CCAR Journal (Fall 2015)- How BBYO is Building a Teen Movement

62 CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly
“Don’t Talk At Us; Walk
With Us”: BBYO’s Growing
Teen Movement
David M. Kessel and Ira J. Dounn
Teen Engagement: The Challenge
Today, BBYO is one of the fastest-growing organizations in the
Jewish community and the largest pluralistic teen movement in
the world. Since 2007, BBYO’s total involvement has increased
90 percent, with 44,000 teens reached in 2013–2014. Of the 44,000
teens who participated in BBYO activities during the 2013–2014
school year, nearly 18,000 were paid members of the Aleph
Zadik Aleph (AZA) and B’nai B’rith Girls (BBG)—the organiza-
tion’s premier leadership program for teenage men (AZA) and
women (BBG).AZAand BBG have grown at a five-year annual rate,
2009 through 2014, of 18.4 percent and 29.7 percent, respectively.
BBYO’s upward trajectory comes at a time when several key
indicators cited in a 2013 Pew Research Center Study point to-
ward an overall decline in Jewish life. Pew noted that, among Jew-
ish millennials (the youngest demographic in the study), “32%
describe themselves as having no religion,” and “28% of [Jews]
raised Reform have left the ranks of Jews-by-religion entirely.”1
Post–bar/bat mitzvah attrition is well-documented, creating a
deep sense of despair across the Jewish community. A major study
on Jewish adolescents published by the Cohen Center at Brandeis
University found that “whereas nearly all adolescent respondents
RABBI DAVID M. KESSEL (NY98) is the chief program officer at BBYO, Washing-
ton, DC, and is pursuing a doctorate in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theo-
logical Seminary, with a research focus on professional recruitment and retention
in the Jewish community.
IRAJ. DOUNN serves as director of Jewish Enrichment at BBYO and is a rabbinical
student at the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York.
From CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly, Fall 2015, copyright (c) 2015 by the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
Used by permission of Central Conference of American Rabbis. All rights reserved.
Not to be distributed, sold or copied without express written permission.

“DON’T TALK AT US; WALK WITH US
Fall 2015 63
participated in some Jewish educational, volunteer or recreational
activity in 7th grade, just over half did so in 12th grade,” leading to
the overall conclusion that “for many . . . adolescents . . . becoming
bar/bat mitzvah marks a graduation from Jewish involvement.”2
What are the key factors enabling BBYO to reach more Jewish
teens, even as trends recognize the challenges inherent in connect-
ing with a demographic apparently turned off to Jewish life? This
article seeks to answer the question by digging into BBYO’s pro-
gram model and sharing a number of defining aspects of the teen
experience within the BBYO Movement. The most salient ingredi-
ent to BBYO’s success is the opportunity for teens to build pow-
erful, authentic relationships with each other in the context of a
nurturing peer-led community guided by Jewish values.
Empowering Teens to Lead
When more than 40,000 teens take responsibility to act upon their
Jewish values—and they are guided, not controlled, by adults—
the possibilities for what they can achieve together are nearly lim-
itless. Last fall, BBYO teens collected over 500,000 pounds of food
as part of a campaign to fight hunger and poverty. Last spring,
11,000 teens volunteered across nearly 80 different communities in
North America and overseas during J-Serve, the International Day
of Jewish Youth Service. A fundamental principle of BBYO’s global
Movement is the ability to take one teen’s idea or passion and “go
big” with it.
A teen leader shared an impromptu kernel of advice when speak-
ing at a gathering of BBYO’s adult stakeholders: “Don’t talk at us;
walk with us.” Teens may well be tomorrow’s leaders, but they are
also leaders today. BBYO creates opportunities for them to lead in an
authentic way that meets their needs and speaks to the issues that
matter to them. The role of adults—BBYO’s professional staff and
volunteer advisors—is clear: to help the teens grow, learn, and lead
within a compelling Jewish environment. The teens are not consum-
ers of BBYO programs, but rather the architects, innovators, and
planners. When they fail, the adults provide reflection and support;
and when they succeed, the adults recognize and celebrate them.
As one BBYO alumnus who coordinated activities for AZA
noted in a reflection on eJewishPhilanthropy.com, “Peer-led pro-
gramming is high caliber because teens . . . are accountable to their

