Chapter 9

FWFTY is Nifty

Your old people shall dream dreams, your young shall see visions.-Joel 3:1

     The Miriam Club. The OT Club. The Council of Jewish Women Juniors. Young Judaea. Aleph Zadek Aleph. B'nai B'rith Girls. United Synagogue Youth.

     Throughout the congregation's first six decades, an assortment of youth groups captured the energy and interest of Fort Worth's Jewish teen-agers. Few of these groups were co-ed. None was exclusively for Reform youth.

     When Beth-El recruited Rabbi Robert Schur in December 1956, the 35-year-old rabbi stipulated that he have the latitude to launch a Temple Youth Group affiliated with the National Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY). Similar youth groups were already working their magic at synagogues in Dallas and Houston.

     NFTY, an offshoot of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, had begun in 1939, focusing on young adults in their 20s. The movement took off after World War II when it switched its attention to teen-agers.

     NFTY's purpose was to imbue the younger generation of Reform Jews with a religious consciousness via a trendy, sociable approach. To this end, it fostered an extended-family feeling-calling youth group advisers "aunt" and "uncle" and arranging home hospitality during regional conclaves. A small-town teen, accustomed to being virtually the "only Jew" in his or her age group, became acquainted with a network of Jewish friends across the state and throughout the country. For adolescents from Fort Worth, where Jews comprise less than 1% of the populace, the discovery of a Jewish world was often electrifying.

     NFTY stayed current, adapting Jewish rituals to trends in American culture. During the 1950s, for example, the accent was on jazz with discussion groups in beatnik-coffeehouse surroundings. During the 1960s, the lingo and altruism of the Peace Corp inspired the Torah Corps-a weekend of study-and the Mitzvah Corps-a good-deeds brigade. Still later, Temple "lock-ins"-where teen-agers spent the night at the synagogue talking Jewish philosophy, snacking, singing, and occasionally sleeping-borrowed its terminology from the sit-ins and teach-ins of the civil-rights and Vietnam War eras.

     During Rabbi Schur's first six months in Fort Worth, he explained to the Temple board the youth group's focus. It would be aimed at high-school students, grades nine through 12, whose families belonged to Beth-El. The rabbi was firm that only children of Beth-El could belong to FWFTY-the acronym for the Fort Worth Federation of Temple Youth. The membership restriction was peculiar to Fort Worth. In most cities across Texas and Oklahoma, such youth groups were open to all Jewish teens, regardless of synagogue affiliation. Fort Worth's membership policy was a source of continuing friction and discussion until the 1990s, when Beth-El's board dropped the membership requirement.

     During FWFTY's first decade, Rabbi Schur kicked off each year's activities with a barbecue, serving his home-cooked beef and sauce. One year the barbecue was at Benbrook Lake, followed by a hayride. Another year it was at Marcia Rosenthal's house on Hildring Drive and included a dunk in the pool. The next year, Judy Wisch hosted the kick-off. Wherever it was staged, the rabbi relished his role as barbecue king.

    He also enjoyed planning weekend conclaves, where the focus was on his favorite Jewish philosopher, Leo Baeck. Another weekend gathering, called "Let My People Go," explored the plight of Soviet Jewry, with parents masquerading as Russian KGB agents.

     The cornerstone of the Temple Youth movement was the summer camp experience. Religious Schools throughout the country had begun sending their teens to rented camping facilities. In a rural, relaxed, outdoor setting, teen-agers were more open to learning and conversing about religion than in Sunday School. They enjoyed mingling with Jewish teens from across the region and talking about their beliefs while they built an esprit de corps and lifelong friendships.

     The Texas-Oklahoma Federation of Temple Youth (known by the acronym TOFTY and today called NFTY-TOR), was formed in 1959, with its first board meeting in Lubbock. (Previously, Texas had been a region unto itself.) Three Beth-El teens attended TOFTY's first meeting, among them FWFTY President Martin Frost, a future congressman who got his start in politics through Temple Youth. Also in Lubbock for the expanded region's first executive board meeting were Carl Uhrmacher, who was elected regional treasurer, and Joan Berger Rosen, who was tapped to organize a co-ed slumber party.

     That August, TOFTY's summer camp was held at Camp Stewart in Hunt, Texas. The next year, the setting was Waco's Camp Val Verde for a weekend filled with Israeli folk dancing and "social dancing" to a rock 'n' roll beat. Two summers later, the venue was Echo Hill Ranch, a camp outside Kerrville, Texas, operated by Tom and Min Friedman, the parents of author, songwriter, and cultural commentator Kinky Friedman.

     During the mid-1960s, TOFTY settled down to annual outings at Camp Carter on Fort Worth's Lake Worth. A four-to-seven-day session was held for the younger teens followed by a seven-to-10-day experience for the oldest. FWFTY adviser Ted Hoffman ("Uncle Ted" to the kids) used his vacation time from General Dynamics to volunteer as a camp staffer. "The kids put out a camp newspaper, pitched in with the cooking, and planned their own programs," Hoffman recalled. "They wrote 'creative' worship services. . . . We put a large Magen David over the cross in the outdoor chapel." The "creative" service allowed campers to substitute their own interpretations for familiar Hebrew prayers. "They were not only learning Jewish history but becoming part of it," Hoffman reflected.

