ShaBot 6000, the continuing cartoon saga of a pious Jew who purchases a robot to work as the Shabbos Goy for his household. The inquisitive robot, ShaBot, decides that he is Jewish, and is therefore unable to fulfill his duties as servant. ShaBot spends his days asking questions about Judaism, trying to find logic in a religion that sometimes just DOES NOT COMPUTE. ShaBot 6000 a comic strip for the 21st century.

“In the Closet”

for more ShaBot 6000 check out, “Out of Line and “The Next Level”

Shavuah Tov.

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One of the biggest conversations in the Jewish world today is the interaction between the Diaspora and Israel. Or, if you are sitting on this side of the ocean, between Israel and the Diaspora.

Therefore, with JAFI Board Members beginning to congregate in Jerusalem for their upcoming meetings, it was no surprise that a closed-door session at the Prime Minister’s Office late Wednesday, was leaked to the press last night in time to be THE headline splashed across the Israeli press this morning (this one from JPost)…

Olmert’s task force aims to revolutionize Israeli-Diaspora ties;

“U.S. Jewry is in crisis, and we can help”

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has established an unprecedented high-level government task force charged with fundamentally altering the Israel-Diaspora relationship.

The new task force heralds a revolutionary change, officials in the Prime Minister’s Office said, in that it will seek ways in which Israel can begin to invest in the Diaspora, rather than remaining merely the recipient of Diaspora aid.

“This prime minister knows Diaspora Jewry well,” said a Prime Minister’s Office official familiar with the meeting, which was kept secret until now. “Olmert understands that Israel has a problem in its relationship with the Diaspora: it’s mainly one-way, and Israel campaigns as the poor, weak party. But now US Jewry is in a crisis of identity, of intermarriage. We see it and we feel it, if nowhere else, in the cash flow.”

According to the official, Olmert believes…

“Israel doesn’t really need the [Diaspora] money. Israel can defend itself on its own, can fortify itself without help, can build community centers on its own.“

Asked why no Diaspora Jews were present in the meeting, one official said, “This was on purpose. We’re still figuring out what Israel wants. We can’t begin a dialogue until we know what we want ourselves… But everyone agreed there is a need for a new direction, which is no small thing with organizations like the WJC and WZO. Once we have a concrete plan, we plan on opening a dialogue with Diaspora Jewry. This is all meant to be done together.”

for the complete JPost article, click here and a JPost editorial on the subject, here

So, with the JAFI Board preparing to officially convene on Sunday morning, besides discussing budget shortfalls and a cash crunch, Diaspora leaders can ponder Olmert’s most recent move. All this I’m certain behind closed doors and not in the ‘public’ forums.

Shabbat Shalom form Jerusalem.

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The Non-Profit Times reported today,

More and more, women are making up the donor pool of estate gifts, leaving large bequests to one or two charities that do not necessarily reflect any prior giving history with the recipient organizations.

According to Russell F. Robinson, chief executive officer of Jewish National Fund in New York City, the organization raises several million dollars each campaign year from bequests. “The demographics are always surprising,” said Robinson. “We have received bequests of more than $1 million from donors who previously only planted $18 trees with us and we have even received $1 million from people who never gave us anything. Individuals may often make their most significant gifts through their estates; especially, those who do not have children or who were never married.”

In the 2007 campaign year, JNF received 10 estate gifts that ranged from $200,000 to $1.3 million. Nine were from women, none of whom had children. Of these 10 donors, four individuals had zero giving history, three were consistent donors of $25 to $100 during a 10 to 15-year period, and three gave gifts that ranged from $3,600 to $87,000 during their lifetimes.

for the complete article, click here

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Social networking does come with drawbacks.

A lead story in today’s Jewish Week begins…

“Old-guard groups seen slow in recognizing viral threat from Facebook, YouTube.

More than 35,000 people have joined the Facebook group “Israel is not a country! … Delist it from Facebook as a country!”

Two weeks ago in the JPost we have the President of Israel, Shimon Peres, urging young people to fight anti-Semitism using Facebook.

And from today’s JPost, “Israel loses Monopoly on capital as Hasboro makes Jerusalem stateless.

The battle for Jerusalem took a new direction this week, when a reference to Israel was removed from an on-line poll to select the cities to be featured in the international version of the popular Monopoly board game.”

The common thread, besides anti-Semitism (according to the Jewish Week article), “Web 2.0 applications such as Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia and Google Earth thrive on communities in which users generate and share information in the form of videos, photos and blog posts, which are subject to vague terms of service and seemingly arbitrary censorship.

“This phenomena is spreading anti-Semitism and acceptability of anti-Semitism in new and increasingly effective ways,” says Andre Oboler, a Legacy Heritage Fellow who runs ZionismOnTheWeb.org and is a post-doctoral fellow studying online public diplomacy at Bar-Ilan University.

“Now in the Web 2.0 world, the social acceptability of anti-Semitism can be spread, public resistance lowered and hate networks rapidly established,” Oboler said.

