culture, including enhancing our safety and protection protocols for all who work, volunteer, or participate in our many programs and institutions, we still have much to do to make every single space, every gathering, every moment reflect our deep commitment to a culture of belonging and accountability.

During this year, as we are celebrating our 150th anniversary, we cannot recount a celebratory narrative of our many accomplishments without also telling of our shortcomings, missteps, and failures to live out our most sacred values.

As we approach Yom Kippur, our day of spiritual truth-telling and moral accountability, our hearts remain heavy even as our commitment to right these wrongs remains resolute. In addition to verbally confessing our wrongdoing and expressing sincere remorse, Maimonides, in the Mishnah Torah (Hilchot Teshuvah, 2:9), spells out our obligation to do everything in our power to make amends and reparation for our misdeeds to those who have been harmed.

This teaching is reflected in the Al Chet, one of the most powerful prayers recited each Yom Kippur. It is written in the collective, reminding us that our individual lives can be profoundly harmed or healed by our communities. I offer this contemporary Al Chet on behalf of the leadership of the Union for Reform Judaism:

Al Chet – For the Sins We Committed 

For the sin we committed by not listening to or believing the pain and trauma of survivors and victims.
For the sin we committed by not having clear reporting channels for complaints.

For the sin we committed by not acting swiftly to take responsibility for the acts of sexual or other harassment and abuse that have taken place in our institutions.

For the sin we committed by honoring individuals who caused harms.

For the sin we committed by causing survivors and victims to lose faith because of our delays and inaction.

For the sin we committed by not taking accountability for the toxic and abusive culture in URJ settings.

For the sin we committed by not collaborating with partners to account for and address issues of harmful environments throughout the Reform Movement.

For the sin we committed by not working with our congregations and partners to make all our spaces, including our congregations, safe from bullying, sexual harassment, homophobia, and racism.

For the sin we committed by overlooking the gaps of communication in all aspects of ethical accountability work.

For the sin we committed with our hypocrisy by espousing, but not always living, our Jewish values.

V’Al Kulam – For all these and more, we are profoundly sorry; we seek to earn the trust of those who have endured harm on our watch as we build a URJ, and a Reform Movement, that truly reflects the dignity and sanctity of each and every person in our midst.

When the final shofar blast sounds at the end of Neilah, we will continue our ongoing work of restorative justice and accountability. We will never shirk this challenging and morally demanding work. That is our solemn commitment.

G’mar Chatimah Tovah – May we be sealed for a good year.

Rosh HaShana: Following Our Hearts and Forgiving Mistakes

By: Madeline Barenboim – 2023-2024 Religious and Cultural Vice President of BOFTY (Temple Beth El of Boca Raton, FL), from her Rosh HaShana d’var Torah

For me, Judaism has always been a big part of my life, especially at Temple Beth El. My mom found her own Judaism here through the youth group and teaching, and now I find myself doing exactly the same thing. I have followed her in the path of temple, religious school, and attending URJ Camp Coleman. Having this incredible Jewish foundation, I have been able to expand my learning, experiences, and opportunities. From temple helping to get me to camp, to going to Israel through camp, to participating in L’Taken, a seminar through The RAC that brings teens from Reform temples across the country to lobby about important issues around social action on Capitol Hill, to then getting to give a speech about my experience at the town hall meeting for women’s reproductive rights, these opportunities have helped me realize what I intend to become in the future: a lawyer. I want to make the world a better place. To help as many people as possible by working to correct the system that dictates people’s lives.

Because of my infatuation with the law and hopefully practicing it in the future, my interpretation of this story seemingly should be more black and white, but I see more of the grey in between.

On Rosh Hashana, we read the Torah portion from the book of Genesis chapter 22, where Abraham, or for this purpose the defendant, is standing upon Mount Moriah and is about to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, the plaintiff, in order to prove his faith and trust in God. But before he is able to complete the human sacrifice, an angel prevents it and a ram is sacrificed instead, which is why we use a ram’s horn for the Shofar each new year, to remember this story.

You might think that the ruling is clearly in favor of Isaac, being an only child on his way to being sacrificed by his own father. But Abraham was the first Jew, he had no other guidance, no example to follow, no other idea of how to appease God. So what else was he supposed to do? In that day and age, it was acceptable, it was understood. How would he have known better without the interference of an angel? And at the end of the day, no one was harmed, other than the ram.

