One of my favorite scenes in the movie Keeping the Faith is when Rabbi Jake Schram (Ben Stiller) brings in a gospel choir to sing Ein Keloheinu. Rabbi Schram says the following:

"Ein Keloheinu. It's a joyous song, a prayer about praising the Lord, telling the Lord how much we love him, or her, but no matter what I do, I can't seem to be able to get you folks to sing it with any feeling. I mean, I brought in the band. That didn't work. I brought in my bongos last week. I think we can all agree that was a backwards step. So this morning, I've brought in a little outside help."

In USY, we don't need this "little outside help." We are the help! Our ruach and kavana is truly a special and integral part of our organization. The greatest religious feeling that anyone can experience is with USY. Our love for Conservative Judaism is unique and inimitable.

I would like you to take a moment to think about what/who brought you to USY. While it may be true that your friend pulled you or you found out about it online, the fact is that Judaism brought you to USY. The one aspect of each USYer that is constant is the fact that we are Conservative Jews. We must be proud that we are Conservative Jews and proud to be members of an essential part of the movement – USY.

USY is the perfect place to practice and learn about Conservative Judaism. Some people come to USY knowing much about our movement and religion, while others come knowing just the basics. As your Religion/Education Vice President, I want to encourage every one of us to use what we know in Judaism to make us who we are as Jews. My goal is to bring every one of us closer to Conservative Judaism by encouraging you to find what you want to find in our movement. We must work together to continue to form a strong and thriving movement. We must be that "little outside help" and show others our love and commitment for Conservative Judaism.

B'ahava,

Daniel Novick
2008 USY International Religion/Education Vice President
reled@usy.org