Melitz is delighted to launch the 5 legged-table Jewish Education Venture Fund. This fund has been set up in honor of Avraham Infeld’s contribution to informal Jewish education and is inspired by his teachings and legacy.

Avraham’s approach to Jewish education which was honed at Melitz over a 30 year span can be understood via the 5 legged table lectures which you can access at 5leggedtable.org/en

If you are interested in applying to be part of this fund, please spend some time watching the videos we have uploaded to the above site.

The Goal of the fund

Our goal is simple: we wish to inspire the development of new informal Jewish educational initiatives that advance at least 3 of the 5 legs that constitute meaningful Jewish life according to Avraham’s world view:

1. Jewish Memory
2. Family
3. Sinai
4. Land/State of Israel
5. Hebrew

Educational rationale of successful projects

Behind this goal stands an educational rationale. Avraham ends his lecture by arguing that all Jews should commit to at least 3 of the 5 legs. In this way, whenever she meets another Jew who has made the same commitment, they will always have at least one of the legs in common.

The 5 legged-table Jewish Education Venture Fund will prioritize projects that expose participants to all 5 legs of the table and then empower them to commit to at least three of them. The educational challenge will be to find innovative ways to enable this process in a meaningful and impactful manner.

Avraham often speaks about the ‘Jewish people being unified but not uniform’. This project is an opportunity to both celebrate Jewish unity but also to demonstrate creatively the rich diversity of religious, cultural and ideological voices that make up the Jewish people.

Funding

We will allocate funding of between fifteen and fifty thousand Shekels that meet the criteria listed below as judged by a steering committee made up of Melitz staff and Board members, funders as well as Avraham and Ami Infeld. Funding can be given over one to three years according to the specific project.

Who can apply?

The 5 legged-table Jewish Education Venture Fund is based at the Melitz offices in downtown Jerusalem. We welcome applications from all over Israel but successful applicants will be required to visit our offices on a regular basis for meetings, seminars and mentoring. Applications are welcome from individuals, teams of individuals or NGOs.

Projects aimed at the Russian speaking Jewish community around the world will be especially welcome thanks to the generous contribution of the Genesis Philanthropic Group.

Projects can be aimed at Jewish communities around the world and we welcome applications in any language. In other words, while the projects must be developed in Jerusalem, they can be ultimately implemented anywhere in the world.

What we will offer

In addition to the funding, the 5 legged-table Jewish Education Venture Fund will also offer successful applicants the following support:

• A meeting room in down town Jerusalem with wireless internet and computer access
• Educational seminars on topics related to the 5 legged table
• Mentoring from a top Jerusalem educator
• Strategic support for developing next stage of program

How to apply

If you would like to apply, please send a paper of 2-3 pages with the following information:

• Description of the project in 3 sentences
• Target population
• Goals of project
• What the project will “produce” i.e. its outputs
• What the project will achieve i.e. its outcomes
• Duration of project
• How you will know if you have been successful
• Project budget (project can either be exclusively or partially funded by the 5 legged-table Jewish Education Venture Fund )
• Potential or existing partners for matching
• Description of organization or initiator of the project (how long do you work in the field; most successful projects you have initiated etc.)

If you wish to apply, please send your application to info@melitz.org.il by 30.6.12. We will invite a short list of projects to make a fuller presentation in person to the Steering committee during July and successful applicants will be notified during August. We intend to see the first projects begin development in September 2012.

For further information, please call Michael Wegier on 052 618 2202 or email him at mwegier@melitz,.org.il

This project is made possible by the following generous Foundations, Federations and supporters as well as several private contributors:

Meyerhoff Foundation, Genesis Philanthropic Group, Samuel Bronfman Foundation, Diane Wohl, Anon Foundation, Associated Jewish Federation Baltimore, Wilf Foundation, San Francisco Federation, Rosenbloom Federation and Baker Foundation.