About Us > Kadima Korner > Kadima and USY Lingo

Ever wondered what your child is referring to when they talk about Kallah or Ruach? When someone calls and tells you they are your Kadima advisor, what exactly their job is? What cause are you giving to when you give a donation to Yad B’yad?

Kadima has its own unique lingo that can often seem like a jumble of acronyms and insider information. This list, adapted from Hagalil (New Jersey) region, is a vocabulary list to help you understand the ins and outs of Kadima (and USY) lingo.

Terrah Yevilov, SJCUSY Advisor

Advisor: Adults (college students or members of the congregation or community) who work with USY or Kadima chapters and supervise chapter and regional events.

Abraham Joshua Heschel Honor Society: An honor society for USYers who commit to standards of Judaic study, prayer and Gmilut Chassadim (community service).

Benching: The act of saying the prayers recited after meals (See Birkat Hamazon

Birkat Hamazon: The prayer said after meals (See Benching)

Chapter: Each synagogue that sponsors USY or Kadima is known as a chapter. Each region is made up of a group of chapters in a given geographic area.

Chapter Board: A group of USYers who fill the leadership roles of their chapters. They work under the REB (See Regional Executive Board) to help their chapters grow and succeed. 

Chofesh: The Hebrew word for free time. At a convention, Chofesh is a time to have fun with friends, catch up on old times, or just sleep!

Cuddle Puddle: A very large puddle of cuddling USYers

Curfew (Shloo): Bedtime!

Dugma: Hebrew word used to mean “good example.”

Fall Kinnus: One of the three regional conventions held during the year, usually held at a camp!

Rel Ed RGB hard at work at LTI 2016

Goodbye Circle: The end of convention when we sing ruach songs, distribute warm fuzzies, pass out o-grams, and say our goodbyes until next convention (See ruach, warm fuzzies, and o-grams)

Hechalutzim: A USY club for those interested in learning and teaching about Israel and Zionism.

New Fro Representatives Lia Weiss Ishai and Daniel Tabibian on Israel Pilgrimage 2016

International Convention (IC): An annual gathering during the winter break of USYers from all over America and Canada. It is a time to see your friends from USY Israel Pilgrimage, USY on Wheels, Ramah Israel Program, or to meet new people from other Regions. In 2017, it will be held in Chicago, Illinois.

Israel Pilgrimage: USY’s Overseas summer program: Israel Adventure, Poland/Israel seminar, Eastern/European Israel seminar, and L'Takayn Olam.

Kadima: The pre-USY organization for some fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and some eighth graders.

Kol Kadima: the online Kadima magazine

Maariv: The evening prayer service.

Mincha: The afternoon service.

Nativ: A year long program designed for college freshman. This consists of six months of study at Hebrew University and four months of Kibbutz life.

Noam: the Youth organization of the Masorti (Conservative) Movement in Israel and other foreign countries, USY's sister youth group organization.

O-Grams: Notes you can buy at the end of convention (all money goes to Tikkun Olam; see Tikkun Olam) to write notes to your friends, which are then distributed at closing circle (See closing circle)

Regalia: USY swag USYers can get at convention

Region: Geographic area with many different chapters. Your local synagogue is your chapter. Each region consists of many chapters in a certain geographic area.

Regional Executive Board (REB) : A group of seven USYers who were elected by the people for the people. They are the main youth decision making body in the region and are responsible for the organization and execution of all regional events, as well as helping to maintain the region as a whole. It consists of President, Executive/Programming Vice President, Religious/Education Vice President, Social Actions/Tikun Olam Vice President, Membership/Programming Vice President, and Communications Vice President.

United Synagogue Youth Regions Map

USYer Wrapping T'fillin for Shacharit at International Convention 2016

Regional General Board (RGB): Selected by the Executive Board, these individuals assist the Executive Board in running the Region in certain areas.

Regional Youth Director (RYD): The Youth Director in charge of the region. Coordinates events, plans everything, ensures everything goes smoothly. In New Frontier, it's Sarah Miller. (aka the best person ever)

​Ruach: Singing, dancing, and SPIRIT on Shabbat!

Social Action/Tikun Olam (SA/TO): Community Service and fundraising efforts for USY Tzedakah organizations. See Yad B’yad for the Kadima Tzedakah program description.

Shacharit: The morning prayer service.

Shmira: Watchers/guards at conventions to make sure that no one gets hurt or breaks the rules after curfew (See Curfew).

Sicha: Literally, sicha means conversation. In USY and Kadima, what we call Sicha's are our study groups. At every convention there is a study theme, which is discussed during the study sessions throughout Shabbat. These learning sessions are meant to be fun AND educational.

Sloach: Like ruach (see ruach), but slow. During this time USYers often form cuddle puddles and strengthen their friendships and bonds with Judaism.

Social Action: Acts of loving kindness, actions on behalf of a cause or a community.

Summer Programs: USY summer experiences across North America, Europe and Israel. Summer experiences unlike any other! *Also see Israel Pilgrimage, USY on Wheels, and Dream USY

Tikun Olam: The USY tzedakah fund for “repairing the world”; money raised to be allocated to the Conservative movement, charities chosen by the region and scholarships for USY summer programs. All fundraising efforts are done by USYers alone. *See Yad B’yad for a description of the Kadima Tzedakahprogram.

USY on Wheels: A six-and-a-half week tour of the United States, with stops in Canada and Mexico. An amazing experience! There are several different wheels programs, including Wheels Classic, Wheels Pacific Northwest, and Wheels East. and Wheels West

Warm Fuzzies: Little fluffballs that we hand out during closing circle, to trade with each other (see closing circle)

Yad B’yad: The Kadima Tzedakah program that supports activities for USY and Kadimaniks with special needs.

Dream USY: A two week summer program held in the Dominican Republic

613 Mitzvah Corp: For just $6.13 (Which goes to T.O … See Tikun Olam) you can join the InternationalMitzvot club where you will receive special mailings.

Fuzzy Queen Elysa Dombro telling the Fuzzy story during Closing Circle at Fall Kinnus 2016