It’s that time of year again - the days are shorter and colder, and across cultures people huddle together with family members, and brighten the dark evenings with orbs of light. Chanukah is upon us. We eat latkes and jelly donuts to remember the oil that miraculously lasted in the ancient temple. We light candles each night, increasing light and holiness in the world. We remember the miraculous victory of the few against the many, and celebrate … [Read more...] about Spinning
The American Jewish Scene
The Russian Players in American Jewish Philanthropy
by Gal Beckerman When hundreds of thousands of Jews began leaving the Soviet Union 20 years ago, American Jews looked at them the way a father beams at his children. Here was a large part of the tribe, almost lost to forced assimilation, now taking their first steps into a Jewish future. That paternalistic feeling only grew, as the immigrants, like all newcomers, needed a lot of help - to get settled, learn a language, navigate the realities … [Read more...] about The Russian Players in American Jewish Philanthropy
Living Lives of Sacred Responsibility
Yesterday, John Ruskay - executive vice president and CEO of UJAFederation NY - was recognized for his ten years of leadership at the Federation. The speeches, and toasts flowed. The Journal of Jewish Communal Service dedicated their next issue to the role of Federation, using New York as a case study. And John offered insightful comments. Highlighting four issues that occupy his thinking, John expounded on where he believes focus needs to be … [Read more...] about Living Lives of Sacred Responsibility
A Love-Hate Relationship: Jewish Newspapers and Federations
With the advent of free news-sites on the Internet, coupled with major changes in retail advertising, traditional newspapers were struggling long before the current recession hit the U.S. And the Jewish world has certainly not been immune to these market challenges. The North American Jewish newspaper market includes several models and generally involve some degree of financial support from the federation system. Here, in a second article from … [Read more...] about A Love-Hate Relationship: Jewish Newspapers and Federations
The Birth of NewCAJE
Going to its Grassroots, NewCAJE Launches as an Innovative, Pluralistic Network of Jewish Educators An intergenerational group of Jewish educators has issued a call to the grassroots membership of the Jewish educational community to re-establish the pluralistic network that was CAJE under the name NewCAJE - New Coalition for Alternatives in Jewish Education. A letter from Rabbi Cherie Koller-Fox, a founder of CAJE, endorsed by seven other … [Read more...] about The Birth of NewCAJE
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