DAVID M. KESSEL AND IRA J. DOUNN
friends.”3
He clearly described BBYO’s teen empowerment model
and its impact as a now-twenty-five-year-old looking back:
If I wanted to plan a program, I . . . grabbed a new member and
an older mentor to plan the program, and did it. With hardly
anyone to tell us no, we planned extraordinarily creative pro-
gramming: Murder mysteries that turned into debates on Juda-
ism’s stand on capital punishment…Shabbat services that drew
parallels between Mad Libs and liturgy to explore how personal
meaning could be found in pre-structured texts. We recruited our
friends to join our chapter, took on leadership roles, and were ac-
countable to each other . . . There was a sense that we alone were
responsible for our . . . success.4
The purpose of his article is to make the case for greater BBYO-
style empowerment of young adult leaders in their twenties and
thirties across the Jewish community. He calls out the paradox
that BBYO offered him more autonomy and responsibility as a
teenager than he’s subsequently found in the Jewish commu-
nity as a young, professional engineer eager to give back and be
meaningfully involved as a lay leader.
The leadership accountabilities in BBYO are not watered down,
and the teens are not infantilized. Lord Jonathan Sacks, former
chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Common-
wealth (UK), said it elegantly at BBYO International Convention
2015 in Atlanta: “When we create space for teens to assume re-
sponsibility and leadership, only then are they empowered to as-
sume this responsibility. Sometimes it is most important just to get
out of their way.”
At the same time, BBYO focuses intentionally on training teens for
success. Learning through trial and error—practice and reflection—
is a hallmark of the BBYO experience. Professional staff and volun-
teer advisors work directly with teens to review program outlines
and objectives, challenging them on issues both mundane (how
will the room be set up?) and profound (what will participants
do, think, and feel once the program has concluded?). A recent in-
dependent assessment of BBYO’s methodology to deepen Judaic
content across the Movement noted that teens are “centering their
programs around . . . ‘big’ questions and setting program goals,
often looking to Kivun [BBYO’s Jewish educational framework]
for inspiration and connections to BBYO’s larger [educational]

Fall 2015 65
intentions.”5
Feedback from adults and peers helps teens under-
stand what worked well and what could work better next time.
In addition to learning-by-doing through planning and imple-
menting programs, BBYO also engages teens in a variety of focused
leadership training opportunities at the local and Movement-wide
levels. As an example, Regional Leadership Training Institutes
(RLTIs) are offered in every BBYO community, with a curriculum
focused on core leadership competencies, including self-awareness,
visioning, messaging, public speaking, and community-building
strategy. Each summer, BBYO brings together more than 1,500 teens
to participate in leadership skills-building experiences uniquely
designed to broaden their perspective and help them achieve their
goals upon returning home. BBYO’s Chapter Leadership Training
Conference (CLTC), for instance, is a summer mainstay that has
attracted AZA and BBG emerging leaders for nearly four decades.
BBYO Summer Experiences rally teens from across the Move-
ment to share ideas and learn from one another, nurturing global
friendships and motivating the Movement’s vanguard to dream
big. Elected teen position-holders connect with their counterparts
from different communities to swap best practices and trouble-
shoot together. BBYO alumni long-graduated from high school
and now prominent in any number of professional disciplines
credit their BBYO leadership training as setting them on the path
toward success. A study of 3,000 eighteen-to-thirty-five-year-olds
involved with AZA or BBG in high school noted that, “nearly all
BBYO alumni underscore the value of their BBYO participation
. . . as meaningfully increasing their self-confidence and leadership
skills.”6
BBYO’s Focus on Growth
Shortly after BBYO became independent from B’nai B’rith In-
ternational in 2002, the new organization adopted as its mission
statement, “More Jewish Teens, More Meaningful Jewish Experi-
ences.” Growth was identified as a top priority, and success would
be measured—in part—by the total number of teens reached. So-
phisticated data-tracking systems and analytics—segmented by
community—were developed to record each individual teen’s
involvement and participation. Decades-old recruitment awards
were reinstated to recognize teen leaders and reinforce the

