by Smadar Bar-Akiva "You are going where?" was the question asked time and again when I said I was leading a WCJCC delegation from five countries to the JCC of Milwaukee. While not as exotic as some of our recent travel destinations, we found a JCC that exemplifies community building and Jewish education at its best. At the conclusion of three intensive days we learned a thing or two on how to do things right: A strong Jewish core: While Milwaukee's JCC is similar to many North American JCC with 40% of the members not Jewish, the Jewish vision and mission of the JCC is apparent in every department and in almost every program. Two full-time senior Jewish educators - Jody Hirsh and Rabbi Shari Shamah - infuse the J in the JCC in so many different ways. From the common Kabbalat Shabbat services … Continue Reading
Putting the “Community” in Jewish Community Day Schools
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz Brooklyn, April 4, 2012 - So this is how matzah is made. Wearing a paper hat branding him as nothing less than a master matzah maker, Caleb Luria, age 2½, pounded randomly but decisively on a slab of dough, creating a dust-up of flour that settled on anyone within a few feet. “We want him to get a sense of Passover, to touch the symbols and feel the excitement and hear the music,” said his mother, Sara, a rabbinical student. “And for us to do this as a family with new people and in a new setting is important. It’s good to branch out.” That’s one of the objectives at Hannah Senesh Community Day School here in the Carroll Gardens section of Brooklyn, where a new initiative is seeking to highlight the “community” in the school’s … Continue Reading
What if Esther Had a Child with Special Needs?
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz Philadelphia - March 6, 2012 - On its face, there was nothing unique about this Purim carnival, with children parading around like Esther and Mordecai, hamantashen and popcorn for the grabbing, and holiday-themed fun and games. But on closer look, this one stood apart. Over in the corner, four-year-old Sophie Bassman helped her older brother, Julian, 7, pack traditional Purim food baskets - shalach manot - to be delivered later to seniors. “He follows her lead,” said their grandfather, Myron Bassman. “She gets it. And he’s learning by her example and by everything that is happening here.” This is Jewish family education in its most promisingly expansive sense, with the common denominator here being families raising a child with special needs. Julian … Continue Reading
Jewish Family Education: New and Improved
by Dr. Ron Wolfson Last fall, I joined my family to celebrate the first birthday of our first grandchild, Ellie Brooklyn, which happened to be on the first night of Rosh Hashanah. Yes, her middle name is Brooklyn, because one of her great grandparents and a grandma hail from there, the “B” remembers my late mother Bernice, and her parents just like the name. We have come to call her “Ellie B.” Having learned the value of creative family celebration from her mother, Ellie B’s mom developed a “bee” theme for the intersecting occasions, combining the ritual traditions of a honey-infused Rosh Hashanah with a birthday party and fashioning a unique Jewish family experience. The family is the single most important influence on Jewish identity development - not just for children, but … Continue Reading
New Group Moving Jewish Family Education to the Forefront
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz Fourth-grade students at Temple Israel Center in White Plains, NY recently gathered for one of a series of Havdalah programs, splitting into groups and discussing the blessings and ritual objects and even making some of their own. Not particularly unusual on its face. But what made it more notable was the fact that it occurred beyond the synagogue walls, in someone’s home, and most importantly, that parents participated as well. “We try to give parents the knowledge too, so that they can be educated,” said Lisa Schwartz, Principal of the religious school at Temple Israel Center. “We are making Jewish education intergenerational, reinforcing it beyond the classroom, and strengthening the family Jewishly. This is very empowering, and critical for Jewish … Continue Reading
Covenant Foundation Announces New Grants
The Covenant Foundation today announced nearly $900,000 in new grants as part of its mission to support and advance excellence and impact in Jewish education. The new round of grants underscores a commitment to initiatives across the landscape of Jewish educational experiences, settings and audiences, and propel innovative work in technology, new media, youth engagement and community building through education. Foundation grants are divided into two categories: Signature grants, which provide funding for up to $250,000 for up to five years, and Ignition grants, of up to $20,000 for one year to support new and untested approaches. The grants announced today are part of approximately $1.7 million to be distributed this year. Signature grantees include: The Center for Jewish Living and … Continue Reading
Hanukkah Lights Illuminate A Submerged Jewish Identity
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz Boston, December 23, 2011 - In some respects, it’s just amazing that this Hanukkah party took place at all. On a recent afternoon in a daycare center in suburban Chestnut Hill, just west of here, preschoolers gathered with parents and grandparents to watch Hanukkah skits, don Maccabee-like costumes, sing holiday songs, and indulge in hot latkes and sticky jelly donuts. Ordinary, but only up to a point. A thick Russian accent here. Tales of anti-Semitism there. A tentative step toward Judaism by one. A full embrace by another. Boston or Newton or Chestnut Hill vs. Kiev or Moscow or Baku. “For many in the older generations, being Jewish was something to hide,” said Larisa Bankovsky, owner of the daycare where the holiday festivities unfolded. “My family … Continue Reading
Inaugural Prize Recognizes Promising Jewish Educators
Five promising Jewish educators from across the country are the first-ever recipients of The Pomegranate Prize, established by The Covenant Foundation to honor and nurture exceptional, emerging professionals. Recipients, representing a range of educational settings and approaches, are: Rabbi Marc Baker, Head of School at Gann Academy - The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston; Robert Beiser, Campus/JConnect Repair the World Director at Hillel at the University of Washington in Seattle; Anna Hartman, Director of Early Childhood Education at Greenfield Hebrew Academy in Atlanta; Gilah Kletenik, Congregational Scholar at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York; and, Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, Associate Rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, NY. The Foundation announced the … Continue Reading
Grassroots Green Paints Metro Baltimore
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz Baltimore, Oct 26, 2011 - It started out as a simple study session about Sukkot. It evolved into an emotional exchange of recollections and histories. And no one will forget it anytime soon. Those gathered in the community room at Weinberg Village, a retirement complex northwest of here, had decades to draw upon when naming the ushpizin - or visitors - they might invite into a sukkah. For one participant, it was a lost mother and sister. For another, a daughter. And one tearfully described a beloved surrogate mother from his boyhood. Through the window, a small garden loomed large. Here, this group of dedicated seniors planted, tended and toiled beginning last spring, through the summer and into the fall. They nurtured plants and vegetables, but what also grew … Continue Reading
Ages-Old Jewish Thought Goes Post-Modern
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz It’s a bit of a no-man’s land for a very 21st century medium, and the Jewish educational and theological communities are noticing. The first two entries in a series of animated shorts by video artist Hanan Harchol examining Jewish thought and teachings are now ricocheting through social networking sites, and making the rounds virally through old-fashioned email. Here is Repair, the first segment that delves into teshuvah, the Jewish imperative and framework for fixing one’s relationship with others and oneself. Next is Landlord, a short presenting the Jewish perspective on giving and receiving forgiveness. It’s no accident that these first two installments, part of a larger series, are debuting now. As Jews worldwide mark the High Holidays, these themes … Continue Reading
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