SHOFAR THE Youth Commission Meets: BBYO Achievements and Challenges B'nai B'rith Youth Organization ALEPH ZADIK ALEPH (AZA) B'NAI B'RITH GIRLS (BBG) 176.95 200.00 January, 1979 228.00 370.00 102.00 Pictured above are: Left, GAG Mark Plotkin; middle, Commission Chairman Horace Stern presents plaque to B'nai B'rith President Jack Spitzer while B.B. Women President Evelyn Wasserstrom, having been presented with a tree of life, 110.00 looks on: right, BBG N'siah Jois Brownstein. 150.00 150.00 Programs That Work How can we help BBYO grow here in the United States and Canada as well as in such 100.00 countries as Israel, England, and elsewhere? How can the program be improved? How can 115.25 we strengthen the Jewish character of the BBYO program? These were some of the key 100.00 Guaranteed questions which the B'nai B'rith Youth Commission grappled with during its sessions in Washington, November 4-7. 105.00 100.00 Faced with the responsibility of setting policy for BBYO, the Youth Commissioners from 100.43 all parts of the United-States and Canada - and a representative from Great Britain spent 150.00 107.20 Looking for a program which can't fail? Beginning with this long hours deliberating the business items referred to them by the AZA and BBG Interna- 100.00 issue, THE SHOFAR will feature in-depth reports on winning tional Conventions, as well as other business items on which the welfare and growth of 102.46 programs from the 1977-78 AZA and BBG Program of the Year BBYO depends. In his opening remarks, Commission Chairman Horace A. Stern indicated competition, These are all proven programs which were suc- that the quality of the BBYO program was higher than ever, yet the challenges facing the 100.00 cessful enough to win top honors for the Chapter or Regional organization in these difficult economic times are not small. Mr. Stern concluded his remarks 100.00 group which sponsored it. with an expression of high hopes and optimism for the future of the organization. 100.00 100.00 Commission Acts on Issues 120.00 Community Service Programs Many business issues were dealt with by the Commission, including all the AZA and BBG business items which were referred to the Commission by the AZA and BBG International 100.26 Conventions. The following decisions were made: 114.57 When college students Jeff Friedman and The raise of BBG commitment to the International Service Fund (ISF) from $2 to $3 138.00 300.00 Celia Blum asked the Chapter members to as approved. 129.19 A Great Way to help them with a project of interviewing the The equalization of dues for both BBG and AZA at $5.50 for old as well as new members 112.90 elderly the members responded with en- was approved. 100.00 Learn about the thusiasm. After careful planning they spent The extending of the BBG age limitation to the District N'siah was accepted. long hours interviewing home residents, ask- The AZA and BBG motions concerning the travel of the Presidents of District 14 (Israel) 100.00 214.56 Elderly and ing such questions as "What are the impor- and District 15 (England) and the Internationalization Chairman to International Executive 192.30 tant happenings in your life?" "What are Board meetings were approved. 400.00 Yourself your religious beliefs?" "What is your favor- The motion concerning raising dues at District 15 to subsidize travel of Godol/N'siah as 103.00 ite recipe?" They then sorted out the answers well as submitting memberships lists of the District to BBYO in Washington was passed. and wrote stories and poems about their All the AZA and BBG motions dealing with changes in the present BBYO Shabbat policy own feelings toward older people resulting from the interviews. All the material will be (continued on page 6) 100.00 101.00 edited by Jeff and Celia for a Foxfire Maga- 100.00 First Place: BBG Chapter: zine. Parts of it have been put on tape and YACHAD BBG, E. Mo-Kan Region Invitation to a Debate 100.00 slides which were presented at a party the 250.00 (District 2) 120.00 Chapter gave for their senior friends to the No man is an island The gap between great enjoyment of both. 150.00 a teenager and a 92 year old person is not The members of Yachad BBG gained a 111.11 as great as most people seem to think. 260,00 whole new outlook on life by forming lasting This is the kind of thing members of friendships with people in their sixties to Are Jewish Women Equal? 100.00 Yachad BBG learned after six months of in- nineties. In addition to winning the Program 125.00 teracting with senior citizens at the Jewish of the Year Award of BBYO, they also won 100.00 home for the aged in their community. The the I. E. Millstone Award for Outstanding by Morry Schreiber BBGs made friends with the elderly and Community Service. 100.00 formed lasting relations which have enriched 153.00 the lives of both. (continued on page 5) 370.00 "This ERA thing is getting out of hand," religion are not all of one kind. Certainly not 500.01 was the remark I heard a member of AZA in America, where two branches of Judaism 420.00 make the other day in reacting to the news now have women Rabbis, while other 100.00 about the Equal Rights Amendment coming branches won't even count women in a 100.40 up before Congress. Congress has much minyan. What's more, a religion as old and GOLDEN more important business to occupy itself with as rich in ancient tradition as Judaism is than all this ERA nonsense, he argued. Isn't it bound to reflect social traditions dating back p. 6) time women stopped making so much noise to a time when women were less than equal. about their rights and started attending to Thus, for example, in our prayer book, SISTERS FOR their duties? prayers like the Amidah talk about the merits people. Regardless of one's own views, women's of our ers-Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob an ex- rights is one of the major issues of our time. -while making no mention of our mothers seeing This year, as BBG is about to celebrate Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel. Citing group 1978-79 its Golden Anniversary, it behooves every this and other similar examples of Jewish member of BBG as well as AZA to ask the prayers and rituals, Jewish women in recent and question, Are women equal in Judaism? years have argued that the Jewish religion is was Should Jewish women be content with their male-oriented and dominated. present status or should they make noise and What, then, is exactly the place of women alum- try to change it? in Judaism today? delegates See page 3 The difficulty in answering this question ome with lies in the fact that Jewish life and the Jewish (continued on page 7)