B'nai B'rith Youth Organization

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B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (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.

1 History
2 Structure
3 International links
4 Regional links
5 Chapter Links

[edit] History

The B'nai B'rith Youth Organization originated in 1923 as a men's college 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 college fraternity, Alpha Zeta Alpha, which did not allow Jews to become members. The boys who organized it began their own college 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 82nd year of operation, and the B'nai B'rith Girls its 62nd year.

[edit] Structure

[edit] 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 600+ chapters, roughly 45% BBG, 40% AZA, and 15% BBYO (coed). There are approximately 18,000 members and more than 40,000 teens involved in North America. In addition to the United States, BBYO also exists in Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Curacao, England, Ireland, France, Israel, Luxembourg, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, and Thailand. BBYO affiliate chapters throughout SoutH America, Europe, and Asia are coordinated out of local B'nai B'rith locations.

[edit] 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"), Gizbor ("Treasurer"), and Shaliach ("representative" for the Religious chairperson). 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.

[edit] 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. 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] International links

B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, Official Website where information regarding the International Orders of AZA and BBG can be found along with general information about BBYO.
BBYO UK & Ireland. The official website for BBYO District 15 (UK & Ireland).
BBYO Alumni Page. The official website for BBYO alumni can connect with each other.
BBYO Pictures Page
b-linked, BBYO's new online community; includes a forum, personal blogs and scrapbooks, and community service information.
WikiBBYO- an unofficial (as of now) online BBYO database wiki.