As we read about this parent and child, look around. Parents look to your children and children look to your parents. Put yourself in Abraham and Isaac’s positions. Looking at my mom, she has taught me to work towards my goals, and to be strong and independent. I know that what she believes in, she puts her entire heart and soul into, just like I do with Judaism. If she was in that position with no previous direction, would she do the same? Would I understand? Would it be her fault? I could never know, which is why we can’t judge. And during this time, we have to be forgiving and understanding.

While reading this story after another year of new experiences, challenges, ups and downs, I can’t help but think about the importance of not only giving the benefit of the doubt, but also the necessity of having an open mind when it comes to people and them making mistakes. Each and every one of us is human; making mistakes and being different is what makes us not only unique but similar to each other. And that is why we go back to this story over and over, to make more mistakes and learn from them.

Na’aseh V’Nishma: How We Move the Reform Jewish Youth Movement Forward

By: Lauren Stock, organizer on the URJ Youth Organizing Team

As we finish another school year and welcome in a new community of NFTY leadership, we are launching a listening campaign across NFTY regions, URJ camps, and all of our youth-centric communities so we can articulate the vision of our youth movement and put it into action this fall.

The phrase “na’aseh v’nishma” comes from the book of Exodus in parashat Mishpatim. Gd gives the Israelites rule after rule after rule to which the Israelites respond with those words: “na’aseh v’nishma” – “we will do and we will listen.”

Rabbis have dissected that phrase for generations (as they do) and come to so many conclusions of why we hear that phrase and specifically in that order: to do and then to listen. I believe it is because it challenges us to do so much and then to learn from what we do.

For over a year now, we have been asking ourselves what it looks like to have a Reform Jewish Youth Movement that is worthy of our time, energy, and investment. The answers to that question almost always respond to our need for community, however most, if not all, of us still struggle to articulate what that community looks like, what it does, and how we build & sustain it.

Na’aseh. We have to do.

The challenge behind that is that we can’t imagine it. Especially for our teen leaders who have spent much of the last few years limited to online gatherings, the concept of a consistent, meaningful, powerful community can be hard to get our heads around. We don’t know what it looks like to have a community that comes together to do the things we want to do and to create a space that is radically loving, inclusive, accessible, and anti-racist. And, we don’t know what to do with that community when we build it.

What does it look like for us to build a Reform Jewish Youth Movement that truly reflects our values and priorities?
How will it transform Reform Judaism?
Why is it urgent that we do this now?

Nishma. We have to listen.

In the coming months, we will begin to explore those questions through our own movement-wide campaign: Na’aseh V’Nishma, or NVN.

This summer at some of our URJ camps and with leaders across North America, we will be bringing hundreds of teens into House Meetings (small group story-telling sessions) and 1:1s (relational conversations) to learn more about what we want to do in the world as teens, as Reform Jews, and as people.

Throughout the fall, we will continue these conversations, connecting the dots and ultimately working to understand how the Reform Jewish Youth Movement can serve as a vehicle for all those things we want to do in the world. And November 10-13 when teens from all across the movement join at URJ OSRUI in Wisconsin for The Collab, we will take all we have learned throughout the campaign thus far and begin to act on the vision our community has created.

What we learn during this campaign, NVN, will guide the direction of the next phase of our movement.

We will ask questions, we will build relationships with others. We will do.
And then we will strive to understand: we will reflect. And we will listen.
And then we will do it all over again.

Na’aseh v’nishma.

This is how we become an ever-evolving movement. This is how we keep moving forward.

If you are interested in being a part of the Na’aseh V’Nishma campaign by leading a house meeting, having 1:1s, or another idea you’re excited about, please reach out to Lauren Stock, an organizer on the URJ Youth Organizing Team at lstock@urj.org

How a Community Grows Great

By: Ariel Eisen, NFTY-SW President 2022-2023

One day, he was walking along the road when he saw a certain man planting a carob tree. Honi said to him: This tree, after how many years will it bear fruit? The man said to him: It will not produce fruit until seventy years have passed. Honi said to him: Is it obvious to you that you will live seventy years, that you expect to benefit from this tree? The man said to him: Man himself found a world full of carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants. (Taanit 23a, Verse 15)

Hi, my name is Ariel Eisen, I’m the 2022-2023 NFTY Southwest President and want to share with you my NFTY journey and how as a community we grow great together.

