Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
Aug 2014
Tisha B’Av, the day in the calendar that commemorates the evil that has been done to the Jewish people over time (most especially the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem) is nearly upon us. Each of us responds differently to the day. Many Jews will use Tisha B’Av as an occasion to revisit the traditional narrative of Jew as victim. Given the Jewish people’s long history of persecution that
Jul 2014
As of today, we have 59 of our sons killed in this war. As of today, we all hear sirens and look to the sky to see the magic of the Iron Dome protecting us. As of today, ten minutes later, we simply continue with our everyday life as if it was almost normal. As of today, in my pediatric hospital, when the alarm signals, parents with their ill children
Jul 2014
Our personal experience with our young daughter, who attended a Jewish camp for several years, proved to us that starting on the journey of self -discovery can be profoundly influenced and enhanced by the camping experience. Prompted by this exposure, and also the considerable data suggesting that immersive experiences such as Jewish camping and trips to Israel, have a lasting effect on their participants, my husband Michael (like me a
Jul 2014
Rabbi Moses must have already known that I am in the “amiable” leadership style category (which was the “blue” group according to the leadership style assessment exercise we did at the Institute)—maybe even an “extremely blue”—when he asked me to write my post-institute (#wexsi) thoughts. Of course, I agreed to his request because I am supportive and cooperative! Here are my true confessions: Fear and Courage will help me find
Jul 2014
Many Wexnerites have had their voice published on various sites around the web. We have compiled a recent list. Israel’s Response Is Proportionate to Hamas’s Threat Ami Ayalon (WIFA, Class 3), a former director of Israel’s security agency Shin Bet, wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times on July 23, 2014. We do not measure ethics and morality by counting dead bodies. The fact that many more Palestinians
Jul 2014
The past month has been a time of great emotion and tension for those of us living in Israel. From the moment that Naftali Fraenkel, Eyal Yifrach, and Gilad Shaar were kidnapped, there was a sense of forboding that overtook the country. And tragically, it seems there is little hope on the horizon for a conflict that has been forced upon the State of Israel. Today, I had the privilege
Jul 2014
(Pictured) The Solidarity Rally in Boston Courtesy of Joel Rich. This past Thursday night, the seven new members of the Wexner Israel Fellowship, Class 26, attended a 1,000 person-strong rally in a Boston area synagogue, where the community and various dignitaries expressed support and solidarity for Israel. Here are some of the fellow’s reactions to that evening: “For me, as a senior officer in the IDF, this kind of warm,
Jul 2014
I was a young department director at ALYN Hospital Pediatric Rehabilitation Center a decade ago when I first learned of the concept of "cultural sensitivity in health." We can take better care of our patients, I learned, if we understood better their cultural concepts of sickness and healing, their faith and their folklore. Together with the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center we developed a curriculum which helped us make ALYN more geared
Jul 2014
Translated from Yotam’s article that appeared July 21 in Maariv. These are tough days. As the fighting lingers on, after weeks in which we have experienced mostly substantial operational success and very impressive resilience among the Israeli population, we are now entering a new hard and painful phase in which vague information and rumors turn into actual bad news: “our soldiers are fighting in a determined and heroic way”… ”there
“The blurriness of joy and the precision of pain — I want to describe with a sharp pain’s precision happiness and blurry joy.” – Yehuda Amicha i “The blurriness of joy and the precision of pain — I want to describe with a sharp pain’s precision happiness and blurry joy.” – Yehuda Amichai “The blurriness of joy and the precision of pain — I want to describe with a sharp pain’s precision happiness
Wexner Heritage Program nominations are now open for its upcoming cohorts in Northern New Jersey, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Nominate a Jewish lay leader today!