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Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
Aug 2016
Snapshot: It’s 11 PM on a Thursday at a bar in scenic Stowe, Vermont. There are dozens of people singing a niggun, a wordless melody. They have been singing this same tune for nearly an hour as they clasp shoulders, pound tables and dance. Their joy is palpable and their song is whole hearted. How did I, how did we, Wexner Graduate and Field Fellows, end up here? Let’s backtrack.
Aug 2016
It all began back in 1993 when a group of 10 Wexner Israel Fellows were staring their year at Harvard and were on the verge of an amazing professional and life adventure. Who could have imagined that more than 20 years later this group would still have a strong and wonderful friendship. Our first gathering was in the garden of the Parag home in Ramat Yishai, with the idea that
Aug 2016
One of the most beneficial aspects of sending kids and teenagers to overnight summer camp is the opportunity to disconnect and unplug from the world at large. The absence of phone, TV, internet and social media allows our youth to focus primarily on developing friendships, physical and artistic skills and their intellectual muscles. This countercultural “bubble” that camp creates is a cherished part of the camp experience. However, while working
Aug 2016
I dismounted the motorcycle taxi with the finesse of an intoxicated toddler, my overstuffed backpack swaying behind me. In the hilly farmlands of Kenya, Yosef stood in front of his modest home with a huge smile and kippah sitting atop his head. “Shalom,” he said. I lived with Yosef, Ruth and seven of their thirteen children this summer. They live in Gathundia, a village so small that it doesn’t
Aug 2016
For me, Tu B’Av is not simply a Jewish version of Valentine’s Day. While it is celebrated as a day of romantic love, the days surrounding Tu B’Av send a deeper message. More than three weeks ago, as we began our period of mourning, Jeremiah (2:2) reminded us that God thinks of us as God’s young bride. On the Shabbat following Tisha B’Av and Tu B’Av, Parshat Va’Etchanan brings
Aug 2016
Getting divorced is not getting the get (divorce certificate), but it’s taking yourself and your surroundings on a magnificent journey, from anger and despair to better self-knowledge, to healing and forgiveness. This journey gives you a unique window into yourself, your kids, family, friends, love, past and future expectations, dreams and hopes. The divorce journey starts with the history of marriage. Here’s a quick look: until the 18th century most
Aug 2016
Imagine if your parents or grandparents had never met. If you could go back in time, as did Marty McFly in Back to the Future, what would you do to ensure your existence? In Ruth Rabbah 6:1, we learn that when King David would rise at midnight to praise G-d, he would specifically recall G-d’s great kindness in enabling his grandfather Boaz and grandmother Ruth to meet, against all odds.
We asked several from our network to comment on whether they were observing Tisha b’Av and, if so, how and why. The following are excerpts from their thoughtful answers. The longer versions are available here. Sue Fendrick, WGF Alum (Class 2) — Newton, MA I’ve always found it funny when people have said they no longer see the purpose of mourning on Tisha B’Av, arguing that the Jewish diaspora is now entirely a
Reposted with thanks to The Mental Health Safe Space blog , founded by Jamie Bornstein (WGF Alum, Class 18) . Mental illness has of course always been a part of the Jewish Community, as it has been for all people everywhere, and yet, most leaders tend to stay quiet about it. Not so for some of our pioneering alumni who have created and contributed to a platform for Jews to speak
It has been reported that in 1914 Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook visited London’s National Gallery and became enamored with Rembrandt’s works of artistic genius. In Rembrandt, Rav Kook saw “a tsaddik, a truly righteous person,” whose works reminded him “of the legend of the creation of light.” Kook explained that this was a “light so strong and luminous that it lit up one end of the world to the