The Latest From The Foundation

Front Row (L-R): Rabbi David Lyon, David Scott, Miriam Friedman, Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, Berne Black, and Lisa Stone Back Row (L-R): Shirley Lavine, Rabbi Joshua Herman, Warren Rich, Sonny Gerber, Deena Gordon and Dr. Ed Septimus On April 14-16, 2016, several members of the Houston 06 Wexner Heritage class welcomed back to Houston one of their favorite Wexner professors, Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz — also a Wexner Graduate Fellowship alum (Class

As we close Hanukah, we want light to spill over into life. In the prayer “Al Ha-nisim” , we articulate how the unexpected turned into reality. In theological terms, we call these miracles. When the weak overcome the strong, the few defeat the many, and righteousness presides over evil, we feel profound relief that along with random acts of terror, life can sometimes throw us unpredictable goodness.  This sliver

The Wexner Foundation wishes you and yours a Happy Hanukkah in 5776.  May you shine your light and pierce the darkness!

From left bottom up and around to right bottom: Jay Liberman, Greg Schwartz (spouse), Jason Schwartz, Paul Rubin (spouse), Howard Rubin (spouse), Ashley Grossfeld (spouse), Sue Schwartz, Staci Rubin, Melani Rubin, Manuel Rajunov, Debbie Rajunov (spouse), Zev Shulkin, Dan Feldman (spouse), Lindsay Feldman, Julie Liberman (spouse) “Dallas Wexners reunited last Saturday night to celebrate Sukkot in ​our sukkah. To honor the holiday brings a joy all its own, and to celebrate with fellow Wexner “brothers and sisters” elevated its significance through our shared experience and

Dear Pope Francis,   I’m sure your much-anticipated visit to the United States was not timed to coincide with our season of holy days, a time of personal renewal and return to God, all in celebration of the world’s creation.  But we are delighted to share this special season with you, since you are a religious teacher who so deeply appreciates its meaning. It is becoming increasingly clear that the most

Reposted with thanks to the new JTS series of short videos entitled Sound Bytes of Torah for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. WGF alum, David Hoffman (Class 6), gives us a teaching and some koach to continue our work in 5776. Rabbi David Hoffman, a Wexner Graduate Fellowship alum (Class 6), is the Vice Chancellor and Chief Advancement Officer at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He can be

Reprinted with thanks to ejewishphilantrhopy.com  Why is Tisha B’Av, you may wonder, important to a secular Russian Jew? I grew up with little knowledge of major Jewish holidays, let alone an obscure Jewish fast day observe mostly by the Orthodox today. It is a reasonable question. It has a reasonable answer. The timing of Tisha B’Av is particularly sensitive in my family. You see, two days after Tisha B’Av was

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

The holiday of Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Among the traditions of the holiday is reading the Book of Ruth, one of the five “scrolls” of the Bible which are read on Jewish holidays (the others being Lamentations on the 9th of Av, Ecclesiastes on Sukkot, Esther on Purim and Song of Songs on Passover). Why do we read Ruth on Shavuot? The first-millennium CE

Reprinted with thanks to Abby’s blog “Shameless Judaism/Adventures in Spiritual Refinement.” Ask any one of my students, past or present: discipline has never been my strong suit.  I tend to laugh more than yell, compliment more than critique and, to my embarrassment, give many more A’s than B’s. So today, the 9th day of the Omer, is a spiritually challenging day.  The second week of the Omer mystically focuses on