importance of growing the Movement. Consistent with its focus
on teen empowerment, AZA and BBG leaders took charge of re-
cruitment by inviting their peers into BBYO.
Research conducted as part of a five-year strategic plan launched
in 2012 found that 65 percent of new members joined BBYO because
a friend reached out to them, and nearly half remained involved in
order to be with their friends or make new friends. The importance
of friendships nurtured in BBYO is captured by a young AZA alum-
nus featured in an independent BBYO Impact Study conducted in
2011: “I made tons of wonderful friends there, many of whom I am
still in touch [with]. They were kinder, more supportive friends than
what I found in my high school—more like family.”7
In BBYO, recruitment is driven by the power of relationships
coupled with a sense of global Jewish responsibility and purpose.
Today, the Movement is active in nearly twenty-five countries out-
side North America, transcending borders and time zones, while
also facilitating connections with peers around the world in the
spirit of global Jewish peoplehood. Having a friend from Bulgaria
or Israel or Argentina is common in BBYO, where powerful rela-
tionships and programmatic collaborations happen across thou-
sands of miles.
In addition to AZA and BBG membership, BBYO opened its pro-
gram to teens by inviting them to attend engagement events, creat-
ing a point of connection to Jewish life for those who weren’t inter-
ested in becoming members (at least initially). Large-scale and high
energy community-wide “wow” programs built around service
and/or pop culture attracted a broad audience and raised the vis-
ibility of BBYO’s brand. Historically a members’-only experience,
the new BBYO emerged as a platform to welcome teens outside the
context of AZA and BBG. Those who sought leadership training
and deeper involvement would be drawn to AZA and BBG, while
all teens would have open access to exciting engagement activi-
ties (generally planned by AZA and BBG members) without the
requirement of membership as a quid pro quo to participate.
In diversifying the program vision to actively reach nonmem-
bers, a vibrant pipeline was created for AZA and BBG, and the
organization’s overall market-share grew exponentially. Many en-
gaged teens who were unfamiliar with AZA and BBG or didn’t
perceive themselves to be “joiners” found themselves impressed
with the quality of the AZA and BBG community and opted into

Fall 2015 67
membership. Engagement programs also became a low-barrier
mechanism for BBYO’s active teen members to introduce their
friends to AZA and BBG through fun events (such as special con-
certs, movie premieres, or events with high-profile speakers) that
intentionally spoke to their secular interests and carried a cer-
tain cachet within the high school social milieu. The new mission
made BBYO more visible and accessible to more teens by creating
many different pathways toward involvement. At all engagement
events, AZA and BBG—along with its menu of members’-only
activities—were positioned as an enticing opportunity for teens
seeking BBYO’s “signature experience” for fun, deep friendships
and transformative leadership training.
Engaging Bar/Bat Mitzvah Teens
The new mission also prompted BBYO’s engagement of the mid-
dle school demographic, particularly those teens celebrating the
bar/bat mitzvah in seventh grade and those preparing to enter
high school in eighth grade—two critical transition moments in
the life of a young person. Because so many teens drop out of Jew-
ish life after the bar/bat mitzvah, program options were created
to sustain their interest while also providing a “taste” of AZA and
BBG. Many parents seeking a supervised and trusted Jewish expe-
rience for their middle school children were already familiar with
the BBYO brand through its visibility in the community or hav-
ing older children involved in AZA and BBG, and they welcomed
BBYO’s entry into the middle school market.
The program served as a bridge between bar/bat mitzvah and
high school, and it positioned AZA and BBG teen leaders as role
models and “big brothers/sisters” to the seventh and eighth grad-
ers. Within the complex social hierarchy of teens, a high school
junior wouldn’t ordinarily interact with a seventh grader, much
less develop a meaningful friendship; but AZA and BBG leaders
in high school were motivated by a desire to grow the Movement
and “do right” by the Jewish community. They stepped forward to
welcome their younger peers into the BBYO family. As one AZA
member from Washington, DC, told his chapter during a recruit-
ment training: “The experience isn’t only about us anymore. It’s
about inspiring the younger kids.” Nothing is more socially af-
firming to an eighth grader than a twelfth grader taking serious