When I went to my first NFTY event in the Fall of 2019, I wasn’t aware of the impact it would have on the next 4 years of my life. I was oblivious to the fact that it would become a part of my spirit and core support as I navigated the uncertainty of high school. NFTY was like Dramamine for the nausea of life, it helped me overcome the throws of social anxiety and grow as a person. NFTY is the constant community that teaches me new things and provides a space to feel safe in my Jewish identity. It made me more grateful for the present and the experiences I’ve shared with others.

Even though my time in NFTY was nontraditional because of the Pandemic, I fell in love with a community that celebrated me at my highs and encouraged growth from my mistakes. I was shown the value of learning from others and how we can impact the lives of hundreds of teens. NFTY allowed me to build a network of my peers across North America that uplifts each other and works towards a beautiful goal. That goal is to believe in, maintain and share our community so others can experience it. Finding support from adult mentors and URJ staff allowed me to achieve this goal while letting me feel creative and seen. Knowing that I could go to any of them and ask for help or their advice without worrying about how I would be perceived felt freeing. Every part of the process, from being a participant to a part of leadership, made me feel accepted. This feeling of acceptance is what makes NFTY so special; as a collective we learn and grow without judgment.

The Jewish text above describes a perfect world, a place where people work for the future without thinking selfishly. This concept reflects how NFTY runs as a movement and my personal work over the past year to contribute to my region. When I started last August, people were in shock that I would take on a workload traditionally designed for a 6-person board. I did this in the hope of reviving my beloved Southwest community even though I would never reap the benefits of it. I looked many people in the face and said. “It doesn’t matter that I won’t directly benefit from all this work, it matters that it will prolong the thing I care for. My desire is that future generations of Jewish youth find a space they feel comfortable and powerful in. I found that the reaction I elicited from this statement was honor and praise, which I felt wasn’t necessary because I didn’t think what I was doing was all that impossible. I knew what I had signed up for, planting my own carob tree and not worrying about when it would bear fruit, only that it would grow.

This sort of L’dor Va Dor concept is also the basis for how we operate and work as a movement. Each year we see new batches of teens ready to put in the work to continue and better NFTY. Yes, some may enjoy the results of their work in the time they are still actively in NFTY, but 4 years go by quickly, and the majority of the impact you make as a leader is really for future groups of teens. I find this cycle of community growth fascinating; we work hard to make such an amazing community for the present, but in reality, we are making a stronger one for the future.

As my journey of leadership comes to an end, I’m proud to say that my region has grown. Three months ago I was uncertain of NFTY Southwest’s future, I worried who would be the keepers of the tree I planted. Now I’m proud to say that we have three incredible leaders who will take on this work and plant trees of their own. As a soon-to-be alum of NFTY, I’m excited to learn what comes next for myself, and I can’t wait to watch as my friends lead NFTY into a new age full of carob trees that will blossom in their own time.

With love and gratitude
Ariel Eisen

WASHINGTON – In response to U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of a federal anti-transgender sports ban, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Cameron Samuels, Engagement & Inclusion Vice President of NFTY, released the following statement on behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, NFTY, and the wider Reform Movement:

“We condemn the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. Despite its name, this bill provides no protections for transgender women and girls and instead prohibits them from participating on sports teams that align with their gender identity. This bill and others like it perpetuate the false, baseless narrative that transgender athletes harm and threaten women’s sports. There is no evidence to suggest that transgender athletes have a systemic advantage over cisgender athletes; rather, every athlete is unique, and multiple factors contribute to athletic success. Most importantly, transgender women are women and deserve to participate on sports teams that align with their gender identity.

“Anti-transgender policies such as this sports ban actively harm and detract from real issues facing LGBTQ+ youth. Transgender and non-binary young people consider and attempt suicide at much higher rates than cisgender youth, but suicide rates drop significantly when children are part of communities – such as sports teams – that affirm their identities. Now is the time to make schools and communities more inclusive and affirming, not hateful and harmful.

“Jewish tradition teaches that all people are created b’tzelem Elohim (in the Divine image) and are worthy of dignity and respect (Genesis 1:27). The belief that the stamp of the divine is present in all humans is fundamental to Reform Judaism and teaches us that we cannot tolerate discrimination against any person because of their identity. Judaism also specifically recognizes the diversity of gender identity. In fact, our Jewish legal texts mention at least six different sex and gender identities and proudly affirm the existence of transgender, non-binary, intersex, and genderfluid individuals.

“This federal anti-transgender sports ban is just the beginning of the anti-LGBTQ+, specifically anti-transgender, legislation expected to be introduced in Congress, and it’s just the extension of what we are already seeing in state legislatures across the country. We are deeply disappointed in the House’s passage of this hateful bill and urge all Senators to oppose its introduction in the Senate.”

