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Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
Jun 2015
Leadership is supposed to be about giving, but many leaders become overly accustomed to taking. An elusive phrase in this week's parashat Korah invites us to explore what it means to be a leader – what it means, in other words, to be given the gift of giving. After a fire breaks out and consumes 250 rebellious chieftains (Numbers 16:35), the people are terrified: they will not come near the
Jun 2015
On August 19, 2008, at a Wexner institute in Stowe, Vermont, an aneurysm ruptured in my brain. I was 28 years old. Instead of dying, I had some brain surgeries, lost vision in one eye, my sense of smell and a portion of my skull, and went home. I had just finished the third year of a PhD program in Jewish literature when I got sick. It would take months
Jun 2015
This article originally appeared on JOFA's blog, "The Torch." It is reprinted here with permission. I grew up 100 percent Camp Ramah and United Synagogue Youth (both Conservative movement institutions), but after marrying a Modern Orthodox man, my husband and I decided to raise our family Camp Stone, Bnei Akiva and NCSY (all Orthodox). We belong to a Modern Orthodox synagogue, and my kids went to a Modern Orthodox day school. I
The 30th Anniversary of The Wexner Foundation made me reflect a bit on my days since I was a member of Class 7 of the Israel Fellowship. We were asked to fill out “Wexeffects” as part of our registration, and “not to be afraid of bragging.” So, here are some thoughts: Some years ago, I was asked: “What is your vision as the CEO of the New Israel Fund in
Jun 2015
Growing up as a Jewish American I often felt a sense of guilt about not living in the Promised Land and sharing in the development and protection of what I consider to be an integral part of the destiny of my nation. For a variety of reasons I have thus far chosen to stay in the land that I (also) love, America. But I believe that God gives everyone talents
Jun 2015
I am sure many of you can relate: as president of the board, I had the “honor” of making our traditional end-of-year appeal at the trustee dinner last week. Here in L.A., most other day schools have made their trustee dinners into pure “stewardship” events to thank donors. In recent years, we’ve gotten more grumbling from major donors that we should consider doing the same and abandoning the appeal. After
Jun 2015
The following remarks were made at a dinner of graduating Class 26 and a group of Bostonians who hosted the Israelis for various activities during their year at Harvard: On the first day of our Wexner Israel Fellowship experience we sat in this very room at Harvard as Brian Mandel and Elisha Gechter welcomed us with a huge stack of papers and forms. There was a letter signed by the
Jun 2015
Faye with her brother Gordon and nephew Mitchell The hardest film shoot I ever produced was one I was mostly absent for. Just before Shavuot two years ago, I sat shiva for my brother, Gordon. He had suffered for 14 months with terminal cancer, holding on through a combination of remarkable support from his shul community, high-level care at Johns Hopkins, and his iron will to imprint more memories
May 2015
This article is reprinted with permission from The Jewish Week. It is in vogue to say that liberal Zionism is in crisis. Last summer’s war in Gaza provoked a spate of essays purporting that the confrontation between liberal values and the policies of a hawkish Israel were making the ideology untenable. In this portrayal, liberal Zionism was a precarious political ideology that entailed support for the State of Israel while
By way of introduction, on Tuesday night, May 26, our current class of Wexner Israel Fellows (Class 26) prepared a lovely end-of-the-year thank-you dinner for all those in Boston who had welcomed them so warmly. This was followed the next day by a graduation brunch for the Fellows and their families, as well as key staff and faculty, including President Elka Abrahamson, Vice President Cindy Chazan, Program Manager of the
Wexner Heritage Program nominations are now open for its upcoming cohorts in Northern New Jersey, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Nominate a Jewish lay leader today!