     Pediatrician Frank Cohen was the camp doctor. His backup was Dr. Eugene Steinberger. When a camper fell off a horse one summer, the injured youth was driven to Cohen's office and then referred to another caring congregant, Dr. Louis Levy, a nationally prominent orthopedist who splinted the leg. Neither doctor sent a bill for services.

     In tune with the casual camp atmosphere, rabbinical student Roy Walter, who became rabbi at Houston's Congregation Emanu El, was called "Reb Roy" (a nickname he later put on his personalized license plates). Larry Jackofsky, a chaplain stationed at Fort Hood in 1969, was dubbed "Rabbi Jake," a name still attached to him in 2002 in his position as regional director of the UAHC Southwest Council.

     The 1960s marked the arrival of the drug culture, and by the 1970s counselors became aware of verboten substances among TOFTY campers. Indicative of the intergenerational trust at Camp Carter, "Reb Roy" placed a box under a live oak tree that he designated the Tree of Knowledge. On the first night of camp, he instructed campers to deposit cigarettes, marijuana, and other contraband in the box-no questions asked. "He said, 'We are not here to have you arrested. We just don't want you taking this stuff for the next 10 days,'" recalled former camper Rusty Feld. The last night of camp, the box was returned to the Tree of Knowledge. Under cover of darkness, campers retrieved their contraband.

     The most important participants at youth group gatherings were the song leaders. A camper with a guitar would sit in the shade of a tree, strum a tune, and attract a cluster of other guitarists and singers. "People felt safety in music," Feld said. "It was a route to acceptance."

     Music serenaded every event. Adviser Ted Hoffman recalled renting a station wagon, driving a carload of kids to a conclave in Beaumont, and singing all the way to the music of guitarist Robbi Sherwin, who today is cantorial soloist at Austin's Congregation Kol Halev. "There are different paths to Judaism: social action, cultural, intellectual, gastronomic, artistic, musical," Sherwin observed. "What jelled my Jewish identity and spirituality was the music of the movement." Bill Echt, Michael Glazer, and Ralph Archenhold were also FWFTY guitarists and song leaders.

     Nell ("Aunt Nellie") Hall, FWFTY adviser from 1969 to 1973, accompanied the teens south of the border to a conclave hosted by MEXTY, the Temple Youth Group at Mexico City's Beth Israel Jewish Community Center. The JCC there was home to a Reform congregation. "They sent kids to conclaves all the time," Hall recalled. In later years, the Mexican congregation became a mix of Reform and Conservative Jews. It dropped its UAHC affiliation and its connection to TOFTY.

     FWFTY's membership rolls waxed and waned. When membership dipped to 11 people in 1975, advisers noted the upsurge in B'nai B'rith Youth Organizations (BBYO), which were open to all Jewish youth. A few years later, when FWFTY membership was strong, its members wanted friends from Ahavath Sholom to attend social events and to join the chapter. The latter was still not permitted. Some chapter presidents threw their energy into organizing joint social events with BBYO as well as discussions about the differences between Judaism's denominations. Some years, representatives of FWFTY and BBYO convened for a calendar clearing meeting to avoid conflicting events. Inevitably there were conflicts, leading to resentments. Another problem FWFTY encountered was competition with its regional organization. Rabbi Schur noted in 1980 that Beth-El's teens were putting their energy into TOFTY activities, sapping strength from the local chapter.

     Despite periodic dips in membership and activity, FWFTY has lasted for decades and carved a strong legacy of social action. During its early years, FWFTY hosted holiday parties for mentally retarded children at the Denton State School.  The congregation's first Mitzvah Day was instituted by FWFTY on March 8, 1964, when the teen-agers hired themselves out to wash cars, clean houses, mow lawns, polish silver, and wash windows, with the proceeds going to charity. The event was nicknamed "M" Day on a flier.

     FWFTY kids went trick-or-treating for UNICEF, one year raising more than $1,000 "and having a good time." The good times ended in 1975, when the United Nations passed a resolution equating Zionism with racism. FWFTY turned its energy in other directions. By then, the teen-agers had participated in a civil-rights march downtown with Rabbi Schur on behalf of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. They supported the United Farm Workers and picketed Safeway to protest the supermarket's sale of non-union grapes and lettuce.

     TOFTY advocated boycotting Pepsi Cola soft drinks, but the Fort Worth chapter opted to leave Pepsico alone. The local franchise was owned by the Glazers, who donated soft drinks to every FWFTY activity. "You don't bite the hand that feeds you," Rusty Feld remarked.

      In later years, the teens volunteered at the Presbyterian Night Shelter, raising $800 for the facility to purchase a washing machine. The chapter began coordinating the annual school supply drive for DeZavala Elementary, the congregation's adopted school. On Rosh Hashanah, FWFTY's president informed the congregation of the DeZavala students' needs-from pencils and crayons to backpacks and underwear. The teen-agers handed out empty sacks, which congregants returned on Yom Kippur filled with the requested items. During the High Holy Days, FWFTY members led the children's services, providing role models for the next generation.

     FWFTY has flourished, nurturing social consciousness, leadership, spirituality, and friendships. It has sometimes served as a matchmaker. Jill Greenman met her future husband, Rabbi Ronnie Segal of Bryan, through Greene Family Camp; Alyce Hoffman met her husband-to-be, Dennis Alter of Beaumont, through Temple Youth get togethers. That is also how Rusty Feld met Lubbock's Luann Post. The latter couple began dating as young adults, married, and became advisers to the next generation of Fort Worth's Temple youth.