Remembrance Day, Yom HaZikaron, which begins this evening, is a day of collective and personal anguish mingled with honor for the fallen. The official events begin at 8:00 PM IDT with a moment of national silence heralded by a one minute siren followed by the lighting of a memorial candle at the Western Wall.
This year we remember:
A total of 23,646 men and women, including 1485 police officers, have been killed defending the land of Israel … [Read more...] about Memorial Day 2018:
Remembering Israel’s Fallen
Jewish Philanthropy. Chronicled.
Memorial Day 2018:
Jewish Overnight Camping for Families:
A Series of Articles for Exploration
Igniting the Imagination: A Vision for a Jewish Family Camp
By Rabbi Miriam Burg
There is a unicorn and a wizard who live in the woods. If we sing loudly enough during the week, we might catch a glimpse of them galloping by on Friday morning. And Puff the Magic Dragon, he lives somewhere on the lake. We feed him soggy jelly sandwiches whenever we go sailing. He must really like them because they always disappear.
Every summer, my family - … [Read more...] about Jewish Overnight Camping for Families:
A Series of Articles for Exploration
Honeymoon Israel is not an “Interfaith Couples” Trip to Israel
By Avi Rubel and Mike Wise Recently, a potential funder told us that their foundation wasn’t in the “interfaith space” so probably wasn’t a good fit for Honeymoon Israel. For what seemed like the thousandth time, we explained that Honeymoon Israel never was meant to be nor is it in practice an “interfaith” program. In less than three years, Honeymoon Israel has succeeded at bringing more than 1,200 couples to Israel and has more than 1,000 … [Read more...] about Honeymoon Israel is not an “Interfaith Couples” Trip to Israel
From Berlin to … Babylon?
Baghdad is a part of my soul from which I’ve been largely cut off. Just as we can’t be afraid that Jews are returning to Berlin, as a historical correction, let us now change focus to Babylon, where organized Judaism once blossomed. By Orit Arfa (Sephardi Perspective via JNS) I recently met with a Jordanian couple on a day tour I give to Dresden from Berlin. They were friendly, even after learning that I’m Israeli (and American). We … [Read more...] about From Berlin to … Babylon?
Interfaith Families Thrive at Jewish Day School
By Julie Levinson It used to be that families with children enrolled in Jewish day school were a pretty homogenous crowd; two Jewish parents raising Jewish children. At Epstein Hillel there are still plenty of families who fit that bill, but so too are there more than a few who do not. Of all the families currently enrolled, thirty percent are interfaith. Their experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. Aimee and David are one such … [Read more...] about Interfaith Families Thrive at Jewish Day School
“Stranger Things” and the Torah: Incorporating Netflix into Jewish Education
By Tali Puterman Subbing a class of 8th graders is hard enough. Subbing a class of 8th graders the evening after “Stranger Things” Season 2 debuted on Netflix provided an added challenge I had not anticipated. How could I get this class to feel comfortable with me, respect me - their teacher for one evening - while their stress levels vacillated between theorizing Will Byer’s fate from the Demogorgon, fearing their classmates would spill … [Read more...] about “Stranger Things” and the Torah: Incorporating Netflix into Jewish Education