“BIG IDEAS. BOLD SOLUTIONS - The Challenges and Choices of Today’s Jewish Community Professional” is the theme of the 2012 Annual Program of the Jewish Communal Service Association of North America, convening Tuesday, June 5th at Weinberg Park Heights Jewish Community Center in Baltimore. The Keynote Address will be delivered by Dr. Chip Edelsberg, Executive Director of the Jim Joseph Foundation of San Francisco. On a panel following the address are Shifra Bronznick, founding President of Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community; Rabbi Nina Cardin, a trailblazer in the fields of Jewish feminism, healing, liturgy and the environment, and David Cygielman, co-founder and CEO of Moishe House, which provides meaningful Jewish experiences for young adults around the world. The … Continue Reading
Kick-start Shavuot with Sh’ma’s Second ‘Virtual Tisch’
Kick-starting the holiday of Shavuot, Sh’ma, a journal of Jewish ideas, is hosting its second “virtual tisch” - a unique online, interactive learning table that will foster Jewish connection and global conversation. Once again, Rabbi David Ingber of Romemu, a New York City-based spiritual community, will lead the learning session. will lead the learning session. “The May issue of Sh’ma, ‘Claiming Torah,’ coincides with Shavuot, when, tradition tells us, the Torah was revealed,” said Editor-in-Chief Susan Berrin. “Jews throughout the world have long marked the eve of the festival with a tikkun leilShavuot, an all night text study session that includes conversation, reenactments, and explorations of how Torah and learning shape our lives. Our tisch, we hope, will spur connection … Continue Reading
WCJCS Quadrennial Conference: Program Now Available
WCJCS 12th Quadrennial Conference In conjunction with the Joint Distribution Committee, Jewish Agency for Israel, Jewish Federations of North America, Jewish Communal Service Association, Israel Association of Community Centers Ramada Jerusalem Hotel June 24-26, 2012 THEME: Energizing the Present, Envisioning the Future: Strengthening Jewish Community You are invited to join us as we come together in Jerusalem to explore our Jewish Peoplehood, strengthen our Jewish identity, and develop professionally. The WCJCS Quadrennial promises exciting learning, sharing, networking and site-visit experiences with hundreds of professionals like you! Whether you are starting out as an informal educator or are a seasoned social worker; whether you work, in a community center or social service … Continue Reading
Jewish Education Technology Conference to be Held in Houston
In order for Jewish educators to effectively connect with their students they need to understand 21st century technologies. In a world full of social media, game systems, smart phones and handheld computers, learning is a multi-sensory experience. By bringing technology into the classroom, educators will be armed with the tools to impact and engage students. To address this need, the Partnership for Effective Learning and Innovative Education (PELIE) and The AVI CHAI Foundation will host a Kadima Technology Conference in Houston, Texas on Monday, May 7th. This is the second Kadima conference, building off the success of the 2011 summer conference in Cleveland. Brian Mull, an expert in the field of educational technology, will serve as the keynote speaker. Breakout sessions will let … Continue Reading
Limmud FSU Comes to Princeton
A truly unique event, organized and run entirely by volunteers, Limmud FSU has revolutionized pluralistic Jewish engagement of Russian-speaking Jews by involving them in an array of interactive workshops, intellectually-stimulating discussions, a festive Shabbat celebration, controversial debates, film screenings, artistic performances, music, dancing and much more. Join them on May 11 - 13th, 2012 and experience the magic of Limmud FSU! For more information, please visit limmudfsuus.org/ … Continue Reading
Sh’ma Gathers Around a Virtual Jewish Table
Hosting first-ever online tisch, fostering connection through new media Sunday, March 25th, 2012 at 8PM EST/5PM PST There has never been a “Jewish table” quite like this. Sh’ma, a print and online journal of Jewish ideas, is inviting participants from around the world to join its first ever “virtual tisch” - fostering Jewish learning, connection and conversation in a unique community event. “Sh’ma has been committed to promoting conversation and pushing the boundaries of Jewish thought since its founding 42 years ago,” said Editor in Chief Susan Berrin. “This event pushes those boundaries even further - for the first time taking the Jewish table out of the dining room and creating a sacred virtual space.” Please join us on Sunday, March 25 at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST for this … Continue Reading
Make Room for One More at Your Table and in Your Community
This Passover, UJA-Federation of New York’s J•1•1 Information and Referral Center encourages the Jewish community to make room for one more and invite in all those in the New York Jewish community who wish to observe the holiday but do not have a place to participate in a seder. Referrals will be available to seders at local community centers, synagogues, or restaurants. Seders are open to the community in the five boroughs, Long Island and Westchester and are held on the first two nights of Passover, Friday, April 6, 2012 and Saturday, April 7, 2012. If you are interested in finding out about community seders, please contact UJA-Federation’s J•1•1 Information and Referral Center Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 1.877.852.6951or J11@ujafedny.org. J•1•1 is a … Continue Reading
Does Jewish Community Have a Future?
by Jonathan Woocher For millennia, community has been at the heart of Jewish life. It is by seeking to be a model community guided by principles of justice and compassion - not just a collection of moral individuals - that Jews have taken on the mission of helping to repair the world. Over many centuries the forms of Jewish community have changed, but the commitment to create and sustain institutions through which Jews can celebrate and learn together, feed the hungry, tend to the elderly, and undertake the myriad of other activities that define Jewish living has never waned. In North America in the 20th century Jews built a set of vigorous voluntary institutions that has been the envy of other ethnic and religious communities. Now, in the 21st century, the landscape of Jewish life is … Continue Reading
Help Raise the Bar for Israeli Nonprofits: Amuta21C
by Shoshanna Jaskoll Last year, the Future of Nonprofit Summit - Israel (FONSI) brought together over 200 professionals, mostly from the world of nonprofit, but also from the business and government sectors and start-up and tech pros, in an effort to work together towards raising the standards within the nonprofit world and to create a community. While there are many one-day seminars or workshops on fundraising and learning how to approach the donor, there seemed a lack of community-oriented, professional development and ‘state of the sector’ events where nonprofits could communicate, kvetch and learn about the tools available to them. We received excellent feedback last year, and we’ve listened to everything you had to say. This year, we have included workshops for a more hands-on … Continue Reading
Siach: An Environment and Social Justice Conversation Continues
Applications for the North American and European cohorts for the 2012 conference are open! WHAT: A unique opportunity to meet, share and collaborate with fellow social justice and environment activists from across the Jewish world. Siach, an Environment and Social Justice Conversation, brings together committed activists from across Israel, North America, and Europe. Supported by the UJA Federation of New York, with anchors in the US, Israel and Great Britain, and scores of member organizations, Siach is deepening the nuanced understanding of Jewish Peoplehood and Israel engagement with those for whom the pursuit of social and environmental justice is one of the defining characteristics of their identity. WHERE: The second annual Siach conference will take place in Ohalo Manor Hotel, on the … Continue Reading
English