Aleph Zadik Aleph
| Aleph Zadik Aleph | |
|---|---|
| אצא | |
 |
|
| Founded | May 1924 |
| Type | Jewish High School Fraternity |
| Emphasis | Patriotism, Judaism, love, charity, conduct, purity, and fraternity |
| Mission statement | "More Jewish Teens, More Meaningful Jewish Experiences" |
| Chartered | Omaha, Nebraska |
| Headquarters |
Washington, D.C. USA |
| Homepage | http://bbyo.org |
The Grand Order of the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA) is an international youth-led fraternal organization for Jewish teenagers, founded in 1924 and currently existing as the male wing of BBYO Inc., an independent non-profit organization. AZA's sister organization, for teenage girls, is the B'nai B'rith Girls.
AZA was founded on May 3, 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska by a group of 14 Jewish teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17. It arose as a response of the fact that the Jewish community was, for the most part, not allowed into the Greek fraternities. The letters were chosen to spite the fraternity the Alephs were denied from, Alpha Zeta Alpha, by naming their fraternity the Hebrew counterparts. The first chapter, formed in 1923, was Mother Chapter AZA #1, which continues to operate. The second oldest chapter also continues to operate out of Kansas City Council and is AZA #2.
Abe Babior, the new group's first president, said that it was started "as a social and Zionist youth group." The group's meetings would usually feature speakers on a number of both Judaic and non-Judaic topics. The group held social events, including parties and dances. The group's first advisor, Nathan Mnookin, an accomplished chemist, moved back to his hometown of Kansas City in November 1923, and immediately started a similar organization of the same name. Mnookin's departure paved the way for the next AZA advisor in Omaha, Sam Beber.
As Beber continued to serve as an advisor for the local Omaha group, he also began planning for a much larger undertaking: an international Jewish youth group. Beber called a meeting of friends and associates in the area on May 3, 1924, reaching an understanding of goals and forming the first Supreme Advisory Committee (SAC) consisting of seven men, and officially founding the Aleph Zadik Aleph for Young Men. The new organization's first chapter charter was granted to the existing AZA group in Omaha, dubbed "Mother Chapter" with Mnookin's second chapter in Kansas City receiving a charter a week later. By the end of the month, new chapters had been launched in Lincoln, Nebraska and Des Moines, Iowa.
The first AZA convention was held that summer at the Jewish Community Center in Omaha, July 4–6, 1924. Over two-thirds of the new organization's membership was present to elect their first ever Grand Aleph Godol (international president). In a tight race which required a referral to the SAC to break a tie vote, Charles Shane emerged victorious. In other business conducted, the boys chose to commit a third of their membership dues (at that time $3) to charity.
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