What’s worse, Oboler contends, Jewish organizations are behind the times and are not devoting the resources necessary to stop the hate virus from spreading.

Many at the helm of these large organizations have yet to sign up for a Facebook account, don’t spend much time on YouTube and aren’t all that sure what Google Earth is.

“Community leaders tend to be the sort of people who are too busy to spend time looking at YouTube videos,” Oboler says. “They are very, very focused on old media, which is a bit strange, since a lot of people their age are online.”

We’ve been saying for a while, social media, and particularly video (in 2008), are here to stay. There is also no question that like all marketing efforts,

Social networking does come with drawbacks; but, we need to learn to utilize these tools for our community’s benefit. To be able to properly asses what is happening, we all need to tune in and pay attention.

I doubt there are many senior communal professionals who do not read some combination of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post on a daily basis. They (we all) need to add Facebook and YouTube.

If social media is technically challenging, or you are afraid of your kids finding you on Facebook, find an intern to regularly monitor these sites for you.

It’s that important.

While you’re at it, read the complete Jewish Week and JPost articles.

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Last month we brought you news of Birthright’s newest innovation, The Israelity Tour, bringing the best of contemporary Israeli music to the West Coast. It ended with a bang Sunday night in Las Vegas. Here you can enjoy just a glimpse of the great performers…

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We invite you to join Jewish communities, organizations and individuals from around the world in celebrating a month of social action and Jewish unity.

Since its establishment in 2005 by KolDor, a global network of young Jewish activists, www.socialaction.com and Member of Knesset, Rabbi Michael Melchior and the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel, Jewish Social Action Month (JSAM) has evoked a remarkable response.

For the last three years, Jewish Social Action Month has brought the world together in common cause – around our traditions of tzedek (righteousness) and tikun olam (repairing the world) – during the month of Cheshvan. This year, Cheshvan will be from 30 October to 27 November 2008.

By encouraging a sense of Jewish Peoplehood and a positive Jewish identity JSAM transforms a month without holidays, often associated in the Jewish tradition with bitterness, into a global celebration of positive action and unity. It has successfully involved thousands of people around the globe in common cause and has garnered the political support of the Presidents of both Israel and the United States along with legislators in the UK, the US and Israel. A wide spectrum of Jewish religious leaders, major institutions, youth groups, communal organizations and others worldwide endorsed the initiative and created exciting and widespread programs.

This year’s Jewish Social Action Month, occurring during Israel’s 60th anniversary, promises to be once again an amazing time of increased unity and positive action involving Jews from many countries and perspectives.

Every group or individual is welcome to mark Jewish Social Action Month in the way most meaningful to them and their community. Cheshvan can be a month to launch new social action projects or increase existing efforts. The actions can be large scale projects or simple acts of individual kindness. They can be focused on the Jewish community, on the wider world or the environment. Jewish Social Action Month presents endless possibilities to make a difference. Each act is important in itself and will also link to this global Jewish effort to make the world a better place. For a fuller indication of partners and projects, see www.cheshvan.org.

Mark the first of Cheshvan, October 30, on your organizational calendars as the beginning of Jewish Social Action Month. Start planning the social actions in your community that will make this Cheshvan a global celebration — a month of meaning and justice.

Jewish Social Action Month belongs to everyone who wishes to take part. Contact KolDor (jsam@koldor.org) for more information.

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Featuring more than 600 participants, 260 sessions, 21 films, 2 concerts, and 1 off-Broadway play, LimmudLA premiered this past holiday weekend to great reviews.

Since 1999, Limmud has been spreading at an unprecedented rate throughout the Jewish world. Inspired by their visits to Limmud Conferences in the UK, tens of activists have returned to their home communities enthused and invigorated by

Limmud’s unique model of cross-communal, volunteer-led, dynamic Jewish education -

and sought to replicate some of the Limmud magic in their own community. Indeed, as the Jerusalem Report astutely observed in 2000: “wherever there are Jews, there should be a Limmud”.

Around the world, the Limmud movement mixes some of the world’s most dynamic Jewish educators, performers and teachers with Jews of all stripes in an atmosphere of exploration. With a goal to help all participants go one step further on their personal Jewish journeys.

LimmudLA was for all who wanted to see Los Angeles Jewry become more knowledgeable about where they came from and where they are going; for anyone who wanted to see the diverse communities of LA more connected, identified and more active. And most of all, “for anyone who wants to help create that future”.

According to Sue Fishkoff (writing for the JTA):

“Limmud is a grassroots, intensive Jewish experience that has tapped into something profound and timely in the global Jewish community. And it seems to have happened by accident; the first put together 27 years ago by a group of British Jewish educators for an intensive week of study and professional development.

Today, Limmud in the United Kingdom is a hugely popular undertaking, no longer limited to Jewish professionals: Some 600 presenters and 2,500 participants showed up last December for the 28th annual event.

From England the model is spreading quickly throughout the Jewish world. The first export was in 1999 to Australia. Holland followed next, then Toronto, Paris, New York, Lithuania, Hungary.

