Young Israel

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Young Israel or National Council of Young Israel (NCYI), is a branch of Modern Orthodox Judaism. The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) was founded in 1912 to combat the wave of assimilation by Jews into secular American society.

Young Israel was founded by Rabbi Israel Friedlander, and Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan (1881-1983), who had begun his career as an Orthodox rabbi at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, a synagogue in New York. Due to Kaplan's evolving position on Jewish theology, he was later condemned as a heretic by Young Israel and the rest of Orthodox Judaism, and his name is no longer mentioned in official publications as being one of the movement's founders.

At that time, American Jews were striving primarily for social and economic advancement, often leaving their religious observances behind. Because most jobs required working on Saturdays, observance of the Jewish Sabbath was rare, as were many other traditions. The Young Israel movement aimed to provide a positive Orthodox synagogue experience for newly-arrived immigrants and their future generations. The organization used the traditional communal synagogue to provide educational, religious, social, spiritual and communal programming. The first Young Israel Synagogue established was on East Broadway, on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Today, NCYI serves as the national coordinating agency for nearly 150 Orthodox congregations comprised of nearly 25,000 member families throughout the United States and Canada. NCYI also serves as a resource to its sister organization in Israel, entitled Yisrael Hatzair - "The Young Israel Movement in Israel", encompassing over 50 synagogues in Israel. It is a grass roots organization administrated on the congregational model, taking its direction from local and national lay leadership as well as rabbis and professional staff. Its socio-cultural outlook is strongly influenced by the Religious Zionist Movement, with strong support of Israel as the homeland for the Jewish people. Congregations belonging to NCYI are generally named "Young Israel of...", followed by the name of the city or neighborhood.

NCYI is a not-for-profit service organization, as defined by their 501(c)3 status. The main headquarters is located in Manhattan, with regional offices in Florida, California, New Jersey and Jerusalem.

In recent years the movement has moved closer to the Haredi with many Young Israel affiliated rabbis being alumni of the Haredi Lithuanian yeshivas. The Young Israel has resisted attempts by the Orthodox Union to create a union between the two organizations.

In recent years, the Young Israel lost much of the influence it had during the 20th century, as many of its synagogues began affiliating with the more influential Orthodox Union. In 2006, after lengthy litigation, Young Israel sold its national headquarters and moved its small staff to leased office space in lower Manhattan. The organization is currently subject to an open investigation by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's Charities Bureau.

[edit] Books

Kraut, Benny "A Modern Heretic and a Traditional Community: Mordecai M. Kaplan, Orthodoxy, and American Judaism" American Jewish History - Volume 86, Number 3, September 1998, pp. 357-363