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 past CAJE presidents, went out this week to former members inviting them to become charter members of NewCAJE and outlining a series of steps to make the organization viable. The letter was accompanied by an endorsement from some forty young leaders – Jewish educators, rabbis, and communal workers in their twenties and thirties – pledging their support for “the establishment of an independent organization that will bring together Jewish educators across denominations and teaching settings, will advocate for Jewish education on a national level; will create networking opportunities for educators to disseminate innovative ideas; and will celebrate Jewish life and culture and its transmission to a new generation.”
The new organization will incorporate the core CAJE values of pluralism, shared teaching and learning, and immersion in Torah l’shema. Operationally, it will be volunteer-led and supported by its grassroots constituency. Money initially raised will go to buy the intellectual property of the former organization, to outreach to the next generation of Jewish educators, and to produce the next conference.
For more information, check out the NewCAJE Website.
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A great new organization, and definitely worthy paying special attention to.
One remarkable development is NewCAJE’s multi-track approach to their initial fundraising–a perfect adaptation to the contemporary philantropic environment. One of the tracks is a series of tele-webinars (dubbed “LEHRHAUS Online”) that will provide superb quality Jewish learning WHILE generating funds for the emerging organization. I call this method “learning fundraisers.”
Our Learning Company will produce the series, starting in January 2010. Each virtual event, accessible by educators and learners alike either over the phone or over the web, will feature one top-class Jewish teacher, scholar, or thought-leader. All tele-webinars will be interactive: participants will be able to ask questions both before and during the live event. Each session, to last approximately 90 minutes, will be recorded. The entire package (recording + learning materials) will also be available for purchase after the live event.
I invented and produced the first Learning Fundraiser earlier this year for Makom Ohr Shalom, a small congregation in the Los Angeles area. The program featured Rabbis Debra Orenstein & Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. More information and access to the resulting evergreen info product at:
http://www.VirtualToursMarketing.com/CAseStudyTW28
100% of the Net Profits go to the organization for which the event is produced (NewCAJE in this case).
Stay tuned for the announcements of the first NewCAJE Learning Fundraiser (a.k.a. LEHRHAUS Online) at http://www.NewCAJE.org and http://www.OurLehrhaus.com (available shortly)
It’s official: The LEHRHAUS ONLINE series of tele-webinars to benefit NewCAJE, a collaboration between NewCAJE and Our Learning Company, is now open. For details, see
http://www.OurLehrhaus.com/press/JointRelease
To join us for the first program with Rabbi Ed Feinstein, whether in the live event on Tuesday January 19, 2010 or by recording (made available within 48 hours after the live event), register at:
http://www.OurLehrhaus.com/AskEdFeinstein/P
All profits go to support NewCAJE.