In the past two years, the number has more than doubled, as Russia, Germany, South Africa, Israel, Bulgaria and Serbia got on board. This year, new Limmuds will take place in Ashkelon, Israel; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Yalta, Ukraine; and Khabarovsk, Russia.

Altogether around the world, Limmud has reached more than 30 communities.

In the United States, Limmuds are scheduled this year for Denver and Atlanta, and planning committees have organized in Philadelphia and Chicago.”

to read Sue’s complete article, click here.

And who knows; perhaps we did not need all the hype of the Next Big Idea; perhaps Limmud (like several other existing initiatives) is the one transforming concept.

from an earlier post…

what if the idea is already on the table…what if the next big idea is staring us in the face…what if we are so ‘hung-up’ on finding that next big idea, we don’t realize…

we already have the perfect vehicle to transform how the Jewish community thinks about itself…

updated February 22nd…

check out this great article on Limmud from the LA Jewish Journal, “Whole Lotta Jews”

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While we have you in a ‘California frame of mind’, don’t forget, in just a few short days, the Jewlicious fest in Long Beach, “It’s basically the Woodstock of Judaism”.

Ladies and gents, believers and gentiles: Once again, it’s time for the Jewlicious Fest in Long Beach, so mark Feb. 29 through March 2 on your calendars. If you haven’t heard of Jewlicious, it’s basically the Woodstock of Judaism, with three days of music, food and Kiddush Wine. A festival for the artist and the curious college student.

for more information, click here.

Parental rating: Slingshot approved.

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As the central hub in which most affiliated Jews express their sense of Jewish commitment and belonging, the synagogue is a natural place to deepen the relationship to Israel.

And so, a new endeavor began in Jerusalem yesterday as a group of American participants have come together to discuss, What does it mean to be an Israel-engaged synagogue. Their five day itinerary brings together key people, professionals and lay leaders, from throughout the Jewish community whose work and passion are committed to Jewish life and the synagogue.

Abraham Joshua Heschel writes that “The land is a text.” Their journey begins with the belief that the Land of Israel embodies Judaism, and stands as a dynamic and living Jewish text. Their seminar is built around the understanding that this Land/Text must be hugged, accessed, read, and contended with in the same way that we hug, access, read, and contend with Torah.

“They begin the journey in Jerusalem. Yet, a conscious decision was made to create distance from this holy city. Jerusalem is inspirational, illuminating and, ultimately, importable. Its holiness inspires while walking its streets, but can be paralyzing while trying to utilize its aura and incitement to envision the place of Israel in synagogues outside of its boundaries. From Jerusalem they will travel through history and geography, “from Jerusalem to the Galilee,” to the ancient land of the Mishna and to modern, suburban Israel. Thus their seminar will mainly focus on the lower northern part of the country where suburban Israel and remarkable history meet to inspire and contribute to their forthcoming journey”.

MAKOM is the Hebrew word for place. It is also a name for God. Resonating with both the earth and the heavens, it symbolizes efforts to renew the place of Israel in Jewish life. Leaders - in education, the arts and travel - are mentored to create the compelling content needed to build the field of Israel engagement for our times. MAKOM is a collaborative initiative of the Jewish Agency’s Education Department, community leadership and philanthropic partners.

…I didn’t kiss the ground
when they brought me as a little boy
to this land. But now that I’ve grown up on her,
she kisses me,
she holds me,
she clings to me with love,
with grass and thorns, with sand and stone,
with wars and with this springtime
until the final kiss.
Yehuda Amichai, “Travels of the Last Benjamin of Tudela,”
(tr. Chana Bloch and Stephen Mitchell)

updated February 27th…

check out Can the synagogue help bridge Diaspora-Israel gap? posted today by the JTA.

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When your charity extends beyond handouts to the people who knock on
your door, you should look at the management of your favorite charitable
organization in the same way that you would scrutinize a money manager.
For example, if you were to place $250,000 with an international equity
management company, you would examine a number of factors, such as the
return on the investment, management fees, risk, and how that investment
fits in with the rest of your portfolio.

Return on investment: The way you can view the return on your equity
investment is to look at the (hopefully) increasing value of your
monthly statement. But how do you judge returns from a charity? If you
donate money, will they find matching donors? Will they buy properties
that they can use and eventually sell for a profit? While the money is
waiting to be used, are they maximizing returns on their short-term
investments without taking undue risk?

Management fees: Though the directors certainly deserve to be paid for
their work, is the salary commensurate with someone in the business
world? Do they run the organization efficiently, or are they spending
most of their days in staff meetings?

Risk: Does the management have a track record, or are they an unknown
quantity? Are there regulatory or licensing issues that need to be
addressed?

Part of the portfolio: Just like wise investors must balance their
stocks, bonds, and cash, your specific philanthropic investment should
be well-balanced with your overall worldview.

One of the problems faced by many donors, however, is that although they
understand the importance of looking at these types of risk and reward
ratios, they may not have the tools or the time