By Lindsey Bodner In September 2018, the first group of one-and-a-half to three year-old kids began attending Olam Katan. I started this drop off playgroup because there are no reasonably priced, pedagogically sound Jewish programs in our Lower East Side neighborhood in Manhattan, and I feel strongly about my son receiving a quality Jewish early childhood educational experience that reflects my family’s values. As a parent, I wanted to … [Read more...] about Thinking Big and Funding Small: Models for Making Jewish Education Affordable
Thoughts on Rabbi Yisroel Avraham Portugal
By David M. Mallach Last week, Rabbi Yisroel Avraham Portugal passed away at the age of 95. The Skulener Hassidim, whose rebbe he was, is composed of at most a few hundred families but over 25,000 people attended his funeral in Borough Park. To appreciate the significance of this it is helpful to understand some of the recent trends in the Hassidic world. Born in Moldova/Romania, he had lived in the US since 1960. The neighborhood of … [Read more...] about Thoughts on Rabbi Yisroel Avraham Portugal
In Memory of Anna R. Cohn
With great sadness we mourn the passing on March 24 of Anna R. Cohn. Early in her career, Anna served as Director of the B'nai B'rith Klutznick Museum and was among the founders of the Council of American Jewish Museums when it was established in 1977. She went on to direct museum planning efforts for the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and then served as Director of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) from … [Read more...] about In Memory of Anna R. Cohn
The Wexner Foundation announces Class 32 of Wexner Graduate Fellows/Davidson Scholars
The Wexner Foundation has announced Class 32 of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship/Davidson Scholars Program. As these exceptional individuals pursue graduate training for careers in Jewish Education, Jewish Professional Leadership, Jewish Studies and the Rabbinate/Cantorate, they will participate in a prestigious four-year professional development program comprised of leadership training, cohort-based learning, peer support, professional mentoring … [Read more...] about The Wexner Foundation announces Class 32 of Wexner Graduate Fellows/Davidson Scholars
The Messenger Who Can’t Speak (Pesach 5779)
By Andrés Spokoiny Do you think that leaders who are assertive, self-assured, speak clearly, and “call a spade a spade” are better leaders? Think twice. Harvard professor and author Steven Pinker shows that there’s a direct correlation between simplicity of speech and violence. He researched something called “integrative complexity,” which captures the sense of intellectual balance, nuance, and sophistication people’s speech, especially … [Read more...] about The Messenger Who Can’t Speak (Pesach 5779)
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