interest in his/her life and guiding him/her along the oftentimes
stressful journey from middle school to high school.
The success of its middle school engagement strategy prompted
BBYO to extend AZA and BBG membership to eighth graders,
providing an immediate next step for teen involvement follow-
ing bar/bat mitzvah. Welcoming eight graders as members—and
establishing a seamless transition from the bar/bat mitzvah—
brought further growth, energizing the AZA and BBG leadership
while also expanding teens’ social networks. The momentum and
growth sparked programmatic innovation and inspired an entre-
preneurial culture where teens, indeed, could dream big.
Jewish Education at the Forefront
Strengthening the Jewish people isn’t possible simply by reaching
more teens, which is why the second half of BBYO’s mission state-
ment, “More Meaningful Jewish Experiences,” is the linchpin be-
hind the organization’s momentum today. Established ninety years
ago as a Jewish educational organization, BBYO was founded to
help “Jewish teens enhance their knowledge and appreciation of the
Jewish religion and culture by discovering those aspects which are
meaningful to them.”8
This far-reaching objective dating to 1924 was
further parsed into specific Jewish values and principles to guide
the program experience—including tzedakah, tikkun olam, and K’lal
Yisrael. Key participant outcomes articulated by BBYO’s founders
were intended to “help teens recognize opportunities for service,”
“develop leadership potential,” “encourage the development of
friendships with other Jewish teens” and “become life-long active
members of the Jewish community.”9
At its seventh birthday—in
1931—the teens of AZA committed themselves to “instituting a
movement to strengthen the religious spirit of American Jewish
youth,” with a focus on creating “libraries of Jewish literature” and
promoting “contact with Jewish leaders” as well as “the encourage-
ment of synagogue attendance.”10
These ideals have guided BBYO
since its inception and endure to the current day.
At a time of emerging identity development, teens will embrace
the teachings of Jewish tradition, provided that the delivery is ac-
cessible, dynamic, and relevant. They are open to new ideas and
new ways of thinking. Always probing and testing, they interpret
experiences not to bolster an existing worldview, but rather to

Fall 2015 69
create a worldview that works for them. They want to differentiate
themselves and fashion their own unique identity, gaining a better
knowledge of who they are and what they value. Most teens care
seriously about a search for meaning in life, yet less than 40 percent
seek to find that meaning through Judaism.11
The 2013 Pew study
further confirmed that “even young and ‘non-religious’ Jews still
care deeply about their Jewish identities and spiritual lives.”12
BBYO’s approach to experiential Jewish education involves con-
tinuous improvement and innovation in order to create memo-
rable learning moments that resonate with teens. “Jewish content
isn’t boring; rather, boring Jewish content is boring” has become a
rally cry not only to emphasize Jewish depth, but also to make it
engaging and sophisticated.
BBYO’s educators train and equip teens to facilitate meaningful
Jewish experiences with their peers. They also train staff and adult
volunteers (“advisors’) to support and challenge teens in concep-
tualizing programs that drive toward key educational outcomes.
The teen who comes to his/her staff or advisor with a program
idea is asked a series of questions, probing deeper into the goals,
design, affective and cognitive objectives, as well as the envisioned
overall Jewish gestalt of the experience. As a result, one teen leader
affirmed that BBYO “makes you think about your Jewish identity,
about your role in Judaism, and . . . evaluate how [it] plays a role
in your daily life and how you connect to [it].”13
The deep relationships formed through AZA and BBG establish
a level of familiarity and comfort, creating an ideal foundation for
powerful communities of learning. A study exploring new meth-
odologies in experiential Jewish education for teens aptly advised
that creating “relationships and community among participants
are as important as the transmission of content between teacher
and student.”14
Sociologist Jack Mezirow—the innovator behind
transformative learning theory—placed special emphasis on mak-
ing meaning through processing experiences via group discussion
and reflection. In his vision, transformational learning communi-
ties are built on “trust, solidarity, security and empathy”15
—terms
often used by teens, verbatim, when asked to describe their AZA
or BBG chapter. The conditions within the chapter are well-suited
for teens to challenge one another and—all the while—challenge
their own beliefs, attitudes, and perspectives. In a close-knit en-
vironment where teens can be themselves and Jewish values are

