Here in Israel, Chag has concluded. With it, vacations will draw to close, schools slowly reopen and the country will make its way back to a “regular week”. As the Diaspora communities will not wind up the holiday until tomorrow, the Jewish world will likely remain pretty quiet until next week. A quick glance around the Web indicates some of our communal weekly papers were out early, and many others may be a day late.

Here are three stories, all from the newest The Jewish Week, you may find of interest.

Reform Seminary Bracing For ‘Radical’ Reductions

The Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, faced with a projected $3 million deficit this academic year, is on the verge of making what its president calls “radical” structural changes that could mean the closing of two of its three campuses in the U.S.

an op-ed by Norman Liss:

A Time To Close Ranks, And Some Organizations

But now the need for change is of crisis proportion. Unfortunately, although some organizations are much needed and highly productive with dedicated leaders and membership, many in the leadership of the Jewish community are there for reasons other than the collective interests of the Jewish people, some for self-aggrandizement, and some to network for business. Many have simply been too myopic to recognize that their organizations, which have historically contributed much to the growth and health of Jews in America and to the cause of Israel, either no longer do so or are overlapping with the work of other organizations.

from editor and publisher Gary Rosenblatt:

The Tensions Within Philanthropies

In the current issue of the Journal of Jewish Communal Service, the two colleagues [John Ruskay and Jeffrey Solomon], widely viewed as leaders in their posts, discuss the complex and often heated relationship between the establishment federation form of philanthropy and the more independent style of family foundations.

eJP note: The Journal of Jewish Communal Service is published by, and available from, The Jewish Communal Service Association of North America.