by Dr. Donald A. Sylvan PresenTense is justifiably proud of its focus on mentoring Jewish social entrepreneurs. As a PresenTense NYC Mentor as well as President of JESNA, I would like to share some key empirically-based lessons presented in an analysis of Jewish education mentoring programs, JESNA’s 2008 publication “Making Jewish Education Work: Mentoring Jewish Educational Professionals.” The fruitful application of these lessons by the PresenTense mentorship community strengthens the program and the development of relationships. Lesson 1: Mentoring relationships are most beneficial when orientation and training are provided to both to mentors and mentees. PT follows through on this step both with a session bringing mentors and mentees together and with periodic guidance through … Continue Reading
Fighting Hunger Through Food Rescue
Let All Who Are Hungry: fighting hunger through food rescue by Asher Weiss From the Middle East to Eastern Europe to the Americas, Jews are known for placing a very high premium on food. And even if jokes about Jewish mothers and their tendency to ply their children (and everyone else in the vicinity) with an unending supply of food are a bit overblown, the stereotype of the food-loving Jew exists for a reason. It should come as no surprise that food is central to a people whose religion includes ritual meals on the first two nights of Passover, a Purim feast, the prescribed diet of kashrut, and whose sacred text tells the famous story of a hungry first-born son who sells his birthright to his younger brother - for a bowl of soup. Perhaps it is because a food-centric culture breeds among its … Continue Reading
Tikkun Nepal: a Jewish Opportunity
by Caylee Talpert “Why volunteer in Nepal? Don’t you think you should be worrying about your own community first?” These are some of the questions typically faced by individuals who choose to volunteer in a developing country. On one hand, this line of thinking seems outdated and pre-globalization. The concept of tikkun olam, literally “repairing the world,” has become increasingly popular due to a global focus on social responsibility, and volunteering in the developing world has become more normalized. However, throwing out the words “tikkum olam” is not enough, especially once you pack your bags, put your life on hold, and set off to live in a mud house in an impoverished Nepali town. This is exactly what 20 young Jewish volunteers do in each group sent out as part of the … Continue Reading
An Encounter with Sudanese Refugees
A Chance to Play: encounter with sudanese refugees by Lee Frankel-Goldwater Over the last generation, Israel - founded as a refuge for the Jewish people - has also served as a haven for thousands of Sudanese fleeing the conflict in Sudan. After spending years in Egypt, further turmoil led the Sudanese to cross the Sinai desert by foot into Israel - a journey that brings visions of the biblical exodus. Yet their lives have not become easier since their arrival, due in part to the fact that Sudan and Israel are technically enemy states. Many were initially detained, and some were returned to Egypt and Sudan. Even those allowed to remain have not had an easy experience. In Eliot, near the southern tip of Israel, a number of families are struggling to get by. Aid organizations, including the … Continue Reading
Setting the Agenda
Setting the Agenda: lessons from jewish social action forum by David Brown Three years ago, the Jewish Social Action Forum (JSAF - initially the Jewish Make Poverty History Coalition) organized as a forum for professionals in the UK with a general interest or specific agenda in social justice. The Forum’s developments - including increased professional leadership, moving from mainly linking Jews with wider campaigns to cultivating a distinct Jewish social action campaign agenda, and establishing itself within the mainstream communal landscape - have allowed for increased impact and a greater sense of direction, yet have posed their own challenges. Does maintaining sufficient consensus limit JSAF’s role in more assertive campaigning? With increased professionalization, how does JSAF … Continue Reading
10 Days in Reverse
10 Days in Reverse: bringing Israelis to the US by Jason Langsner The Hebrew character that represents the number 10 is very significant. It is yud - the smallest character in the alphabet, but the one with the holiest denotation. Two of these characters together represent Adonai, showing that when a connection is made – from even the smallest of things – something deeply meaningful can be created. Since 2000, 10 also has been the number of days that over 260,000 young Jewish adults from around the world have spent on Taglit-Birthright Israel trips. Partnered with Shorashim, one of 15 Birthright trip organizers, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington has sponsored 18 Birthright trips since 2005, sending more than 700 participants from the Greater Washington area to … Continue Reading
A Small World: the U.K.-Ghana Connection
by Ruth Newman and Sam Greene New technology has made the world a much smaller, more accessible place, allowing humans to see with real accuracy the lives of those living in distant lands. Despite the huge leaps of mankind, the unfortunate reality is that some stereotypes about the developing world are proving difficult to shake off. With news articles focusing on war and poverty as well as endless “sponsor a child” advertisements dominating the airwaves, how is the next generation supposed to engage - both here and in the developing world - with a more positive, collaborative approach to development? Tzedek - the UK Jewish community’s response to global poverty - has gone back to the basics. Lomdim B’Yachad (Learning Together) aims to use shared school experiences to help children … Continue Reading
Think All American Jews are Over-Educated? Think Again
by Lani Santo The lore around the American Jewish immigrant story generally goes something like this: “Since at least the 1930s, American Jews, like other ethnic minorities, have taken it for granted that a college or university education is necessary for economic success, social advancement and meaningful civic participation,” as a November 12, 2010 Jewish Week article stated. While this is true in most parts of the American Jewish community, in the Hassidic and Ultra-Orthodox communities, there is a lack of secular education, which negatively impacts those who choose to enter mainstream America. They face cultural disorientation and isolation, coupled with a lack of practical and marketable skills. Footsteps, a NYC-based nonprofit, supports those seeking to explore the world beyond … Continue Reading
The Jewish Service Mecca
The Jewish Service Mecca: New Orleans and the Jewish Community by Joshua Lichtman and Moshe Kornfeld Perhaps we can think of New Orleans as a modern-day pilgrimage site. Since Hurricane Katrina, the city has become a primary service-learning destination for American Jews. Michael Weil, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, frequently reminds visitors that New Orleans, according to the New York Jewish Week, is now “The New Mecca of Tikkun Olam.” This headline demands investigation. More than five years after Hurricane Katrina and well after the completion of immediate post-disaster efforts, Jews continue to flock to New Orleans to engage in volunteer projects. While Hillel trips to the Big Easy have decreased since their peak in 2008, the number of groups from … Continue Reading
The Case for Asylum
by Mollie Gerver Since moving to Rwanda for the year, I have been struck by the countless Rwandese who decided to return to Rwanda from Canada, EU countries, the United States, Uganda, South Africa, and more countries in order to help rebuild Rwanda. Many could and wanted to return specifically in order to utilize the skills, experiences, and education they gained while living in their respective countries of asylum. A common argument in Israel is that, if Israel accepts some refugees, more refugees will come than Israel can handle. As a result, Israel deports some at the border, and lets others stay without any long-term promise of recognizing them as official refugees, with the rights to education and to seek a job that would come with such a refugee status. What is often ignored is that … Continue Reading
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