AJSS was conceived of by three activist rabbis who wanted to see Judaism translated into action in a way that would help repair the world. They were active early in the civil rights and peace movements and looked at the American Friends Service Committee as a model. The AFSC programs were certainly helping to repair the world but the element that was missing for these rabbis was the critical link between the important service work and prophetic Judaism in the modern age. It was time to create something that would make this connection for the volunteers. It was time to create an opportunity for Jewish young people to put their Jewish values into action, and Rabbis Arthur Lelyveld, Isidor Hoffman and Ferdinand Isserman turned to a young lawyer in New York, Henry Kohn, to help them translate these ideas into an organization, In 1951 the American Jewish Society for Service was established. Today, the vision of our founders is carried out with a six-week program for teens to experience tikkun olam (repairing the world.)