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Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
Apr 2009
Dr. Erica Brown is the Director for Adult Education at The Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning and the Scholar-in-Residence for The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. She is the author of the book, Inspired Leadership: A Jewish Perspective and Jewish Boredom (forthcoming) and co-author of The Case for Jewish Peoplehood. She can be reached at ebrown@pjll.org Fire is both attractive and repellent, mesmerizing and useful, an instrument of danger
Mar 2009
The darkening sky behind me represents a heavenly mechitzah dividing Martin Luther King Day from Inauguration Day. I stand humbly at the edge of both occasions, profoundly aware of the awesome destination confluence of these two occasions, one just ending and one about to dawn, represent for our nation and for this world. When you lie your head down upon your pillow tonight, remember that it is a good night
Mar 2009
David diamond is a Wexner Heritage alumnus and president of B’nai David-Judea Congregation (www.bnaidavid.com), a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Los Angeles. He can be reached at Ddiam2021@gmail.com I have three months left. This June, my two-year term as shul president will come to an end. When this first occurred to me I admit I was relieved. The position is a drain on my family life. It‘s a drain on my
Rabbi Jen Krause is the author of The Answer: Making Sense of Life, One Question at a Time (Penguin), whose works and commentary also have been featured in Newsweek, the New York Times, Jewish Woman, and O, The Oprah Magazine. She teaches and lectures across North America, and serves as the High Holidays rabbi at Manhattan's 92nd Street Y. She can be reached at jkrause2@nyc.rr.com If ever there were a
Rabbi Elka Abrahamson is the President of The Wexner Foundation. She can be reached at eabrahamson@wexner.net This reflection was originally written for the Chag V’Chesed series for American Jewish World Service On the 14th of Adar, under the light of the final full moon of winter, Jewish communities around the globe celebrate wildly as Megillat Esther, the Scroll that tells the Purim tale, is chanted in its unique melody. Seated
Mar 2009
Rabbi Jay Moses is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program (Class 5). He is the Director of the Wexner Heritage Program in The Foundation’s New York office. Jay can be reached a jmoses@wexner.net. By all rights of literary logic, this week’s Torah portion has been given the wrong name. The prior portion, Terumah, is a detailed description of the Tabernacle, the various materials that must be used to
Feb 2009
Rae Ringel, an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program, is President of The Ringel Group LLC, an executive coaching and leadership training firm in Washington, DC. She has more than 15 years of experience working with Jewish communal organizations, Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and entrepreneurial start-ups. She can be reached at Rae@Ringelgroup.com For generations, tzedakah has been a pillar of the Jewish community. The rabbis of classical Judaism praised
Feb 2009
Allison Shapira is the coordinator of the Wexner Israel Fellowship Program based at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA. She can be reached at: ashapira@wexner.net Last month at the Harvard Kennedy School, former Ecuadorian president Jamil Mahuad spoke in Professor Brian Mandell’s advanced negotiation workshop. With humor and humility, President Mahuad explained how he once negotiated a peace treaty with Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori over a small plot of
An alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program (Class 18), Charlie is currently studying in Jerusalem as a third-year rabbinical student at The Jewish Theological Seminary. Previously, he served with distinction in the Nahal Brigade of the IDF. He can be reached at chschwartz@jtsa.edu A swift, strong punch to the stomach. That’s how it felt, returning to Israel after my final Wexner Institute as a Fellow. Not long after landing
Jan 2009
Gidi Grinstein, an alumnus of the Wexner Israel Fellowship Program, is Founder and President of the Reut Institute, a Tel-Aviv based policy and strategy group, which has been called one of Israel’s leading think tanks. Between 1999-2001, he served in the Bureau of the Prime Minister as the coordinator of the Israeli delegation for the negotiations with the PLO. He can be reached at gidi@reut-institute.org. The ISRAEL 15 Vision calls