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is the Washington office of the Union for Reform Judaism, whose 850 congregations across North America encompass 1.8 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 2,000 Reform rabbis. Visit RAC.org for more.

NFTY is the Reform Jewish religious youth movement, fostering leadership at the national, regional, and congregational level. For more than 75 years, NFTY has offered thousands of young people the opportunity to explore and live Reform Judaism through teen-powered weekends and engaging social justice ventures. Visit NFTY.org for more.

NFTY-SO Takes Action in Rolling Fork, MS

On Shabbat, Friday March 24, a man returned home from his community’s synagogue in prayer, only to end his Shabbat without the town that stood when he first lit the candles due to the wrath of mother nature’s powerful tornado. This man is the former mayor of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, and met with 80 reform Jewish teens from throughout the south who traveled to Rolling Fork to spend their weekend-long event in doing acts of Tikkun Olam – repairing the world. 

Continue reading the story of these teens who transformed their weekend into one of the most powerful social action opportunities we have seen in a long time. Thank you, NFTY Southern, for representing the Reform Jewish Youth Movement proudly and providing your love and community to those for whom it may be lacking.

Simon Warner (NFTY North American Religious & Cultural Vice President)
nftyrcvp@urj.org

On Friday, March 31, 80 teens came together for NFTY SO Spring Kallah. The Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, which translates to repairing the world, emphasizes the importance of social responsibility and taking action to improve the lives of others. On Wednesday night before the event, our board learned from the Jacobs Camp team that an opportunity to help came up and held an emergency meeting where we decided to pivot and spend Saturday working in Rolling Fork in the distribution center. With a little under two days’ notice, our community got a ton of supplies that Rolling Fork desperately needed. On Saturday morning, it was amazing to see all of my fellow NFTYites get up early to eat breakfast, load two charter buses worth of supplies and get right on the bus to help.

On Saturday morning, NFTY-Southern took a one-hour drive to Rolling Fork, MS. Rolling Fork is a city of about 1,800 people, and it is only about 1 square mile long. A tornado hit the town a week before our event, leaving the infrastructure severely damaged and much of the community in disarray. The NFTY-Southern board knew we needed to take action, so at the last minute we adjusted our schedule so that we could help. 80 teens spent the morning at a distribution center, helping to organize and distribute items. NFTY-Southern also collected hundreds of donations that we personally handed out to the people of Rolling Fork. Sharkey County, where Rolling Fork is located, is one of the poorest counties in Mississippi and the nation, with almost 40% under the poverty line. 

When we arrived at the distribution center and unloaded everything, we met Fred Miller, a former mayor of Rolling Fork and uncle to one of our NFTY participants. Miller, who is Jewish, shared about the important Jewish history in the Mississippi Delta and how awful the storm was in his community.   Miller told us how he and his wife crammed into their bathroom when the tornado came and how the noise is like nothing he had ever heard before – Miller compared the destruction in the town to images we have seen on the news covering warzones and later on that day we drove past it. 

As soon as we finished hearing from Fred, we got to work. It was amazing how all 80 teens and 20 advisors immediately jumped onto different jobs getting everything done. Teens unloaded and organized donations in the distribution center, loaded vehicles with essential items and broke down boxes. Time flew by and after 3 hours of work, we ate lunch and debriefed the morning. That is when we all got to hear from Fred’s daughter about how not only were we the largest groups to come help so far but we helped them from falling behind. The other volunteers at Rolling Fork were incredibly nice and helped make sure everyone was informed. It was an amazing experience that I know all of our teens will forever remember. 

Our region made a tremendous impact on people’s lives and helped the city recover. Chances to make a direct and hands-on difference don’t come around often, so I’m very proud of the initiative our region took to help. Not only did the NFTY-SO teens jump on the opportunity to help their community, but they also did so with great energy and a positive attitude. I could not be more proud of the work NFTY-Southern did and the difference we made. This project left a lasting impact on every NFTY-Southern teen that will stay with them forever. I am so proud of our NFTY teens as they worked hard all morning and showed maturity. We did not stand idly by when our neighbors were suffering and it was an honor to be part of the recovery efforts.  

Maya Freedman (NFTY Southern Social Action Vice President)
so-savp@nfty.org
Mimi Reagler (NFTY Southern Programming Vice President)
so-pvp@nfty.org