The Latest From The Foundation
Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
12
Aug 2022
Aiming for Wistful
WFF Rachael Fried (Class 4)
If we do things right, each generation will be wistful about the opportunities and resources of those who come after them, and each will feel luckier and more blessed than those who came before them.
Jews that are cast as being on the margins often have the most to offer to the Jewish community, but may choose to contribute their gifts to communities associated with other parts of their identity. This is a loss for us all.
17
Jul 2022
Innovating Authentic Proximity Integrally in our Judaism
WHP Alum Joel Goldhammer (Washington)
Proximity is the single most essential element of sacred relationships, without which neither we nor our communities, can meet our needs as Jews or realize our communal goals.
As I have tried to reify this notion of proximity in my own work and life, I have found it helpful to think about it on multiple levels, each with its own specific action and accompanying spiritual work. The following framework is a work in progress; I welcome your reactions and reflections.
More than pre-Pandemic, I appreciate the value of getting closer to something in order to better understand it.
We’re not asking for permission to be Jewish. We’re asking for Jews to connect joyfully with their own religion and for others to confront their own biases and lack of education. JewBelong doesn’t allow antisemites to control the narrative.
The litany of antisemitic incidents in recent years, especially those involving violence and murder, has brought many of us “antisemitism skeptics” out of the closet. It has made converts to the cause out of a good number of us too.
Professionals like me who work on campus strive to create a welcoming atmosphere for Jewish students so they can take pride in their identities...Our bests moments are the moments of pride in being Jewish, celebration, and self-affirmation. Antisemitism can’t take that away from us. And it won’t.
Self-determination in Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people, is the heart of Zionism. But the fact that others deny this right to Jews, and only to Jews, puts anti-Zionism and antisemitism on the same ground.
Like many of you, I’m sure, I am driven, focused, and ambitious. As my best friend likes to say, I don’t meander! Maybe it’s the New Yorker in me, but I want to get from point A to point B as efficiently as possible. It turns out that to keep my sanity, I needed to start taking the long way.