front-and-center, the likelihood of Jewish transformation is mark-
edly increased.
Collective attention to BBYO’s educational framework and out-
comes/success indicators has focused the Movement squarely on
Jewish impact. No longer are the priorities seen as a distinction
between “growth” and “depth,” but rather how “depth” leads to
“growth” and the inherent synergy between these two organiza-
tional objectives. BBYO’s intentional focus on Jewish education
has become a galvanizer for the Movement, creating a common
language, defining clear outcomes, and driving results through a
unifying Jewish purpose and inspired vision. AZA and BBG chap-
ters are not simply social clubs or friendship circles, but, instead,
communities that bring about spiritual, intellectual, and interper-
sonal growth, helping teens better understand themselves and
their role in the world. The glue that binds together teens is the
Jewish content and the shared Jewish experience, forging deeper
friendships and greater self-awareness. When teens and alumni
talk about BBYO, they describe feeling more connected to the Jew-
ish people and proud to be Jewish.16
Collectively, BBYO strives to achieve three primary educational
outcomes: (1) Strengthen Jewish Identity (Who Am I?), (2) Create
Jewish Community (Who Are We?), and (3) Change the World (For
Whom Are We Responsible?)—known collectively in BBYO short-
hand as “Identify,” “Connect,” and “Improve.” BBYO program
planning begins with at least one of these outcomes in mind. Teens
naturally jump to the clever or fun program idea without drawing
an intentional connection to the educational outcomes. “Let’s have
a challah-baking class,” one might recommend. Then, BBYO staff
and advisors probe with open-ended questions: “Why is this pro-
gram important to your chapter?” “What do you want to achieve
by implementing this program?” “How does the program design
support your objectives?” Participant impact for each educational
outcome is measured annually via a survey tracking teen attitudes,
behaviors, and knowledge at the point of becoming a member of
AZA or BBG and, then again, upon high school graduation.
Achieving these outcomes doesn’t necessarily happen through
“traditional” Jewish learning; rather, BBYO’s approach to expe-
riential Jewish education is interactive and provides a space for
teens to share, connect, and create. Learning in BBYO may include
virtual Shabbat candle-lighting via Skype with teens in Cleveland

Fall 2015 71
and Argentina or discussing healthy dating relationships at a
chapter meeting. As one chapter leader commented, “Teens don’t
want to just listen. We like talking about things . . . It’s really
cool to hear people’s opinions about Judaism.”17
Teen leaders are
trained to facilitate conversation and sharing among their peers—
oftentimes through new members being mentored by more sea-
soned members entering their junior or senior year of high school.
“God Talk: What Do You Believe?” is one example of a BBYO
program experience intended to help teens feel more confident
questioning and wrestling with their own beliefs. Sitting in a circle,
one teen volunteers to “play God,” while the others ask questions.
All teens who wish may rotate into the God role, responding to
queries from the group: “How could You let the Holocaust hap-
pen?” or “What do You think about marriage equality?” or “What
happens to us after we die?” In one instance, a teen suffering from
mental illness asked: “Is mental illness supposed to be a punish-
ment?” He asked the same question to each of his peers who played
God, and each one confirmed, “No, it isn’t.” In another instance,
a teen who had deep struggles with her belief in God remained
silent when she was questioned by her peers. For this teen, God
was silent.
In preparation for the “God Talk” discussion, the teen leader
meets with a staff member or advisor to review the Judaic content
and goals. This particular program ties closely to the “Identify”
outcome referenced in Kivun (BBYO’s Educational Framework),
focusing on teens feeling “confident questioning and integrating
into one’s life Jewish principles about . . . God” and respecting di-
versity within the context of a pluralistic community. A resource
developed by an educator is available as a general guide with
helpful questions/insights and key concepts, ideas, and descrip-
tions of God grounded in both ancient and modern Jewish texts.
The teen and his/her staff member or advisor engage in a learning
dyad of their own, roughly constituting a dry run of the program.
The teen need only feel confident and prepared, not expert in the
topic. Opinions will vary, and most important is that every partici-
pant is heard by his/her peers without judgment in a respectful
environment that inspires thoughtful reflection.
As the “God Talk” conversation plays out in various BBYO com-
munities over time, teens turn to each other across the Movement
for facilitative tips and strategies to steer the discussion. In this

