The Latest From The Foundation

Photograph by Zion Ozeri, NYC, 2017 In October of 2016 I was diagnosed with an extremely rare cancer called leiomyosarcoma. There are fewer than 300 cases per year in the US. The prognosis is questionable at best. During the past 9 months I have kept a journal that I shared with many friends, most part of my Jewish world: National Young Leadership Cabinet, Wexner classmates, my weekly minyan, UJA, the

Reposted with thanks to ejewishphilanthropy.org. Earlier this summer, the musical Dear Evan Hansen and its superstar (and Jewish summer camp alum) Ben Platt, swept the Tony Awards. Their wins come at the start of the Jewish camp and youth group trip season, which has caused me to reflect on my youth experiences. In my reflection I consider this musical’s message, and I’ve come to realize the true potential impact of Jewish life

Limmud FSU New York was held in Westchester ,NY on May 12-14, 2017.  An estimated 1,000 participated in this year’s festivities); for additional info, click here. As the first year of our Wexner Heritage program comes to a close, we (New York RSJ 16) wanted to reflect on our experience to-date.  The personal bonds our cohort formed resulted in stimulating and passionate discussions, several collaborations aimed to strengthen our Jewish

Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 89 into law on Yom HaAtzmaut. The Bill makes it illegal for the State of Texas to do business with companies that are boycotting or divesting from Israel.  Any company that contracts with any State of Texas entity will need to verify that they do not and will not boycott Israel.  This is not merely a symbolic resolution; these are

It was one of those dark, stormy spring weeknights that had an autumn feeling to it — it’s the kind of night when you cancel whatever is on your social calendar and cuddle up to re-binge Game of Thrones so that it’s nice and fresh in your mind ahead of Season 7.  Yet, despite all odds, 20 or so Russian Speaking Jews (RSJs) gathered all the way uptown — crossing 14th,

The WhatsApp group for the Russian-speaking Jewish (RSJ) Wexner cohort of New York 16 has been a lively forum for political debate and discussion since its inception last summer during the New Member Institute (NMI) in Snowmass, CO.  Frankly, it’s been hard to discern whether we terribly like each other and want to talk all the time or whether the unprecedented political events of the last eight months have gotten

Reposted with thanks to JCastNetwork.org  Another Yom HaShoah has come and gone, now 67 years since the end of World War II. Not that in all those years we’ve gotten it just right when it comes to marking these most overwhelming events in all the 4,000 years of the Jewish people. I think about this a lot, as a synagogue rabbi trying to program something moving and intelligent each spring.

Reprinted with thanks to The Times of Israel. The other day, among the relentless news stories, my eye caught the headline of an otherwise inconspicuous article: “German city puts traffic lights on the ground — for you phone gazers.” The sum of the story is that in Augsburg, Germany, city officials installed traffic lights on the ground near busy train stations so that commuters looking down at their phones wouldn’t

WIF Fellows Yuval Ran, Eyal Jacobson, Yuval Laster and Mushira Aboo Dia (Class 28) meeting with  US Representative for North Carolina’s 11th congressional district, Mark Meadows during their Spring Institute in Washington, DC last week. In the wake of the presidential elections, no place was more fitting to gain an understanding of the new political realities than the US capital.  Over spring break, Class 28 of the Wexner Israel Fellowship

“Why is this happening?” is the question I am asked over and over again by my non-Jewish coworkers and friends.  But, not once has a Jewish person asked me this question — not my family, not my Jewish friends and not even my own children.  Is it because we are afraid to ask why?  I often find myself asking how and what questions.  How are we going to respond?  How