LTI 2026 Recap

By: Sylvie Neff

As I ran to the buses with people I had just met moments ago, all I could think was, “Yes. This is where I’m supposed to be.” Someone grabbed my hands, pushed our arms up to make an arch, and all of a sudden, there was a tunnel that led from the bus doors to the pavilion. This was the start of LTI 2026.

After sitting at lunch with people from Las Vegas and Chicago, it was time to open the convention with the rules skit. Entertaining us by having the IEB members improv-rap, the skit included things like when curfew would start, rules about tech on Shabbat, and reminders like “break one rule at Palmer, staff remembers your name.”

The first programming of the convention split us up into three “tracks.” While I was on the Leadership 101 track, others were learning about programming or building strong connections. In that first session, my track focused on what we would do if we were put into certain situations during an event, including the best and worst case scenarios. The programming throughout the weekend was a great way to meet other leaders from across the continent who all care so deeply about the same things. At the same time, the sessions were also a great way to just have fun and joke around with everyone.

Friday night, Shabbat services were held outside in a clearing in the woods. We sat on camp benches, arms around each other as we sang in Hebrew. At dinner, during HaMotzi, teens tossed Challot over the table and we all placed our hands on each other’s heads during the blessings.

After dinner, it was time to finally see what everyone was so excited about: Ruach. This was only my second convention, and my first in a while, so I knew I would need a bit of a refresher. Though as soon as IEB members started gathering everyone away from the tables and started chanting, it all started coming back to me.

Ruach is something that is hard to explain to someone who has never experienced it before. It starts with the sort of circle you would imagine at a Bar Mitzvah, and everyone jumps and scream-sings the words to songs like Adama Veshamayim and Kol Haolam Kulo. Even if you don’t know the words well (as was the case for me), there are plenty of people who stand on the outside of the circle and hum and clap along. 

During Ruach, a feeling of belonging washed over me, even during a time where I had little to no idea what was really going on. All I knew was that I loved this, whatever this was. I came home determined to learn all of the Ruach songs for my next convention.

USY conventions are a lot like camp in that the energy is high all the time. Even when we had a late-night Torah study that night (that started around midnight), people were engaged, making jokes, and contributing to the conversation. I, on the other hand, was exhausted. I stayed for a bit, and went to bed excited for nature Shacharit the following morning.

On Saturday morning, we all woke up and put on nicer outfits and headed to services. The weather that day was gorgeous. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze. As I said to some of my friends after walking outside, “It’s room temp out.” It was the perfect day for nature Shacharit. 

I can’t speak to the other two Shacharit options (traditional and learners’), but my experience in nature Shacharit was truly impactful. Instead of leading a normal service where we all davened as a group, for a few prayers the leader of the service had us break off individually. We were to find a calm spot away from others, and do that prayer on our own.

I realized I had never really had a moment to pray by myself. At my synagogue and at USY events, we always prayed as a group. As much as I loved that, it was nice to do a prayer on my own. The gentle breeze every so often only added to the uniqueness of the moment.

After another teen-led session about what to do in unexpected situations, lunch, and another round of Ruach, we had Chofesh, or free time. Some people started up a game of football on the field outside our bunks, others retreated to their rooms to rest for a bit, and still others, like me, played games outside and soaked up the sunshine.

We then went to a session where a staff member from Israel taught us about Israel’s government system and how voting works. Once we had heard about the parties and candidates, we were able to “vote” for who we would want to lead Israel’s government. It was interesting to learn about how different elections are in Israel than they are here in the US!

Teens led Mincha and then we headed to our second “track” session of the weekend, where we discussed our support systems as leaders and how to use them, and we had dinner.

It was then time for Sloach, which, I realized afterwards, is my favorite part of USY conventions. We entered the camp’s gym in the dark and sat in a spiral on the floor. The IEB sat in the middle with flashlights, the only light in the room, and led each song. Everyone wrapped their arms around each other and started swaying as we sang Al Kol Eleh. We only let go to clap our hands. I truly can’t think of a time I felt more connected to my Judaism.

I kept reminding myself that the friends I was spending all my time with were quite literally strangers prior to Friday afternoon. It amazed me that such strong connections could be formed in just hours. Everyone I met was friendly and genuinely open to meeting new people. That aspect was so different from anything I’ve experienced before.

Following Sloach, we said goodbye to Shabbat with Havdalah. As we sang the prayer over the spices, two IEB members ran around the inside of the circle, pressing the spices to our noses. As much as it was funny to see them try to reach everyone before the prayer was over, it was a unique way of getting the spices around to everyone rather than having us just pass them around. I loved it, and not just because Havdalah is one of my favorite services to participate in. We listened to the candle sizzle in the wine, chanted Shavua Tov hundreds of times, and gave each other hugs, wishing our fellow USYers a good week.

The IEB then broke everyone up into our roles for counterpart meetings. All of the regional and international presidents met, as did the regional and international Jewish Life VPs, and so on. As a chapter president, I went with all of the other chapter presidents to discuss what we needed from USY staff and we shared strategies and event ideas that worked at our synagogues. We made a group chat so that we can text throughout the year and talk about what’s working in our chapters and what’s not. I really enjoyed meeting with my counterparts and getting to know them and how they run their chapters.

We ended the day with s’mores and hanging out around the campus, and we all mentally prepared to wake up early the next day to pack up.

On Sunday morning, we participated in musical Shacharit, which reminded me so much of services at camp. At every announcement of a new page, everyone would yell, “Hey, that’s my favorite page!” It was random and seemingly weird (how is every page your favorite page?), but it stuck out to me as a reminder that we were still having fun. I disregarded the logic of the whole thing and joined in just for the fun of it.

We had breakfast and then went to our last track session of the convention. In mine, we recapped what we had learned throughout the weekend, talked about our goals as leaders in USY, and we all received leadership “toolkits,” that included things like a mint to help you “stay cool,” and a puzzle piece to remind you that you’re only part of the larger USY community.

My group then joined another for a presentation on convention planning, which was very interesting; many of the details they shared felt almost like secret tips. The staff talked about how to know when a program is too long or too short, and different types of activities to plan so no one is sitting and listening for too long—all of which I thought were great things to bring back to my chapter.

After lunch and a few rounds of “Hey, that’s mine,” where staff go through the lost and found, we all went outside for “closing circle”.

As Jackson Powers, USY International President, started announcing that he was going to close the convention, everyone screamed “No!” and threw their shoes in the middle of the circle to try and stop it. Nonetheless, the convention was closed and everyone hugged goodbye to their friends.

Even though my parents picked me up, I couldn’t help but feel like as we drove away I was leaving my family. Yes, I had only known them for two days and yes, maybe I wouldn’t see many of them again, but I told myself that this wasn’t an end; I would be back for another convention. If not for Sloach, Chofesh, or talk of favorite pages, then to bask in that feeling of belonging for another weekend.