Welcome to Gaia! ::

I am really connected to Judaism and one of those ways is through a Jewish youth group. I was wondering if anyone else belonged or would like to belong, and what your opinions are about the various groups. I will post a short summary of the ones I know about and if I am wrong or forget any I apologize.

*I realize I forgot BBYO, BBG, and AZA on the poll - sorry!

USY - United Synagogue Youth

USY is a conservative Jewish youth group. It has regions spread throughout the U.S. and Canada. The regions are then divided into chapters, according to whatever synagogue you belong to. There are various events such as dances, conventions, summer programs, road trips, a trip to Israel, and individual chapter programs.

link: http://www.usy.org/yourusy/

Well, ezra was formed to strengthen young teenagers to come closer to the study of the torah, and understanding of the religion. In it's origin, it was meant for haraidim, but it branched out.

It was named after Ezra the sofer, a great man who immigrated from babelonia to israel, he rebuilt and strengthened the destroyed land of israel, and he stated new laws and rules to strengthen the people in religion and society in general. It was his goals that make him the role model of this youth group.

The group has some special rules that are different from most youth groups around here: it seperates girls and boys, something uncommon actually among youth groups around here... The ages range from 7 to 16. Once you become 17 you can become a councelor for younger groups. Usually the groups meet on shabbat, sometimes there are activities during the week for younger age groups.

ill write more later razz . I'm too lazy...

I'm supposedly a member of USY, but I've only been to like, three functions this year. sweatdrop

not to ruin anyone's day here (it's probably inevitable, but i might get lucky rolleyes ), but one basing one's "connection to judaism" on level of activity in a youth group....

it's not shayuch ten points to whoever (besides nathan) knows what that means

::restrains urge to ruin the fun::

שייך

maybe google will work now, cindy wink .

by the by, your comment about meeting nice people from the opposite sex is quite true - but not in ezra - its all seperate rofl .

I didn't really feel like typing up a summary so I just took this from the website: http://www.westcoastncsy.com/aboutus.html. All the people I know who are in NCSY say that it is fun and that they have made alot of new friends.

"NCSY, the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, is the most effective and respected educational Jewish Youth movement in the world. Offering programs to bring Jewish teens back to their heritage, NCSY is at the forefront of the battle against assimilation. Although most of NCSY's effort have been in North America, now NCSY in Israel is trying to bring back Israeli teens to their roots as well. NCSY is a multi-faceted Jewish Youth group which is open to all Jewish youth regardless of background and affiliation. NCSY is a leader in bringing unaffiliated youth an awareness of what Judaism is all about. For Jewish teenagers, NCSY is a relaxed fun environment to learn about their own heritage.
NCSY's programming really begins on the chapter level. There are many hundreds of local NCSY chapters across the country which offer educational and social events for Jewish teens. Usually located in the local synagogue, these chapters reach out to teenagers in the local community and introduce them to NCSY. All chapters are part of an NCSY Region. There are 12 NCSY Regions in North America. Each region runs programs bringing together the various chapters within its geographical area."

"none" what?