For me, January was the month of Europe. From East to West, I #MapMez’d my way through 8 different countries, each with its own amazing, vibrant BBYO community. From big to small, old to new, cold to warm, each place was so unique, and sitting in my house right now I am dreaming of going back.
First stop, Bratislava. It was surreal to stay in a hotel that doubled as the BBYO programming space. Just a few short steps from the bed I was sleeping in, I met the chapter teen leaders in a room filled with BBYO flags. We went on a nice long walking tour of the whole city, from the old new bridge to the new old bridge, and I got to try all of the local Slovak delicacies. We had great conversations about how we can continue to grow the chapter and what various things different chapters do to make fun, personalized programs.
Next up, Riga! I was especially excited to come to Latvia because it was the country my grandfather called home before he was forced to flee during the Holocaust. Upon arriving, I reunited with some good friends I had met from IC and got ready for a fun weekend. We once again did a huge walking tour of both the old and new city as snow fell across Riga. We eventually made it to the JCC, which not only has several gilded ballrooms but also has a museum filled with the rich history of Latvian Jewry and a space built for Noar BBYO to meet. We had a great meeting with the board talking about the promotion of ILN and how to engage more teens. And of course, we ended off the weekend on what would become the Baltic tradition of an event at Skypark. We had a ton of fun at the trampoline park and I loved getting to connect with the teens.
Skypark is coming soon, but first I had some other fun events in Estonia. I came straight from the airport to the JCC, which is connected to a public Jewish high school and one of Europe's newest synagogues. Many of the BBYO teens were deep in madrichim training for an upcoming summer camp, but it was amazing to get a glimpse into the different ways the Jewish community functions in these different communities. Of course, following the JCC visit, it was time to go to Skypark. Despite being in Estonia, I had the chance to meet teens from across the Baltics. Both teens from Latvia and Lithuania were spending the weekend in Estonia, and it is amazing to see the strong connections cultivated across countries. I ended up back at the JCC and got to see the chapter board come together for a weekly 2-hour meeting to deeply plan their upcoming program. It was incredible to see the depth that was accomplished with so much intentional thought put into the program, and they turned out so much better because of it.
From one of the newest synagogues in Europe to one of the oldest, I popped over to Budapest to spend the next few days. With one of the largest Jewish populations in Eastern Europe, I had so much fun exploring the rich Jewish culture of the city. To go to the BBYO programming space, we went through the gates of what from the outside looked like your average run-of-the-mill apartment complex, but inside, it was clear the apartment had been built around a prominent synagogue. But down we went into the programming space and had a great meeting about IC and what everyone should expect. The next day, I went to the great Jewish landmark of the local Jewish day school! This isn’t your everyday Jewish day school, though—the Lauder school is huge with hundreds of students. I loved walking around the school and exploring Budapest the rest of the day.
Back to the Baltics for Lithuania, the largest state. I had great meetings in the morning with all of the incredible staff members and advisors for the chapter, and we talked all about the future of BBYO’s chapter in Vilnius. In the afternoon, I went for my third and final trip to Skypark! Speaking with the teens on the trampoline, we talked all about the exciting chapter election coming up the following day and all of the important procedures on how to get elections run smoothly.
My time in Lithuania was too short, but it led to a long flight west to London! I took all of my things straight from the airport up to North London for CL2C for a nice board refresher. From social media to programming, it was inspiring to see the national exec (board) come together to work with all of the other teens. After all of the chapters were ready to go with their plans fresh for the programs, I spent some time speaking with just the National Exec. We had a lot of fun recounting all of the BBYO UK lore and in true British fashion, making tea. When we went later that night to the program, I loved to see how the leadership came together on the program. It was so impressive to see every single member of the board working together to host, lead breakouts, and facilitate group activities to make a super fun and engaging program for the teens. The next day, we had the chance to come back following the LTI and talk about how it went, along with how all of the rest of the programs went. It is so special that the whole national exec can come together and have deep conversations about the necessary steps they need to take as a region and within the chapters to promote growth. We finished up the trip with some mandatory London sightseeing and so much great Harry Potter memorabilia, and I set off to the next.
I was so excited for Italy; as a food enthusiast, it is home to some of the best food the world has to offer. But of course, you can check all of that out on @dinewithdan100 on Instagram, this post is all about BBYO. I got to the Jewish community center in Florence, and after a great meeting with the youth director, we got a tour of the site and I stepped into the most beautiful synagogue I have ever seen. Ornate columns held up a massive dome with beautiful chandeliers, and intricate blue and orange wallpaper filled with Magen Davids. After the tour, I had the opportunity to be a part of the FIRST BBYO Florence chapter event. The chapter leadership ran a great debate night, and we were able to have great discussions about how to capitalize on the incredible momentum they had already built. After a great day in Florence, we moved up north to Milan and I was reunited with Joelle. At IC 2025, BBYO Italy is coming in full force, and we ran a great delegation meeting, walking the teens through what to expect at their first international convention. It is amazing to welcome in a new community, and I cannot wait to see their reactions to the grand festivities in Denver. Before a traditional Italian Shabbat dinner, we had a meeting with the leaders of both BBYO Florence and BBYO Milan to talk through ways they can continue to grow and build their programming—and watch out because Italy is on the rise.
On the last stop of my Europe tour, I accompanied Joelle back to her home country of Germany. We started in Frankfurt and had some much-needed IC prep time (See you in Denver!!!). But the main reason we were in Frankfurt was for the ZWST national meeting. We had the opportunity to meet with the top leaders of the Jewish communities in Germany and talk about the importance of implementing BBYO practices into their youth programs. Joelle spoke beautifully about the impact that the prior implementation had already made and how we can continue to ensure that Germany gets these important lessons. We spent the rest of the time in Frankfurt and then in Berlin exploring the cities, getting excited about IC, and eating all of the delicious food Germany had to offer.
Entering February officially means the start of IC and a busy, busy time for the movement. I am excited to report back from the road and make sure to follow along @azagodol on Instagram!
Dan is an Aleph from Evergreen Region and is serving as the 100th Grand Aleph Godol.
All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.
