National Council of Young Israel

Early in the 20th century, 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. loaned his law office to the organization. Seminars The group developed a Friday night (Sabbath) lecture series in 1912, given in English. Judah Magnes delivered the inaugural address, attended by thousands. According to Bunim, Friedlander and Kaplan were affiliates of the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary and the Conservative Judaism movement, and they sought to use Young Israel to establish a youth platform for the Conservative movement; until the end of World War I, Young Israel had two groups, the firmly Orthodox, and the more liberal group that worked with the Conservatives. Synagogues The first Young Israel synagogue was established in 1913 on East Broadway, on Manhattan's Lower East Side. David Warshaw traces the origins of the new synagogue to the summer of 1913, when some members of the YI seminar group were asked into a storefront shul [synagogue] at 205 East Broadway, to complete a minyan. Much to their delight, the shul allowed the new young members to lead services at least once each month. As they led the services, the Young Israel members introduced some small stylistic changes, that were acceptable to the Orthodox wing and would make the service more palatable to the Young Israel congregants. The changes included singing many parts of the prayer service, and the distribution of worship honors equally, where they had traditionally gone to established, wealthy congregants who could pay for them. Though the shul predated its Young Israel members, within months, they had attracted so many new young members, that they outgrew the store and moved to the Educational Alliance building. The young people had taken over the shul, itself a novel experience. However, it was not directly linked to the Young Israel lecture series, only sharing a common group of leaders, and the common idea of refreshing Orthodoxy for younger Jews. Recognizing its potential for young Jews everywhere, they named themselves "The Model Synagogue Organization." However, they recognized the synergy with the forums, and renamed the shul Young Israel. gave it rights to proceeds of a sale by a failing branch of assets, with these funds benefitting the community or other branches. In 2021 a vote was made to nullify this provision.{{cite web |website=eJewishPhilanthropy.com Growth By 1925, Young Israel was extending into social services, and formed a support agency for Sabbath-observant employment that included job placement and vocational training. Later in the decade, the synagogue network grew to about 25. The central organization developed a Wall Street office with a full-time staff. The office began publishing material regularly for branches and Young Israel members. A few years later, branches starting opening outside of New York. By 1935, there were branches in New York, New England, Chicago, and elsewhere in the Midwest, Canada, and Israel. ==3 West 16th Street==

NCYI, the movement's umbrella, for over half a century, is now located in Paramus, New Jersey. Through 2006, NCYI headquarters was at 3 West 16th Street, a valuable property that it owned. Young Israel of Fifth Avenue leased its synagogue in the same building from NCYI. When NCYI sought to sell the building in 2002, the synagogue sued for breach of their long-standing arrangement, as the sale would require their eviction. The synagogue claimed that they were co-owners of the building. Eventually, a deal was made involving two other parties, the building sold, and NCYI moved its small staff to leased office space in lower Manhattan. However, the other two parties eventually had a falling-out, leading to the synagogue's eviction.{{cite news The organization had been subject to an investigation by then-New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's Charities Bureau. According to The Forward: "New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, renowned for his jousts with the titans of corporate America, recently saw his own office tied in knots and thrown into turmoil during a three-year investigation into a small Orthodox synagogue organization."{{Cite web ==Today==

In July 2013, Rabbi Perry Tirschwell assumed the position of Executive Director. His predecessors included Rabbis Ephraim Sturm The new administration has made significant changes in the organization: moving the national office out of Manhattan, putting Viewpoint [magazine] on hold; and creation of two monthly publications whose goal is to share best practices: Shul Solutions and Practical Pulpit. Many older Young Israel synagogues have declined and closed, but others still thrive. NCYI serves as the national coordinating agency for nearly 150 Orthodox congregations 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. that no women or converts to Judaism could serve as President of any of its synagogues. This has alienated some Young Israels. According to the Jewish Star, the rabbi of a synagogue with a female president was threatened by NCYI's leadership. ==Young Israel Council of Rabbis==

The Young Israel Council of Rabbis is the rabbinic arm of the organization. ==Young Israel Kosher Dining clubs==

To promote Orthodox values (eating kosher, observing the Sabbath, marrying fellow Jews), NCYI opened kosher dining programs on major USA college campuses. The first one opened at Cornell University in September 1956. ==Divisions==

The main divisions are Synagogue Services, Rabbinical Services, and a Benevolent Association (burial society). Additional components of the organization are the Women's League, the InterCollegiate Council (ICC), Youth department, American Friends of Yisrael Hatzair, and the Council of Rabbis. There are also departments with a focus on seniors, singles and an employment departments. Intercollegiates published: • Aryeh Kaplan's five booklet Hashkafa series and • Masorah, a newspaper ==Controversy==

A 2018 statement issued by the head of a major internal committee regarding juggling of political alignments in the administration of Israel's Prime Minister led, after various Tweets and press releases, to the breakaway of an Atlanta-based branch that had joined NCYI in 1994. NCYI's president acknowledged that another branch had left the organization five years prior. ==Well-known branches==

Young Israel of Brookline Young Israel of Brookline is located in Brookline, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe described it as, "an influential synagogue described as modern or centrist Orthodox.". It is known for the high level of Jewish scholarship among both the men and women of the congregation. The congregation is particularly noted for the architecture of its building. In 1994 the synagogue building suffered a severe fire, caused by a deteriorated electrical panel In 1996, the Young Israel dedicated a new building designed by Graham Gund. The building has a wrought-iron menorah sculpted by David Tonnesen. Instead of stained glass, the building uses art glass that has the effect of scattering rainbows over the congregation. Notable members include Aaron Feuerstein and Jeff Jacoby. Rabbi Saul Berman is a former rabbi of the Young Israel. Since 2014, the rabbi of Young Israel of Brookline has been Rabbi David Hellman. It was founded by Samuel Feuerstein, whose son Aaron Mordechai donated $1,000,000 to help it rebuild after a major fire. Young Israel of Fifth Avenue In 1945, when NCYI bought its headquarters building on West 16th Street, it also fostered the development of new branch synagogue on site, The Young Israel of Fifth Avenue. This became a point of contention over 50 years later, when NCYI sold the building. Eventually, due to this rift, the synagogue disaffiliated with Young Israel, and is now known as the Sixteenth Street Synagogue. As of 2013, it does not have its own quarters, and other area synagogues host prayer services that 16th Street members attend. Young Israel of Flatbush This was one of the earliest branches, and the affiliate that then-president Irving Bunim chose as the leader, in the 1930s, for instituting rabbinic leadership of Young Israel synagogues. At the time, it was one of the larger shuls, and was initially against getting a rabbi. By winning over such a prominent dissenter, Bunim succeeded in setting a trend for all branches, and Rabbi Solomon Sharfman became the first rabbi. Young Israel Beth-El of Boro Park Established well before World War II as Young Israel of Boro Park, during the 1980s Young Israel merged with the Congregation Beth El of Borough Park, founded in 1902, to form Young Israel Beth El of Borough Park. The merged congregation worships from the National Register of Historic Places–listed synagogue on 15th Avenue in Brooklyn. Largest Young Israel of Woodmere is by far the branch with the largest congregation. There are approximately 1,250 families as of 2018. The second largest branch is that of Young Israel of Deerfield Beach in Century Village, with about 1000 members. During the winter months, "with almost 120 men attending, the Daf Yomi class is America's largest." ==List of Young Israel Synagogues==