Herzl famously wrote, “If you will it, it is no fable.” This quote, made into a cliche over the long century since it was uttered, succinctly expresses the fundamental credo of a pioneer:

pioneers will the future into reality.

The first course: Last night, the PresenTense organization sponsored an evening in Jerusalem with three special pioneers, visionaries, as they hosted a conversation around the future of Israeli Education. All three (Sarah Kass, Beverly Gribetz and David Moatty) have already led the way in willing dreams to become tangible facts on the ground.

The visionaries have been asked:

• What is your vision; why is it transformative?
• Why this path rather than others?
• What will change if your vision becomes reality?
• What will it take to attain?
• What are the challenges?
• How can the individuals in the room be part of the change?

The second course: While those in attendance broke into individual groups to converse and explore, an email went out to a larger audience…

PresenTense’s conversation on the future of Jewish education is happening in Jerusalem as I write. Our aim this evening is to cultivate vision and use that vision to energize us for a better future for Israel’s children. As part of the event, we’re asking participants to describe how they would like to see their grandchildren educated. Check out participant responses and write your own at http://www.presentense.org/visions/education.

What you write will be delivered in real time to the room where the participants are gathered, and displayed on a screen that is tracking the ideas emerging from the conversation.

To find out how this new, unique endeavor last night unfolded, check out

How Would You Like Your Grandchildren Educated?

about: PresenTense is a grassroots venture enriching the Jewish People by catalyzing Jewish creativity and entrepreneurship. PresenTense’s project portfolio includes the PresenTense Institute, PresenTense Magazine, and educational programming such as FutureTense. PresenTense is guided by a set of core values that are elemental to the process of communal enrichment: Pioneering, Creativity, and Community.