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Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
The WHP Alumni Council is made up of delegates from the 30-plus communities across North America where we have held the Wexner Heritage Program. Delegates help promote the Wexner Network so that alumni can leverage each other to become more effective leaders in order to exponentially impact and improve the Jewish community and our future. We hold quarterly video conferences and meet annually in person. Jill Max (WHP Alum, Baltimore
Aug 2017
Dear Wexner Fellows, Members and Alumni, Les asked me to send this video message, excerpted from remarks he delivered yesterday to an audience at his business here in Columubs, about the need for moral leadership in our day particularly following the ugly and disturbing events in Charlottesville. It is a fitting message as we move into Shabbat. I am proud to send this in his name and as
Aug 2017
Shmuly Yanklowitz (WGF Alum, Class 19) and Asher Lopatin (WGF Alum, Class 5). We have just signed on to this statement, written by long-time Wexner faculty, Rabbi Dr. “Yitz” Greenberg, initiated by the Orthodox Rabbinic Group Torat Chayim and signed by many Wexner alumni: The central teaching of the Bible is that every human being is created in the image of God.This means that every individual and group is unique and
Aug 2017
Reposted with thanks to Malkah Binah’s Blog, Thriving Spirit. I spent this past Shabbat in Charlottesville with a small group of rabbis as part of a delegation from T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. The rabbis and other spiritual leaders who went to Charlottesville fulfilled many roles, some on the front lines of the protests, some as witnesses, and some as protectors and nurturers. There is much for us
Aug 2017
It is 30 days since Jonathan Woocher‘s passing. We didn’t talk regularly, but I am struck at the number of times I have thought of him — almost daily. Simply, that’s how profound the impact of his work is on the daily life of Jewish educational organizations. One of the things to admire about Jon is that he never let any of us off the hook. This work — the strengthening
Most Israelis are not concerned with the Western Wall issue — a sad truth that a group of WIF alumni, of varied Jewish denominations, decided to tackle. Deeply worried about the Israeli public’s lack of engagement with the collapse of the Western Wall Compromise and the Conversion Law, a spontaneous interest group — initiated by WIF Alum Einat Hurvitz (Class 26) — formed during our recent 2017 Summer Institute, hoping
Reposted with thanks to the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” The all-too-familiar opening of Charles Dickens’ nineteenth-century classic A Tale of Two Cities could not have better encapsulated the current state of the Jewish world. As the international community is rocked by political and economic turbulence, the Jewish People—an international people if ever there was one—has not been
In Photo: Collective Impact leadership meeting with President Reuven Rivlin, July 2017 Emerging from a year of intensive work by Wexner Israel and Graduate Fellowship Alumni, Wexner Heritage Alumni and Wexner Senior Leaders all working together through the Summit “Stronger Together: (Re)Imagining the North American Israeli Relationship”, a three-pronged project has emerged to improve civil society in Israel and to strengthen leadership and business relationships with North American groups. Our Summit project, entitled
Aug 2017
Reposted with thanks to Larry’s Blog, Life and a Little Liturgy A Protestant pastor remembers preaching a sermon on loving God and being interrupted by a congregant who blurted out, “Love God? Look at the problems God causes: devastating illness, hurricanes. earthquakes. And look at the problems God doesn’t prevent: wars, cruelty, persecution. Sure, this is stuff human beings bring about, but God just lets them happen. Love God you
Aug 2017
On Monday, my friend, Ben Grossman, died. He was 37. Ben taught everyone around him many lessons in the way he lived and in the way he responded to getting sick. I’ve been reflecting the last couple days in particular on what I will remember most. Ben had a calm, patient energy. He had an easy smile. Living across the street, seeing him throughout the week, the memories I will hold