I’ve been raised on Broadway Musicals. One in particular that I hold close to my heart is Wicked. In life, there are songs that make us smile, songs we scream in the car with our best friends, and then there are songs that settle into our hearts. The song, “For Good” is one of those songs—the kind that feels like a confession, a thank you letter, and a promise all at once. And for BBGs everywhere, its message echoes something we’ve always known:

BBG changes us. Not for a moment, not for the four years of our membership, but for good.

When Elphaba sings, “Because I knew you, I have been changed for good,” she speaks to every friendship formed from the warmth of a candlelight at separates, in whispered late-night DMCs, or in the chaos of a convention spirit circle. These words capture the heartbeat of BBG. The way a connection that begins with a simple “hi” becomes the foundation of who we become.

BBG has always been more than three letters, more than the pins we wear over our hearts, more than the chants that existed long before we were born and will echo long after we graduate. It’s a sisterhood built on the menorah pledge principles, strengthened by our shared values, and kept alive by the girls who pour their hearts into this order year after year, regardless of leadership position or level.

When we hold hands in a circle and scream “We Pledge to Thee” with everything in us, it’s not just pride— it’s identity. It’s the moment we feel the courage of the young Jewish women who stood in our places decades ago, and the strength of the girls who will stand here long after us. 

And in those moments, it becomes clear why another lyric hits so deeply: “So much of me is made from what I learned from you.” Because it’s true. We are shaped by this sisterhood— the confidence learned from giving our first election speech, the compassion learned from our first J-Serve, the leadership built during hours spent planning programs that might just change someone’s life. We are built from each other: our mentors, our bigs and littles, our convention roommates, our board members, our forever friends.

If you ask any BBG what changed her “for good,” she won’t list awards, board positions, or perfect programs. She’ll tell you about the moments.

Like the first time she screamed a chant so loud, she lost her voice. Or the night she stayed up all night laughing with girls she met only hours earlier at a convention. It could be the warmth of separates, and the kind of quiet where vulnerability feels sacred, and the tears feel like a prayer. Maybe it’s the pride swelling in her chest after crushing her election speech and realizing she’s capable of more than she ever believed. Or sharing spooey with a stranger at International Elections who somehow already felt like a sister.

These are the moments that become part of us. These are the moments the song is talking about.

BBG is a global sisterhood—girls from different cities, countries, languages, and cultures who somehow find the same home. You could walk into a chapter program in Miami, Berlin, New York City, or Buenos Aires, and feel the familiarity instantly.

That’s what makes the lyric “Who can say if I've been changed for the better?” feel so honest. Because change is complicated. Growth is messy. But BBG doesn’t just change us “for the better”—it changes us entirely. It gives us friendships that last years, confidence that transcends election speeches, and a foundation of values we carry long after we give our life and take our final bows as BBGs.

For 81 years, the B’nai B’rith Girls have carried forward Anita Perlman’s vision, a movement grounded in strength, dignity, honor, and courage. And every girl who joins doesn’t just enter the sisterhood; she shapes it.

We are the laughter in the hallways,
The tears during separates,
The cheers that shake the room,
The late nights spent preparing programs,
The whispered secrets that become lifelong memories,
The voices that reach the sky singing chants older than any of us.

BBG is not just something we’re part of.
BBG becomes part of us.

And just like the song says, years from now we’ll look back and know without question that because we knew each other, we were changed. Not just for the better,
But for good.