BBYO

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BBYO is a worldwide youth-led organization for high-school age Jewish teens. It is separated into Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA), the young men's order, and B'nai B'rith Girls(BBG), the women's order. There are also "BBYO Chapters" which are co-educational, though these are usually in smaller communities. Considered a high school fraternity, the mission of both groups as a whole is to provide Jewish youth opportunities to form leadership skills and to commit to their own personal development.

Contents

History

BBYO, formerly the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, originated in 1923 as a men's high school fraternity in Omaha, Nebraska, though it was actually not affiliated with B'nai B'rith until April 1925. It began as a protest against the local Greek high school fraternity, Alpha Zeta Alpha, which did not allow Jews to become members. The boys who organized it began their own high school fraternity and decided to name it Aleph Zadik Aleph, or AZA, the Hebrew letter equivalent. In April 1925, AZA was adopted by B'nai B'rith at the B'nai B'rith National Convention.

An alternate history found in Dealing in Futures by Max Baer describes a schism between the founders of the AZA and members of the local Zionist youth group. The AZA founders split from the group and formed their own with the Greek-letter college fraternities in mind. When Nathan Mnookin, the first advisor, left, Sam Beber took over and chartered the Aleph Zadik Aleph on May 4, 1924, with the early vision of an international youth movement. The first International Convention of the Aleph Zadik Aleph was held July 4-6 of that year.

In 1944, B'nai B'rith Girls became recognized by B'nai B'rith, and BBYO as it is today was born. Anita Perlman is credited with the development of BBG as Sam Beber is credited with the AZA. BBYO as it is today was born. In 2002, BBYO changed its name to BBYO Inc., becoming a legally independent organization in the process. Lynn Schusterman now leads the organization's Board of Directors. The Aleph Zadik Aleph is currently celebrating its 81st year of operation, and the B'nai B'rith Girls its 61st year.

Regions/Councils

!!Help WikiBBYO by editing/creating your region's page. Please read this before proceeding --> How to edit your region's page!!

Structure

Geographic Divisions

BBYO is divided geographically at the Regional, Council and Chapter levels. Districts, though still referenced for historical trivia, are no longer used as organizational units within the entire International Order. At the 2005 BBYO International Convention, all overseas Districts were officially disbanded to be replaced with Regions for each country. Districts have not existed in North America since the 1980s. Each independent region consists of the chapters within that region; from this a Regional Board is elected for both AZA and BBG. Some regions opt to have multiple councils within regions, often with council boards in lieu of regional boards. Usually, youth officials are elected at each level: International, Regional, Council (if eligible) and Chapter. Some Regions are Council-Dominant. These Regions do not have a Regional Board, but a separate Executive Board for each Council. In lieu of a Regional Board, these Regions have a Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC) that is composed of the Presidents of all the Councils. All the Regions and Councils must adhere to the International Constitution, just as all Chapters must adhere to the International Constitution, etc.

The Organization spans 40+ regions with 500+ chapters, roughly 45% BBG, 40% AZA, and 15% BBYO (coed). There are approximately 18,000 members internationally. In addition to the United States, BBYO also exists in Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, England, Ireland, France and Israel.

Board Positions

The youth-elected officials have their own set of titles, derived from Hebrew. In AZA, the men's sect, the president is referred to as Godol, (meaning "Senior" or "great one"); followed by the S'gan ("deputy" or First Vice-President of Programming), Moreh ("guide" or "teacher" for Second Vice-President of Membership), Mazkir ("Secretary"), Shaliach ("representative" or "emissary" for the Vice-President of Religion, Community Service, Social Action, and Israeli Awareness), and Gizbor ("Treasurer"). Other, less ubiquitous positions and chairmanships also exist, (such as Sopher ["scribe"] for the newspaper editor), though it is dependent on the Chapter or Region as to which positions they wish to elect.

In the women's sect, BBG, there exists usually the N'siah ("[female] President"), S'ganit ("[female] "deputy" First Vice-President of Programming), MIT Mom /Aym Ha Chaverot/Morah ("mother" / "teacher" for Second Vice-President of Membership), Mazkirah ("Secretary"), and Sh'licha ("representative" of the Religious Chair). Lower board positions include Orechet (newspaper editor), Safranit (scrapbook chair), Mashgicha (parliamentarian), and Yalda shel Shemesh (sunshine girl). Much responsibility is given to individual chapters and regions as to which officials they wish to elect.

BBYO chapters typically contain the same basic positions as AZA and BBG chapters, with the gender corresponding with the name of the position. Some may have double positions, where an AZA and a BBG share the same position. For example, the BBG office of MIT Mom corresponds to Moreh for AZA.

AZA vs. BBG

While other Jewish youth groups have often criticized BBYO for its gender-segregated nature, many BBYO members actually view this characteristic as one of its greatest strengths. Fraternity and brotherhood is emphasized in AZA, just as sisterhood is in BBG, and the single-gender environment often allows richer conversation and brotherly or sisterly interaction. Though meetings of the two groups are usually separate, AZA and BBG chapters frequently interact and often hold events together. Chapters typically refer to their alternate city chapter as being their sister or brother chapter. This is not to say that mixed-gender chapters do not exist; in some cities, particularly where the Jewish population is very small, some chapters of both sexes exist, called "BBYO Chapters", though interaction is typically quite different at the chapter level. BBYO chapters may grow big enough to split into an AZA and a BBG chapter, but that decision is left up to the individual chapter.

Differences Between Chapters

Throughout BBYO, each chapter has its own constitution and as a result there are many differences between chapters. Each chapter may have different spellings for their board positions, as well as different names altogether for accomplishing the same tasks. This usually occurs from local traditions.

Staff

  • Advisor - Each chapter is guided and assisted by a volunteer advisor. He or she interprets BBYO policy and works with the chapter board.
  • Regional/Council Director - Each region and council is assisted by a director who serves as an advisor to the regional/council board. He or she also oversees the chapter advisors in his or her region/council and helps to plan events.
  • International Staff - BBYO International is assisted by a variety of staff whose jobs range from finance to the coordination of International programs.

Board of directors

The BBYO Board of Directors is the highest policy-making body in the organization. Currently, it consists of representatives of B'nai B'rith and United Jewish Communities along with other community leaders. In addition, Lynn Schusterman, Edgar Bronfman, Michael Steinhardt, and Newton Becker serve as members. AZA and BBG are represented by the Grand Aleph Godol, the International N'siah, and two other youth representatives.

International links

Regional Website links

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