December 31, 2002

Highly Successful OU National Convention Formulates ‘Action Plans’ to Respond to Current and Emerging Needs

Pledging to respond forcefully to the needs expressed by its member congregations across the country; inviting increased participation by women, young people and lay people and rabbis from geographically diverse areas of the country; and focusing on a wide array of programs that extend across the Jewish life cycle, from parenting to funerals, the Orthodox Union concluded its biennial National Convention, reinvigorated, revitalized and looking toward the future.

With the theme of establishing "Action Plans for an Uncertain Century: The OU Looks Forward," the organization brought together hundreds of rabbis and lay leaders from across the country to meet for four days at the end of December at the Rye Town Hilton, in New York's suburban Westchester County.

Participants were warmly welcomed by a video message from President Bush, in which he emphasized his deep respect for the religious values of the Modern Orthodox community and for its shared goal with the Administration of "standing by our allies in the Middle East." (Click here to see the President's message in Windows Media.) The Convention was further highlighted by the presence of the Chief Rabbi of Israel, HaRav Yisrael Meir Lau, who in a major address during Shabbat called for increased Jewish education in both Israel and the Diaspora to preserve the Jewish people.

The Convention opened with programmatic tracks on "Community and Synagogue," "Political Issues and Advocacy," and "Families and Children," as well-attended sessions explored areas of OU activity and expertise. A special closed session for young people offered insights into community leadership opportunities by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, as well as by OU president Harvey Blitz and executive vice president Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb.

A popular Limud Torah learning track focused on the Daf Yomi Gemarot from Tractate Sanhedrin that corresponded to the days of the Convention; it also included a session on "Kashrut Insights." Further, the Shabbat program featured a wide variety of shiurim by outstanding teachers of Torah including Rabbi Hershel Schachter, Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Rakeffet and Rabbi Dr. Yitzchok Breitowitz, and a derashah by RCA president Rabbi Herschel Billet.

Thursday's opening dinner, at which 50 OU rabbis were honored for leading missions to Israel in the past year, was sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism and was addressed by Rami Levi, Consul in North America of the Ministry, and by Aharon Domb, its Director-General.

“The Thursday evening plenary session detailed a whole range of issues that the OU must confront in the years ahead,” said Stephen J. Savitsky, who was elected Chairman of the OU Board at the Convention. “The session was called Areas of Challenge in Setting the Orthodox National Agenda: An Exploration of Issues of Immediate Concern to Our Community. Having listened to and absorbed the presentations, the OU and its leadership are prepared to provide the appropriate response to the challenges that were set before us.”

In the session, Stephen H. Hoffman, President and CEO of the United Jewish Communities, providing a “view from the outside,” correctly predicted that "major new initiatives will come forth from this meeting." In his remarks, Mr. Hoffman emphasized the unity of Klal Yisrael and the need for the Jewish community to work together, adding, "Mutual respect doesn't mean approval." Mr. Hoffman told his OU audience, "We need you to emphasize Jewish values and provide moral guidance in our community."

Providing views "from the inside," Rabbi Howard Zack of Columbus, Ohio asked for special attention to be paid to smaller Orthodox communities, including encouragement to young people to settle there; Shira Reifman, NCSY Interim Director of Operations, urged increased attention to the voice of young leadership and to "issues relevant to their lives;" Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky of Chicago, IL, discussing "What Values Do We Hold Dear?" expressed concern that "we have become so comfortable in our Diaspora that we have become accepting of values contrary to ours." In order to preserve our values, he called on the family to assume a greater role in education, rather than ceding it entirely to the school or yeshiva. "It takes a family (not a village) to raise a child," Rabbi Matanky declared, adding: "The traditional Jewish family offers our greatest hope for the future."

In his discussion of "How Much of a Priority Is Israel in Our Lives," Rabbi Shmuel Goldin of Englewood, NJ praised rallies on behalf of Israel as well as the many missions OU synagogues have organized to Israel. He also urged extra efforts to encourage aliyah to Israel. "No matter how comfortable we are in our lives," Rabbi Goldin declared, "we should be concerned that we are not living in Israel."

The subject of how the OU will meet the needs of the Modern Orthodox community and its synagogues in the years ahead, in view of newly developing issues and challenges, dominated the Convention. "The Orthodox Union is ready to take the steps and to make the changes necessary to lead us into an uncertain new century," declared Convention Chair Elliot P. Gibber.

Dr. Karen Bacon, the Monique C. Katz Dean of the Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University, reflected on the historic consequences of being the first woman to deliver the Keynote Address at an OU Convention, adding that "Women's voices must be listened to at all levels of the OU to confront and attack the problems that face our community." Women must play a particularly significant role in family issues, she said, terming the family unit "vulnerable" because of a variety of factors. Most notable among them, Dr. Bacon explained, is the stress on women caused by their growing presence in the workplace while still having major responsibility for raising their families. This stress can lead to "overload and conflict" in women's lives.

Dr. Bacon also noted the pressures on adolescents and college students who are "struggling" to establish a balance between their lives as observant Jews and their interaction with the outside world-in other words, the conflict between the ger (the stranger) and the toshav (the inhabitant) in America, which she singled out as a challenge facing the Modern Orthodox community as a whole.

