The Latest From The Foundation

Yael Bendat-Appell is an alumna of The Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Class XV.  She works at the Solomon Schechter Day School in Northbrook, IL where she teaches and supports students who struggle to succeed in a dual curricular setting while also collaborating with other teachers to support their work with students with diverse learning needs.  She lives in Highland Park, IL with her husband Jordan and their son, Adin.  Yael can

Dr. Starr served as Charles R. Bronfman Chair in Jewish Communal Innovation, and Visiting Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, at Brandeis University and is a faculty member of the Wexner Foundation. Dr. Starr can be reached at thedavidstarr@me.com.  This year I taught a Wexner Heritage class in Baltimore. I enjoyed it, how could I not, given the lovely people: they were bright, enthusiastic, appreciative and generous. I’m still in touch

Rabbi Any Doren is a Wexner Graduate Fellowship alumnus of Class I.  He currently serves as Assistant Rabbi and Director of Religious Education at Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, North Carolina.  He previously worked as Program Associate for the Wexner Foundation from 1995 to 1998. He can be reached at akoren@tegreensboro.org It was the fall of 1993 and I was starting my career as a Rabbi.  I was working as the

 Benjamin Samuels is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Class VI and has served as the rabbi of Congregation Shaarei Tefillah of Newton Centre, Massachusetts for the past sixteen years and teaches widely in the Greater Boston area. He can be reached at ravbensam@shaarei.org. This summer, I have been leading a Shabbat afternoon Tanakh study, “Responding to the Call: Divine Commission and Reluctant Prophets.”  In our sessions, we have

Mara Benjamin is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship (Class X).  She is Assistant Professor of Religion at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.  She can be reached at mbenj@stolaf.edu I am one of four Jewish faculty at a private, historically Norwegian, Lutheran  liberal arts college, and I am the first person to occupy a permanent position teaching Judaism.  For me, teaching Jewish texts (and texts like the Hebrew

Jan Uhrbach is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program, Class X.  She is the founding Rabbi of the Conservative Synagogue of the Hamptons in Sag Harbor, a member of the Wexner Heritage faculty, and a renowned teacher of Torah in NYC.  She was a member of the editorial committee for Machzor Lev Shalem (Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative Movement, 2010), and currently works as an associate editor on

Rabbi Lisa Grushcow is an Alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program, Class XII. She is the Rabbi at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Manhattan.  Lisa can be reached at rabbigrushcow@crsnyc.org. I lead a parenting group called “How to Raise a Mentsch.” (The irony: How often have I rushed my seven year old in the morning, yelling “Ariella! Hurry up! I have to teach the parenting class!”). We read parenting books

Rabbi Joe Kanofsky is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program, Class XI. Joe is the rabbi of Kehillat Shaarei Torah in Toronto, Canada

Ed Rettig is an Alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program, Class II.  He is the Director of AJC-Jerusalem, the Israel office of the American Jewish Committee.  Ed can be reached at rettige@ajc.org.il. In those classic movie scenes the officer cries “follow me” and leads the charge. For rare individuals that is an option.  For me, leadership seems more a process (I speak as a balding, overweight, middle aged, Jewish

Joe Septimus is a Wexner Heritage Alumnus from New York IV.  Joe presented this piece at a Memorial Service for Debbie Friedman held at Central Synagogue on January 27, 2011.  He can be reached at joe@septimus.com. Debbie was my friend. Not the famous Debbie Friedman, who inspired a generation. But the private one; humble, vulnerable loving and funny. The one at our family shabbos table. The one who enjoyed being