One of my favorite parts of CLTC is breaking into spontaneous spirit circles, much to the dismay of leadership. I lead one of my favorite AZA cheers, ‘We are AZA.’ It starts with an aleph saying they have a story to tell. There are tons of stories, but my favorite is the permit test. Basically, an aleph goes rogue on his permit test. The driving instructor asks, “Who do you think you are to drive like that?” The aleph responds, “Who am I? No. Who are we?” And then the spirit circle breaks out We are CLTC AZA! What? We are CLTC AZA! What? Everyone's moshing and no one has their voice the next morning. 

But somewhere between that and Nathan Kamp’s No Man is an Island I figured out what it means to be an aleph. It means being a part of something much larger than yourself. A Jewish brotherhood that has existed for over a century, spanning 63 countries with tens of thousands of members worldwide. When there's 42 alephs from around the world doing the AZA heartbeat, it's impossible to not realize the scale of this operation. Before CLTC, I had an idea of this, but I truly didn't know how far BBYO could reach and how similar my brother alephs from across the order are to me and my experience. 

I again was reminded of the scale of BBYO when I saw my aunt’s name in the BBG lounge. Her mock chapter plaque from 2001 (ten years before I was born) still hangs there today. I sent her the picture of her chapter plaque and asked her about her experience at CLTC. She said when I sent her the photo and saw the names on her chapter plaque, she “remembered each of those people there. Unfortunately I can't say I am in touch with many of them (though some I am). Cell phones were just becoming a thing so staying in touch was not easy, but those friendships and connections are still so important to me.”

But what really showed me how intricate this order was when Nathan Kamp taught us a cheer that he found in the archives. A cheer that hadn't been done in years. Raising up the aleph. We've taken it and made it our own, showing how BBYO can be everything you make it. You get out what you put in.