In their response, Harvey Blitz and Rabbi Weinreb declared that the choice of Dr. Bacon to keynote the Convention was "symbolic" of the need of the OU to better hear the voice of women. The OU leaders have recently undertaken a major effort to hear from their entire constituency, traveling the country to meet with synagogue leaders. "We want to define ourselves in terms of what you expect from us-that's the theme of this convention," Rabbi Weinreb told the participants. "How can we do our programming better? How do we connect to synagogues and the community?" he asked.

In an informal presentation, the two leaders spelled out areas in which new directions in programming are being developed for the immediate future. They include:

• Singles programming-not only for young people, Mr. Blitz explained, but for those who have passed through the shidduch (or introduction) process and are still single, and for those who become single later in life. Mr. Blitz announced that a program is being developed to connect local shidduch committees across the country so they can work together and increase their effectiveness.
   
• National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY), which Rabbi Weinreb termed the "crown jewel" of the OU, is successfully proceeding in its mission to bring young Jews "at the periphery of Judaism to the core of Judaism." Just a week earlier, Rabbi Weinreb announced, more than 400 boys and girls attended the West Coast Regional Convention of NCSY in Los Angeles. An NCSY Action Plan is under way to continue to refine standards of training and supervision for staff, expanding on the extensive work that has been done over the past two years.
   
• The OU college program, in which a married couple lives on campus and studies with and advises Orthodox students on the challenges of combining their Orthodox lifestyle with life at a secular college, is enjoying substantial popularity and will be expanded from its present six schools, Mr. Blitz said. OU leadership is gratified by the number of students who have availed themselves of this program, and by the fact that it appeals to an increasing number of non-Orthodox students as well.
   
• The Yachad program for the developmentally disabled, and the Our Way program for the hard of hearing are being expanded to sensitize "abled" people to the needs of the disabled, so as to make them full participants in the Orthodox world. "No child can be left behind," Rabbi Weinreb said, emphasizing the importance of the programs.
   
• Kashrut, which is the OU's largest and best-known program, is expanding its educational efforts so that the kosher consumer will better understand how Kashrut works and thereby better appreciate its observance.
   
• Parenting Conferences, which provide expert advice on normative issues of parenting in Orthodox families, have been enormously successful, attracting many hundreds of people to the sessions, Rabbi Weinreb said. Conferences are being planned across the country. In response to community requests, some will focus on single topics such as teenagers, single parents and other issues of concern; in a related area, curricula are also being planned to deal with pre-marital education.
   
• The OU is expanding its work on domestic violence, sexual abuse and other instances of abuse in the community; it will partner with other concerned organizations to respond proactively to what Rabbi Weinreb termed "this sensitive need."
   
• The Institute for Public Affairs (IPA) will expand its educational efforts to inform the Orthodox community of how IPA works on its behalf. Thanks in part to the work of IPA, President Bush recently announced a change in federal regulations which previously had prohibited disaster relief from going to religious institutions; as a direct result of this change, federal assistance is being provided to a Seattle yeshiva damaged by an earthquake. IPA, of course, will continue its highly successful efforts in the White House and on Capitol Hill to marshal support for Israel and for the domestic issues that concern our community.
   
• Israel, as always, will remain central to the work of the OU. The Israel Center in Jerusalem does "amazing things," declared Rabbi Weinreb, adding that efforts are being expanded to assist communities affected by what he termed "terrorism and trauma." The OU recently undertook a program to sell at $1 apiece 100,000 credit card-sized cards featuring the MiSheberach Lema'an Hachayal (click link for details and order form)-the prayer for the Israel Defense Forces-with the entire proceeds being donated to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces to assist injured and needy soldiers.

In addition, action plans are underway to provide outreach to young people, with the goal of involving them in OU leadership; and at the other end of the spectrum, a Task Force on the Elderly is in the formation stage.

In the Convention's concluding session, the OU commemorated the 100th birthday and tenth Yahrzeit of Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zt"l, in a standing-room only program chaired by OU honorary president Julius Berman and addressed by some of the Rav's most illustrious students, now leaders in the Modern Orthodox community: Rabbi Hershel Schachter, Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, Rabbi Kenneth Brander, Rabbi Menachem Genack, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Rakeffet, Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld, and Dr. David Shatz.

This Convention marked the completion of Harvey Blitz's first two-year term as president, to which he was reelected, and Rabbi Weinreb's first year as executive vice president. Together with treasurer Herbert Seif and a dedicated team of senior officers and executive board members, they have made substantial progress in this time period toward setting the Union on a firm basis of fiscal responsibility. Changes in governance and organizational structure have been put in place, with additional significant moves in progress. The improved atmosphere was reflected in the upbeat mood at the Convention. "The Convention was an overwhelming success," said Mr. Blitz. "Our large and enthusiastic attendance from all over the country; the excellent presentations both in plenary sessions and smaller groups; the willingness of participants to tackle the agenda of determining future directions for the OU; the davening and the shiurim; the presence of Chief Rabbi Lau and the welcome from President Bush, all combined to create a spirit of exuberance, even as we deliberated difficult topics."

Rabbi Weinreb took note of the family atmosphere. "The family is at the heart of Orthodox Judaism," Rabbi Weinreb said. "The presence of countless children-from babies (at least one as young as 12 weeks) to teenagers-attending the Convention with their parents, sharing meals with them, being blessed by them at the Shabbat table, reinforced in our minds that what we were doing at the Convention was being done for our children, for their future, for the future of the Jewish people."

See photo essay on the convention

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