way, the corpus of texts grows organically, and the topic gains vi-
ral momentum from teens sharing across multiple different com-
munities. Their interest sustains the momentum through the ques-
tions they continue to raise: “What did it feel like to play God?”
“How did God’s responses align with your own concepts of divine
justice and mercy?” “Why do some challenge God’s presumed
omniscience?”
Inevitably, teens raise very personal or provocative issues dur-
ing the program. “Why has my Mom been stricken with an ill-
ness?” or “Why are the other kids at school always picking on
me?” These genuine moments of self-revelation and angst are
relatively common in the community of trust and inclusion built
through AZA and BBG. How do the teens respond? They show
support for their peers by gently snapping their fingers spontane-
ously and together as a community—a BBYO tradition that dates
back many decades. Hearing “snaps” is profoundly affirming for a
teen who has stepped out on a limb to share a piece of his/her life
in a very personal way. “I hear you,” “I care about you,” and “I’m
with you” are all implicit in the snapping, powerfully reinforcing
the communal norm of compassion and active listening, which
sets the stage for learning and transformation.
BBYO’s learning moments are deepened through pluralism—a
guiding value that welcomes Jewish teens regardless of affiliation
or prior knowledge. Differing perspectives enrich the conversation
and create a culture of inclusion: “BBYO’s pluralistic environment—
representing an array of denominations, Jewish educational back-
grounds and Jewish family lifestyles—offers a place for a wide range
of Jewish teens to explore their Jewish identities and, importantly, to
learn about and from others who are different from themselves.”18
Pluralism in BBYO as described by a teen highlights the diversity
of opportunities outside one’s familiarity or comfort zone, creating
awareness of rituals and ideas that are otherwise unfamiliar:
“I grew up Reform and had never been to a Conservative or Or-
thodox service until I joined BBYO . . . I went to an Orthodox-
style service, and it was just so eye-opening and new. I know it is
something I would never have done if it wasn’t for BBYO. And
that’s something that’s truly amazing, truly special about BBYO
. . . You get to learn and experience in a way that you otherwise
wouldn’t.”19

Fall 2015 73
Ninety years ago, the founders of BBYO identified K’lal Yisrael as
a core principle and commitment of every AZA and BBG member,
and that commitment remains a bedrock today.
Chapters: Where Deep and Lifelong Friendships Form
Every BBYO member belongs to a chapter—the grassroots “home
base” of twelve to fifty-plus teens that creates close friendships
and instills a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood that feels like
family. Teens take ownership of the chapter experience under the
leadership of an elected board, which sets the program agenda,
assigns roles and responsibilities, manages finances, and estab-
lishes a recruitment strategy to engage new members. The chapter
members also determine how the group will make a difference in
their community, in Israel, and around the world through educa-
tion, volunteerism, and advocacy. The collective empowerment of
AZA and BBG brings teens together as a united voice to actual-
ize change in the world and feel connected to a Movement much
larger than themselves.
Describing the AZA or BBG chapter experience to the uniniti-
ated is akin to explaining the grandeur of a morning sunrise atop
Masada to someone who’s never visited Israel. Most obvious is
that chapters are broken down by gender—AZA for young men
and BBG for young women—in order to create a sense of “brother-
hood” and “sisterhood” among the teens. BBYO’s gender-focused
approach was initially an accident of history, in that B’nai B’rith
was founded in 1843 as a men’s-only fraternal organization, with
AZA envisioned as a “junior” B’nai B’rith recruitment mechanism.
Nearly seventy years later, in 1909, B’nai B’rith Women (now Jew-
ish Women International) was established and, soon after, likewise
spawned BBG to sustain itself with younger members.
While the strategy of separating out young men and women to
participate in activities by gender was essentially an outdated ar-
tifact of a bygone era, the concept has proven both effective and
prescient for modern times. A recent study observed that, “gen-
der norms and expectations differ . . . and various conceptions of
masculinity and femininity shape psychological development and
socially acceptable life choices—especially for teens.”20
Young men
and women oftentimes act differently when among their own gen-
der as compared to being in a mixed-gender setting. BBYO offers

both types of social interactions, but frequently the most mean-
ingful conversations—the deepest exploration of identity and
troubleshooting the perpetual issues and stresses of adolescence—
transpire in the single-gender chapter environment. One teen quite
memorably explained that, “BBYO makes high school so much
easier . . . You understand that other people are going through the
same challenges you are. You’re not alone. You always have people
who are going to be there for you.”21
Picture a familiar scene in BBYO: AZA or BBG “separates.”
The setting is late in the evening at a weekend convention or at
a member’s home after a sports tournament. A group of all-male
(“Alephs”) or all-female (“BBGs”) teens are sitting in a circle in
a dark room with tea lights in the center spelling out “AZA” or
“BBG.” The teen leaders begin with a dramatic reading, a story,
which segues into a question. The mood is set, and a “safe space”
is created for members to share. This is the moment when the teens
know that they can express thoughts and feelings among friends,
without judgment. In some cases, the prompt leads the members
to recall how they first joined AZA or BBG. Invariably, an older
member—maybe even someone who has already graduated—
reached out to befriend them or simply invited them to attend a
program. Thanks to this older member, they have had the privilege
of being here in this moment surrounded by a supportive group of
“Brother Alephs” or “Sister BBGs.” Without that initial outreach
and encouragement, they wouldn’t have this community, these
friends, or this opportunity to be their authentic selves without
regard to social mores or pressures. This need to belong and to be
part of a sincerely caring social network of Jewish teens is the “je
ne sais quoi” of AZA and BBG—it makes sense intuitively, but to
really appreciate its value is to observe these remarkable experi-
ences firsthand.
Those who grew up in BBYO recognize the transformative
power of the chapter and the deep wisdom behind the seemingly
eccentric procedures and protocols that guide how chapters func-
tion. Most recognizable to the outsider is the sincere respect for
AZA and BBG traditions and its reverence for the organization’s
founders and ninety-year history. Each Member Manual includes
a detailed timeline of key milestones in BBYO’s past as well as ac-
tual language developed decades ago to open and conclude chap-
ter business proceedings. Every BBG meeting, for example, begins

