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Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
Sep 2009
Hindy Poupko is a Davidson Scholar completing her double masters in Public Policy and Israel Studies at New York University. She is the Executive Director of the Council of Young Jewish Presidents and the Director of Israel and International Affairs at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. Hindy can be reached at hindypoupko@aim.com Shortly after getting married, when my aspirations for working within the Jewish world crystallized, I
Reuven Avital is a Wexner Israel Fellowship alumnus who volunteers in several not-for-profits, including programs for students from weak backgrounds and from Ethiopian families and a home in the Negev for severely brain damaged patients. He is a director in several medical device and pharmaceutical companies developing new technologies in Israel and the US. He can be reached at avital3@014.net.il In April 2008, a Wexner alumni trip to Eastern Europe
Sep 2009
Rachel Lerner is a Davidson Scholar in the Wexner Graduate Fellows/Davidson Scholars Program. Rachel is pursuing an EdD in the Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary. She can be reached at rachelalerner@gmail.com. I watched in awe as students ran community-wide Israel education programs, brought new members into their clubs, led hikes for other students at the school-wide Shabbaton and most of all, slowly began to
Aug 2009
Caron Blau Rothstein is a Wexner Graduate Fellowship alumna and the Outreach & Engagement Coordinator of Congregation Neveh Shalom in Portland, Oregon. She can be reached at caron13@comcast.net. Over the years, I have had to learn how to balance my leadership in varied professional situations with my other life roles—wife, mother, adult daughter, friend, congregant, volunteer, etc. I thought I was pretty adept at the work-life balance until I was
Aug 2009
“Shoftim v’shortrim titen lecha” “And you shall appoint judges and guards for yourselves throughout the Land and they shall judge the Nation with justice.” We are not simply to appoint judges but rather to appoint judges FOR OURSELVES. The Kli Yakar commentator suggests we are commanded to draw ourselves to introspection and self evaluation. Our sages understand the use of this reflexive text as if it said “before you ensure
Aug 2009
Zev Eleff is a Wexner Davidson Scholar who will begin his studies at Columbia Teachers College this fall. He can be reached at Eleff@yu.edu The fact of the matter is that teaching and reaching second-semester high school seniors is a nearly impossible task. And, for a 23-year-old collegian in his first attempt at managing a classroom, the attempt appeared to be a fool’s errand. Nevertheless, I had to try. During
Aug 2009
Rabbi Jill Jacobs is the Rabbi-in-Residence of the Jewish Funds for Justice and the author of There Shall be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice through Jewish Law and Tradition (Jewish Lights 2009) and is an alum of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship program (Class 11). She can be reached at jjacobs@jewishjustice.org. The following is an excerpt from Rabbi Jacobs’ book: There Shall be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice through Jewish Law
Jul 2009
Terry Rubenstein is the the Executive Vice President of the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds. She has held many lay appointments and was formerly a home builder and newspaper reporter. She has three children and three grandchildren. She can be reached at TMR@magnajm.com A few years ago I was asked to chair an initiative for United Jewish Communities called Gender Equity and Organizational Effectiveness. Supported by Shifra Bronznick,
Jul 2009
Howard E. Charish is Executive Vice President of the UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey and is a Wexner Graduate Fellows/Davidson Scholars faculty member. He can be reached at howardc@ujannj.org It was during a recent mission to Cuba that I understood a phenomenon that I had experienced during my professional career but had not consciously identified. If I could summarize it in one word, it would be RESILIENCE. In an
Jul 2009
By Rafi Cashman is a Davidson Scholar beginning a PhD in Education at the University of Toronto in the fall. He can be reached at raficashman@gmail.com. Next to the mass grave of Tikochin in Poland, I told a story to the student-participants of the March of the Living, for whom I was the rabbi, where I tried to inspire them to reflect on the possibilities and opportunities life made available