UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA

UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA (uojca), commonly referred to as the ou, largest organization of Orthodox synagogues in the U.S. Founded in 1898, the uojca was originally oriented toward the few English-speaking, rather than Yiddish-speaking, congregations. The call for establishing the organization was sent from the address of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and a few early uojca leaders, such as Henry Pereira *Mendes, were also identified with that institution. The uojca remained a small group until about 1950, and its status rested more on the reputation of its presidents, men such as Rabbi Herbert S. *Goldstein, than on the activities or the number of its affiliates. Since then it has experienced tremendous growth and in 2005 claimed nearly 1,000 affiliated synagogues.

The uojca is best known for its kashrut supervision; founded in 1923, today it is a multinational operation that certifies 400,000 industrial and consumer products manufactured in 73 countries. The kashrut division employs 300 full-time supervisors and produces its own rabbinic journal about kashrut called Mesorah, as well as a quarterly called Behind the Union Symbol. Under the leadership of Rabbi Menachem Genack, the kashrut division also seeks to educate the Jewish community about various aspects of kashrut.

Aside from programming geared towards its constituent synagogues, the uojca seeks to promote its perspective and values through its Institute for Public affairs in Washington, headed by the uojca director for public policy, Nathan J. Diament. The National Council of Synagogue Youth (ncsy), a division of the uojca, has a cadre of 850 volunteers and reaches unaffiliated youth who do not attend Jewish day schools. Yachad, the National Council for Jewish Disabilities, also a division of the uojca provides mainstream programming for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

In addition to their offices in New York and Los Angeles, which employ over 200 people, the uojca also maintains an office in Jerusalem, which aims to bring secular Israelis closer to Orthodox Jewish observance through adult education programs and summer camps across 25 Israeli cities and towns. The uojca also services Orthodox college students through their Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, which deploys rabbinic couples to serve as Torah leaders and mentors on college campuses. Additionally, the uojca sponsors the Sha'alavim High School in Kharakov, Ukraine, and produces a quarterly magazine called Jewish Action. In 2005 the executive vice president of the uojca was Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb and its president was Stephen J. Savitsky.

bibliography:

Jeffrey S. Gurock American Jewish Orthodoxy in Historical Perspective (1996); C.S. Liebman, in: ajyb, 66 (1965), 21–97; E. Markovitz, in: ajhsq, 55 (1966), 364–84.

[Asher Oser (2^nd ed.)]