Fall 2015 75
with the lofty words of the chapter president: “We are gathered
here for the purpose of accomplishing our business at hand. But,
more than that, we, and all the chapters in the world like ours, are
working toward a great goal.”22
The implicit understanding that BBGs have opened their chap-
ter meetings with this formula since the organization’s founding
creates a palpable link to the great women who blazed new trails
in prior eras. From the tapping of the gavel to the “pinning” cer-
emony for new members, the prescribed rituals of AZA and BBG
provide leadership roles for teens and a structure that builds cul-
ture and promotes continuity. The ability to “harness the power of
ritual by making rituals a meaningful and compelling part of the
educational experience” is now considered a best practice in work-
ing with teens.23
The prevalence of insider’s jargon—including a
vast lexicon of Hebrew terms and titles—reminds AZA and BBG
members that the time they spend with their chapter is special—
set aside from day-to-day activities and the “next act” in a rich,
dramatic AZA and BBG history that honors teen leadership and
carries a profound sense of time-tested authenticity. Being con-
nected to “something bigger” happens both as a result of partici-
pating with 44,000 other teens in BBYO’s activities today as well
as feeling part of everything the Movement and its leaders have
accomplished since 1924.
A teen leader at BBYO International Convention 2015 lost his
AZA membership pin; he was distraught because the pin had been
given to him by his grandfather. When he eventually found the
pin with the assistance of some friends from his chapter, he said, “I
know that my grandfather is so proud of me right now.” Standing
on the shoulders of giants motivates teens toward greatness, as
they seek to earn the respect of their peers and sustain the legacy
of their predecessors. The special handshakes, the spirit songs, the
memorabilia passed from generation to generation and the rever-
ence for tradition make for an AZA and BBG membership experi-
ence that feels special, important, and enduring.
A BBYO alumnus who moved to Israel and had joined the Is-
raeli army spoke recently with a group of BBYO teens participat-
ing in a leadership program in Jerusalem. Easily able to connect
through having BBYO in common, the young soldier spoke about
what it was like for him to serve in the Israeli army and to live as
an Israeli citizen. The teens regarded him as a hero and role model,

spellbound by the sincerity of his presentation. At the end of his
talk, he removed the lapel from his uniform and unfolded it. There,
ensconced in the uniform, was his AZA pin. He kept it with him
as a treasured possession—a reminder of the lifelong friends and
shared experiences and memories from his days as a BBYO teen.
He represents so many whose lives have been forever changed be-
cause of their involvement with BBYO.
Stronger Together
Similar to BBYO, NFTY is in the business of inspiring teens to
deepen their commitment to Jewish life by providing meaningful
and engaging experiences aligned with core Jewish values. Each
Jewish teen movement creates its own “magic”—its own brand of
special memories and transformative moments. Institutions aren’t
as relevant to teens today, and teens tend to reject labels. With every
opportunity in the world available to them—and myriad interests
competing for their limited time—teens seek validation, meaning,
and acceptance. The questions they’re asking are not substantively
different than those asked by their parents and grandparents at the
same age. Jewish tradition—while perhaps not providing all the
answers—offers important context and insight for these key iden-
tity-building years. Teens involved with BBYO and NFTY are the
lifeblood of the Jewish community, and research substantiates that
“when young people engage in effective Jewish learning experi-
ences as adolescents, they are more likely to choose to live vibrant
Jewish lives as adults.”24
BBYO and NFTY have begun to work together more closely.
BBYO hosted URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs as a keynote speaker
at its BBYO International Convention 2014 in Dallas. In reflecting
on that historic moment in a subsequently published editorial,
Rabbi Jacobs called upon BBYO and NFTY to “remember . . . that
we are stronger when we work together to expand our reach to
even more Jewish youth.”25
When BBYO gathered for its BBYO International Convention 2015
inAtlanta, NFTYhosted its National Convention in the adjoining ho-
tel—not by accident, but with strategic intentionality. During Shab-
batafternoon,morethanthreethousandNFTYandBBYOteensfilled
a massive ballroom to learn together, sing together, and celebrate to-
gether. The moment was transcendent—a symbol of what’s possible

