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Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
Mar 2016
It is not surprising that there are at least three words in Hebrew for “transition.” Most of us are in transition more often, more regularly and more routinely than we realize. It’s a constant factor in our lives, in the lives of those close to us and in the life of community. The first word for transition is ma’avar – to cross over, to pass through. The very name Ivri (a
This past Shabbat, ten leaders from across the Boston Jewish community opened their homes to the Wexner Senior Leaders ’16 for Shabbat dinner. Everyone had a wonderful time meeting, eating and conversing late into the night. At a point in the program when the participants are very much missing home, the Bostonians made them feel that they have a home away from home. In the words of two of the
The American Jewish community is in a real estate crisis. We are a wandering people. Rarely by choice and more often by circumstance or force, Jews moved from one place to another; sometimes across seas and other times across town, but we were always in perpetual motion. My undergraduate thesis followed the Jewish community of Detroit during the unrest of the ’60s, from mile road to mile road, as it
Feb 2016
I created a collage for The Wexner Foundation — for me, the culmination of our fabulous conference in April celebrating the 30th anniversary. I was exhilarated by the hope generated by the hundreds of bright and talented alumni who are each working so hard to build a better Jewish future and, additionally, by hearing Shimon Peres speak optimistically about the peace process in Israel. The way that I process
Feb 2016
Last week, the Portland Heritage Class, which graduated in 1997, got together as a group for the first time in about 15 years. We have all seen each other informally and at various communal events, even board meetings over the years, but this was the first time we gathered intentionally as Wexner alumni to think about the future of the Portland Jewish community. We also reached out to Graduate Fellowship
Feb 2016
Foundation Chairman Leslie Wexner was at Harvard’s Kennedy School yesterday. He taught a master class in leadership to our 40 Wexner Senior Leaders, who are participating in an Executive in-residence program for the month and our year-long Wexner Israel Fellows. Les emphasized that leaders must take responsibility for ongoing leadership development, that effective leaders self-coach. “They know that leadership is not about them,” he stressed, “It’s about me. Its about
Feb 2016
Back in 2012, the Israeli Consulate in Boston reached out to campuses, declaring March the “Month of the Israeli Woman” and providing a list of Israelis in the area who could speak to student audiences. WGF alum Michelle Fisher (Class 10), Executive Director of the MIT Hillel, saw the list, but none of the women seemed appropriate for MIT. Wanting still to support the endeavor, she remembered there were Wexner
Feb 2016
We are bombarded from every side with requests to give our time and money to support worthy organizations. Considering the overwhelming number of requests we receive, we begin to question why we are supporting those organizations. What is the motivation? Other than a “love of humanity” (or the Jewish people), what drives our giving? Is it the sense of responsibility that our parents instilled in us? Or perhaps our religious
Video reposted from ELI Talks. A few months ago, Shmuly Yanklowitz donated a kidney to a complete stranger. How much can and should we give of ourselves? Shmuly Yanklowitz, a Wexner Graduate Fellowship alum (Class 19), is President and Dean of the Valley Beit Midrash. He is also the founder and president of Uri L’Tzedek and the founder and CEO of The Shamayim V’Aretz Insitute. Rav Shmuly completed his Master’s at
Feb 2016
I’ve heard that for those who come to use the mikveh (ritual bath) with ImmerseNYC and other community mikvaot across the country, one of the most powerful aspects is the embodied experience of feeling fully accepted and enveloped in the warm water. Our lay-led planning team for Water and Wine, ImmerseNYC’s launch event, attempted to replicate that experience for attendees. We wanted to send the message that through various life