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Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
“ are meeting their mates at a point in life when they have been away from religion for a long time. And while they may not mean to misrepresent themselves, they may not realize that someday they will want to return to faith.” – From Til Faith Do Us Part I know that many of you will want to judge couples who find themselves in interfaith conflict after years
As Pesach approached this year, I prepared to view myself, as Jewish tradition demands, as though I had been delivered from Egypt. This year in particular, I tried to imagine my freedom as a bundle of different rights, all immediately restored to me in one moment of miraculous liberation. Of all of them, which would I run to exercise first? Which right, once I asserted it, would instantiate my freedom?
On this Independence Day, it seems, we might consider what “union” might look like in the twenty-first century by revisiting a troubling period in American Jewish History. Isaac Mayer Wise served as president of the November 1885 Pittsburgh Conference, where eight pillars of “progressive religion” formally separated their movement from traditional American Jews. While Wise was well-known for offering compromises and seeking the middle-ground, this would no longer do for
A friend recently challenged me, amid a conversation on religion’s relevance to spirituality, to remember a time where I felt a moment of spiritual transcendence. Without a second thought, I knew exactly, remembering a moment several months ago where my senses heightened, my mind seamlessly suspended rational thought, and my heart opened to receive a sudden deluge of connection to something infinite. Something divine. The only problem? It hadn’t been
How might we engage middle school students in regular reflection on leading a life of meaning and purpose that avoids didactic methods and elicits a wide range of viewpoints and approaches? This was one of the guiding questions that we used to develop the “My Search for Meaning” program at Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School. Hausner, a K-8 pluralistic day school situated in the heart of Silicon Valley emphasizes engaged
To be fully honest, as a recent Bexley High School graduate, when I first heard about the Wexner service trip*, it just seemed like an opportunity to relax and have fun. While I was interested in service and helping others, by no means was I expecting such an experience. Over the course of the one week service trip to New York, I was able to understand how harmful and detrimental
Jun 2013
Announcing the “Dear Abby” Jewish marketing forum. It’s free. Post your question with your Jewish organizational marketing conundrum, and I (or my business partner, Moira Schwartz) will respond. Thirty years of marketing experience is yours for the taking: Coca Cola. Apple. More than 150 Jewish organizations in the US, Canada and Israel. Nearly 1000 nonprofits worldwide. Let’s open up a discussion among all of us. Let others with ideas
Jun 2013
Jun 2013
“The most coveted title in the volunteer world – Immediate Past Chair” – Bryan Kort, Wexner Heritage Alum, in a letter to his friend and co – Phoenix 09’er, Marc Lerner, on finishing his tenure as Synagogue President. Bryan can be reached at bryankort@gmail.com.
Jun 2013
Wexner Heritage San Francisco 11 marked the completion of our two year Wexner Heritage seminar experience with a raucous, joyous celebration. Our parting offerings to each other, our “otot” (letters or signs, as in “signs and wonders”) included thoughtfully crafted blessings, inspiring teachings, and, of course, headlamps. The headlamps symbolize our hope that we will create paths for those who choose to follow, that we continue to recognize the divine