It's delightful, it's delicious, it's dlevy!

Daniel (D.J.) Kaplan’s farewell address as USY International President, delivered at USY’s International Convention last week in Philadelphia. Full text of speech is here.

In DJ’s speech, he talks about how each of us struggles with difference. He relates his own struggle to a text from Pirkei Avot. He comes out as gay. (If you don’t want to watch the entire video, start at 4:40.)

For those of you who know my story, you can imagine how incredible this makes me feel. I don’t know DJ. I haven’t been to a USY convention in many years. But Jules Gutin, the outgoing director of USY, knew that I’d want to hear this speech and emailed me a copy (with DJ’s blessing).

When I was a kid, I wanted nothing more than to be able to get up in front of my USY friends and make a speech like this, but I wasn’t able. Seeing a leader do so makes me incredibly hopeful for the future. 

This doesn’t mean that the work is over. But it’s a testament to the work that’s been done, and the organization’s readiness to take the next steps. I’m proud to be a leader in Keshet, an organization that is helping USY and other Jewish youth movements move forward to become more inclusive of all Jewish kids.