In today’s world, no nonprofit organization would think twice about collecting, and hopefully analyzing, information about their donors. So too, with website traffic. For how else can one effectively judge site visitors’ demographics and interests?

Based on site and RSS feed analytics, here – in descending order – are the five most popular posts on eJewish Philanthropy last week:

Latest Numbers Released on U.S. Jewish Population

The North American Jewish Data Bank has released their latest estimates of the U.S. Jewish population.

Light One Candle

With all the Chanukah videos floating around the web, we think this is a good time to bring an old favorite back: Light One Candle by Peter, Paul and Mary.

Toward the Miraculous Future: A Chanukiya of Predictions for 2012

Seth Cohen returns with his annual list of what the new year will bring for the Jewish world.

Jewish Jamaica, Then and Now
by Paul Foer

The many Cohens and Levys in the Jamaican phone books may not be practicing Jews, though they most likely recognize that they may be descendants of Sephardic Jews who settled there after fleeing the Spanish Inquisition.

At Home, and in the Streets
by Maya Bernstein

As I stood in the middle of a room full of people making a positive, measurable impact on the world, I was forced to grapple with the relative importance of the Jewish community, and the amount of time and resources spent on nourishing Jewish life. Why not redirect all of the funds going into PJ library to Room to Read? Why not shut down all of our Jewish schools and focus on building better public schools in low-income U.S communities? Why not forget Birthright and instead send strong, capable Jewish youth to poverty-stricken countries around the world, to build hospitals and roads? Wouldn’t our energies be better spent focusing completely on major social issues, at home and abroad? What merit does an internal focus have in a world so replete with problems?

Click the red tab above for previous weeks most popular posts.