The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel (in Hebrew: , Yisrael Hatza'ir), is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was founded in 1912, in its earliest form, by a group of 15 young Jews on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Their goal was to make Orthodox Judaism more relevant to young Americanized Jews at a time when a significant Jewish education was rare, and most Orthodox institutions were Yiddish-speaking and oriented to an older, European Jewish demographic.
Today, Young Israel continues to promote Orthodox involvement of modern American Jews, while also advocating for the issues most relevant to its members, including support for Israel and Religious Zionism.
History
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. At the same time, the Reform movement had been expanding rapidly for about 40 years, and with its relaxed religious codes, secularly-educated leadership, and English orientation, attracted an increasing number of young people away from the folds of Orthodoxy.
A group of young Orthodox Jews decided to do what they could to make Orthodox Judaism more relevant to their peers, and combat the wave of assimilation by Jews into Reform and secular American society. In 1911, Max Grablowsky, Joshua Horowitz and Benjamin Koenigsberg determined to organize a way to present an orthodox alternative to young people. It developed informally with two programs, one for education and one for worship. After consulting with Judah Magnes, the enlarged group, which was calling itself the Hebrew Circle, renamed itself Young Israel. Benjamin Koenigsberg, the first Orthodox Jewish American attorney loaned his law office to the organization. 1911 also saw the first issue of the Young Israel Viewpoint, a bimonthly that continued publication until 1988.
Seminars
The group developed a Friday night (Sabbath) lecture series in 1912, given in English. Judah Magnes delivered the inaugural address, attended by thousands. This was a major innovation in the Orthodox world. They were initially advised by rabbis Israel Friedlander and Mordecai Kaplan on topics and speakers. 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. According to Kraut (1998), Kaplan "worked for the Young Israel initiative that in conception was nondenominational..."
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.
The first name of the shul was prescient. Young Jews in other neighborhoods were soon starting their own Young Israel shuls. However, each was independent, with only informal connections to the original group.