Trusting Our Teens

I am a 34 year old rabbi.  I observe the minutiae of Shabbat.  I only eat at restaurants with a hechsher. I am not permitted to attend or perform an intermarriage-a policy I support.  And I am exceptionally proud and impressed with the International Board of USY (United Synagogue Youth). 

Just this week, the 16, 17, and 18 year old leadership of USY (the Conservative movement’s youth program) voted to maintain certain standards of practice as well as adjust the language in reference to others.  To see our teenagers, the future (and current) leadership of our movement, take an active role in defining what it means to be a Conservative Jewish role model is inspiring. 

While many adults may think we know best, and some of us may disagree with the choices made as either too liberal or too conservative, I am so glad that it is not a decision that is ours to make.  If we want a thoughtful and meaningful Jewish future, we need to trust our young people with their own lives.  We need to trust that we have given them the tools to make smart choices and empower them to lead their own organization. These young people consulted their rabbis and teachers and studied the issue at length, and then came to an informed and difficult decision.

While the focus has been on the change in language to no longer explicitly prohibit the executive boards from inter-dating, it is interesting that the board simultaneously decided to not change its policies requiring the observance of Shabbat and Kashrut.  This determination unequivocally demonstrates that the teens at the helm of one of our movement’s most important institutions are being deliberate and thoughtful about what it means to be a Jewish leader.  They are recognizing a changing landscape and deciding for themselves what are the right changes to make and what are the proper standards to maintain. 

Adults will argue about what the correct policy should be.  They will bemoan the choices that these children are being permitted to make while many of these adults are never subject to any standards of religious observance or interpersonal conduct, nor would they ever impose a policy that would require their leaders to be fully Shomer Shabbat or Kashrut observant.

But it doesn’t matter what I think.  To me, whether or not I agree with every policy that these teens may decide, I need to be willing to accept and embrace their choices.   I need to allow them to express themselves and determine their own future. 

I am proud of the work of our teens as well as the work of our USY staff for their guidance and trust, and I look forward to an amazing Jewish future under their leadership.