Fall 2015 77
when leaders collaborate and envision a greater good outside their
institutional purviews. How did the teens respond? They were over-
whelmed with emotion and pride, as reflected in the Twitter post,
“So insanely empowering to be in a room with over three thousand
teens from all around the world.”26
As NFTY celebrates seventy-five
years, and BBYO marks ninety, the time is right for deeper collabora-
tion and broad-scale commitment toward actualizing Rabbi Jacobs’
bold vision of being stronger when working together.
Notes
1. A Portrait of Jewish Americans: Findings from a Pew Research Center
Survey of U.S. Jews (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2013),
7, 10.
2. C. Kadushin, S. Kelner, and L. Saxe, Jewish Adolescents: American
Teenagers Trying to Make It (Waltham, MA: Cohen Center for Mod-
ern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, 2000), 18, 28.
3. K. Lieberman, Designing Opportunities for Jewish Young-Adult Leader-
ship, http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/designing-opportunities-
for-jewish-young-adult-leadership/?utm_source=Futm_
campaign=Mon+Feb+23utm_medium=email (February 22,
2015).
4. Ibid.
5. B. Cousens, Enhancing Capacity for Jewish Enrichment: An Evalua-
tion of BBYO’s Directors of Jewish Enrichment Pilot (Berkeley, CA:
Informing Change, 2015), 5.
6. BBYO Impact Study (Washington, DC: Groeneman Research
Consulting/Gerstein Agne Strategic Communications, 2011), 7.
7. Ibid., 8.
8. AZA Member’s Manual: Inside Information (Washington, DC: BBYO,
Inc., 2011), 8.
9. Ibid.
10. J. Wiener, “From the Archive BBYO Celebrates a 90-Year Jew-
ish Adolescence” (New York: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 2014),
http://www.jta.org/?s=bbyo+celebrates+a+90-year+jewish+
adolescenceorderby=dateorder=desc.
11. Kadushin, Kelner, and Saxe., Jewish Adolescents, vii.
12. M. Knopf, “Synagogues Failed but They Can Recover,” The Jewish
Exponent, http://jewishexponent.com/blog/synagogues-failed-
but-they-can-recover (October 4, 2013).
13. Cousens, Enhancing Capacity for Jewish Enrichment, 10.
14. M. Reichert and S. Ravitch, Engaging Jewish Teenage Boys: A Call to
Action (Jenkintown, PA: Moving Traditions, 2010), 16.

15. Mezirow, Jack. Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a
Theory in Progress. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000, p. 12.
16. BYO Impact Study. (2011). Washington, DC: Groeneman Research
Consulting/Gerstein Agne Strategic Communications.
18. BYO Impact Study (Washington, DC: Groeneman Research Con-
sulting/Gerstein Agne Strategic Communications, 2011), 10.
20. Reichert and Ravitch, Engaging Jewish Teenage Boys, 7.
21. BYO Impact Study, 10.
22. BBG Member’s Manual: This Is Our Order (Washington, DC: BBYO,
Inc., 2011), 57.
23. Reichert and Ravitch, Engaging Jewish Teenage Boys, 16.
24. Effective Strategies for Educating and Engaging Jewish Teens (San
Francisco: Jim Joseph Foundation, 2013), 1.
25. R. Jacobs, “NFTY and BBYO: We Can Make Each Other Stronger,”
http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/nfty-and-bbyo-we-can-make-
each-other-stronger/ (February 18, 2014).
26. R. Azariya, retrieved from Twitter, @RotemAzariya, #BBYOand-
NftyUnite (February 14, 2015).

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