The Latest From The Foundation

Justus Baird, an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program, is the Director of the Center for Multifaith Education at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York and the Rabbi of Congregation Shaarey Hayam in Barnegat, NJ. He can be reached at jnb@auburnsem.org Someday I hope to discover why the Tower of Babel captivates me so much. More than the story of Noah and his ark, these nine verses from Genesis

Rabbi Carl M. Perkins, an alumnus of the first class of Wexner Graduate Fellows, is spiritual leader of Temple Aliyah in Needham, MA and an instructor in rabbinics at the Hebrew College Rabbinical School. He can be reached at rabbiperkins613@yahoo.com “In the beginning….” That’s where it all begins. One year ago, our congregation gathered with a sofer (scribe) to begin writing a sefer torah (Torah scroll). I had never experienced

Rabbi Joshua Elkin is the Executive Director of the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (www.peje.org). He can be reached at josh@peje.org The high drama found in the book of Devarim is unmistakable: the revered leader Moshe is addressing the people of Israel in the twilight of his life and just prior to the entry into the promised land of Israel (Canaan), which he will never experience, Moshe steps back

Rabbi David Hoffman, an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program, teaches Rabbinics at the Jewish Theological Seminary and is the Scholar-in-Residence in its Department of Institutional Advancement. He can be reached at dahoffman@jtsa.edu  “You shall not be partial in judgment: hear out low (katan) and high (gadol) alike. Fear no man, for judgment is God’s.” (Deuteronomy 1:17) Philo, the great first-century Alexandrian Jewish thinker, was engaged in a project

William Lipsey is an alumnus of the Wexner Heritage Program (Metrowest NJ). He is President of Congregation Agudath Israel in Caldwell, NJ, on the board of the Masorti Israel Foundation, and is Managing Principal of Pzena Investment Management.  He can be reached at Lipsey@pzena.com. Having spent my professional life in the investment business, I always thought that our inspiring and dedicated Wexner teacher, Rabbi Herb Friedman, z”l, had an innate

Nigel Savage was a layleader in the English Jewish community who founded Hazon after a successful private-sector career. Hazon is now the largest environmental non-profit in the American Jewish community. Its annual food conference takes place this year near San Francisco, December 25th – 28th. For more info go to www.hazon.org . If you’re interested in getting involved in Hazon’s food work or outdoor programs, contact Nigel at nigel@hazon.org This

Rabbi Jane Kanarek, PhD, is an alumna of the Graduate Fellowship program.  She is Assistant Professor of Rabbinics in the rabbinical school of Hebrew College.  She can be reached at jkanarek@hebrewcollege.edu Korah and his faction have a point.  God has proclaimed the whole Israelite people to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6).  Why then do Moses and Aaron exalt themselves above the community?  God is

Deborah Lipstadt is Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University.  The author of “History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier,” she fulfills her role as a public intellectual at her blog, www.lipstadt.blogspot.com This week’s Parasha, Naso, addresses the duties the Priests were obligated to perform in the Ohel Moed .   I am reading Torah for the first time this Shabbat and repeated

The Wexner Foundation Electronic Beit Midrash Parashat Ki Tissa Today’s Biblical Landscape: Midrash and the Boss By Stephen Hazan Arnoff February 20, 2008 An alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Stephen Hazan Arnoff is the Executive Director of the 14th Street Y of The Educational Alliance. He will be speaking on Bob Dylan’s religious vision in context of Jewish education, culture, and leadership at a Wexner Foundation Lunch & Learn

Ellen Kagen Waghelstein, an alumna of the Wexner Heritage Program from Washington, DC, is the founding president of Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning, former chair of UJC National Young Leadership Cabinet and of Panim, and on the faculty of Georgetown University. She can be reached at ebwags@aol.com. I recently found myself flying out to Portland, Oregon where I was to be part of a meeting hosted by a Native