Women of Reform Judaism: Shaping the Culture of Kutz and NFTY

by Melissa Frey It was just a year ago when I had the opportunity to be part of the listening campaign of the Campaign for Youth Engagement with the WRJ District Presidents during their annual retreat to Kutz Camp. Last year these women shared their unique and powerful stories about a time when an interaction with a young person influenced their lives. While there were many remarkable stories that were shared, there is one that still resonates with me on so many levels.

“As a public school teacher most of my career, it was very common for me to spend time with teens. One of the most poignant interactions I remember was a teen asking me if I actually thought that my work mattered. I responded that I knew that it did, because she was willing to ask the question. That young woman grew up and is now a teacher herself.”

While on that tour, we spoke about the listening campaign last year. Some of the women recounted their stories, and stories they heard that impacted them. As we gathered lakeside to take a photo under a perfectly blue sky, it was perhaps articulated most profoundly by WRJ president Lynn Lazar and executive director Rabbi Marla Feldman, “this just feels so right, this is why we do what we do.” To all of the women who have trail blazed the path of the WRJ, whose work has so influenced my passions, of NFTY and Kutz Camp, I wholeheartedly agree. For all of us, this is why we do what we do – because in our souls we know it to be right. As the WRJ celebrates 100 years of shaping the lives of Reform Jewish Women, and as we prepare for, in two years, NFTY’s 75^th anniversary, and in three years, Kutz Camp’s 50^th anniversary, we look forward to many celebrations, supporting one another and lifting each other up in our holy work. Melissa Frey is the Director of URJ Kutz Camp and Associate Director of NFTY.