The OU's symbol, found on many kosher products. |
As expected, the OU trip's denomination is listed as orthodox. No surprise there. They are open to participants of varying backgrounds and the trip itself is supposed to emphasize the spiritual connection between the different facets of the Jewish people as a whole--the people of Israel, the land of Israel, contemporary Israel, and Jewish tradition all meshed together. The Birthright site states that
Israel Free Spirit trips are comprised of JSU & NCSY staff, College Jewish Education Professionals and Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni who share a passion for Israel and bring extensive background in informal Jewish education. In line with our mission of maximizing your trip we go beyond the required two staff per trip and usually add a third staff member who is a dynamic educational expert (a campus rabbi or similar) so you get more one on one attention.3That sounds like a great deal if you want more one on one attention or a trip that will give you access to an orthodox rabbi or orthodox educational expert to give an orthodox point of view if needed. I think that this is great if a student is already orthodox. Providing an orthodox point of view for an orthodox clientele, or even a rabbi who can help students with preparations for Shabbat (the Sabbath) makes sense. I don't find these things to be at all problematic. What I find troubling, however, is who they are affiliated with.
The OU boldly states to those interested in the trip they provide that "the OU “Israel Free Spirit” trip is a collaboration of NCSY, JSU (Jewish Student Union), Aish, Yachad/NJCD, Yeladim, JACS, MEOR, and many other allied agencies that have pooled their resources to provide you with the experience of a lifetime."4 This is where your eyes should widen if you're a parent of a non-orthodox student, or if you're a non-orthodox student going on Birthright and considering the OU Israel Free Spirit trip. Here's why:
- NCSY, while a youth group, also does extensive outreach to Jewish public school students. They are a kiruv(outreach) organization. An article about outreach in the OU's Jewish Action online magazine discussing kiruv programs states that "many of these programs serve as a magnet for Jews because they don’t take place in an obviously Jewish site. Thus, programs loosely wear an “Orthodox” or “outreach” label to avoid scaring away Jews who have little connection with traditional Judaism.....That, [Rabbi Steven Burg, international director of NCSY, the international teen organization sponsored by the Orthodox Union (OU) dedicated to connecting Jewish teens to Torah] says, is why NCSY has located some of its most successful outreach programs in places like public schools and cafes."5
- JSU (Jewish Student Union) is a "club" that is advertised to public schools. Check out their website here. They advertise themselves as an "awesome Jewish club, right in your school!"6 With promises of free kosher pizza and an advisor who will bring pizza, Judaism, and fun, who can resist? At the bottom of their website, they mention that they are sponsored by NCSY. They are an outreach organization.
- Aish. Aish is short for Aish HaTorah, a major outreach organization with yeshivas and learning programs specifically designed to transform non-orthodox Jews to fully-observant Jews.
- MEOR. MEOR is an Jewish organization that sets up on or near college campuses. They offer Jewish learning, programs, and holiday and Shabbat observance from an orthodox perspective, all created for college students. Their website states that "MEOR’s goal is to create the next generation of Jewish leaders by investing in students like you on leading U.S. campuses today." They also state that they "focus on in-depth Jewish learning for students who are seeking that opportunity as part of their college experience."7 They are an outreach organization. Read more here.
1. http://www.ou.org/about_us/#.UR_NMPKQ1hp accessed 2/16/2013 at 1:32pm.
2. ibid.
3. http://www.birthrightisrael.com/VisitingIsrael/Pages/OU-Israel-Free-Spirit.aspx accessed on 2/16/2013 at 1:48pm.
4. ibid
5. Lipman, Steve. "The New Face of Jewish Outreach." http://www.ou.org/index.php/jewish_action/article/64253/ accessed 2/16/2013 at 2:18pm.
6. http://dojsu.com/ accessed on 2/16/2013 at 2:24pm.
7. http://www.meor.org/homepage-features/for-students accessed on 2/16/2013 at 2:29pm.
Mayanot is a big provider and offers a free ten day stay in the Mayanot yeshiva at the end.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Matthew and Yehuda, for commenting.
ReplyDeleteMatthew, I hope you'll scroll down and read my post on the Mayanot trip as well.
Yehuda, I completely agree with you. MEOR uses very deceptive tactics in order to get students involved in their programs. I do plan on writing a post about them, as I think people need to know more about this organization.
I hope that both of you will continue to read this blog and comment. Thank you.
Thank you for this post. As a secular Jew, I was looking for an Orthodox-sponsored program so I could learn more about serious Judaism. Still weighing the benefits, but I'll be going with either Mayanot or Free Spirit.
ReplyDeleteThank you for YOUR post. I am in a similar position. I am a secular Jew (raised conservative) and a student of philosophy. I would love a rabbi on the trip! I don't understand why the presence of a more orthodox point of view is problematic. Especially when argumentation is one of our oldest cultural practices. You don't learn anything surrounded by people who agree with you.
DeleteShady or not, many of these outreach organizations have allowed secular Jews to participate in social conventions and still retain some Jewish identity. And it's not as if they're explicitly proselytizing.
One of the difficulties here is that "Orthodox" Jews do not consider themselves outside the mainstream. They do not feel it nesseccary to "warn" parents about anything, because the do not consider their actions unwholesome or sleezy. These are things that are very subjective. The is no intelligent person that can attend even 5min of a MEOR seminar and think that they are being decived.
ReplyDelete