2007 April | Peoplehood.org

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/ideas_belief/LandIsrael/modern_landisrael/Gedzelman.htm

Those of us who toil in the fields of rejuvenation of the Jewish people must, as David has done here, rediscover some of the contemporary heroes and thinkers and adapt their gifts and insights to our vastly changed realities. Note yet another great tree metaphor.

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הַצְהָרַת מוֹטִיבַצְיָה / לִיצוֹר יְהוּדִי הַמַּבְקִיעַ �?ֶת הַיָּ�?
יוֹסֵף יִשְׂרָ�?ֵל �?ַבְרָמוֹבִיץ’
For English version, click here

�?ֲנִי מְש�?ֻכְנָע ש�?ֶיֵּש�? בְּכוֹחֵנוּ לְהַש�?ְפִּיעַ עַל גּוֹרָלוֹ ש�?ֶל הָעָ�? הַיְּהוּדִי. בִּנְסִבּוֹת ש�?וּתְפוּתִי בְּמִגְוַן �?ֵרוּעִי�? הִיסְטוֹרִיִּי�? וּבִּיוֹגְרָפִיִּי�? נָטַלְתִּי חֵלֶק בַּתְּנוּעוֹת לְהַצָּלָתָ�? ש�?ֶל יְהוּדִי�? מִבְּרִית-הַמּוֹעָצוֹת-לְש�?ֶעָבַר וְ�?ֶתְיוֹפְּיָה. בִּהְיוֹתִי גַּ�? עֵד לָ�?ֵרוּעִי�? הָ�?ֵלֶּה וְגַ�? זָרָז בְּתַהֲלִיךְ מִמּוּש�?ָ�? חַש�?ְתִּי מִקָּרוֹב �?ֶת הַכּוֹחַ ש�?ֶנּוֹלַד מֵחָזוֹן, מֵ�?ַסְטְרָטֶגְיָה וּמִפְּעֻלָּה. לָמַדְתִּי ש�?ֶחֲצִיַּת קַוֵּי גְּבוּל מִמְסָדִיִּי�? מְ�?ַפְש�?ֶרֶת �?ֶת הַרְחָבַת הַהֶקֵּף ש�?ֶל מַה שּ�?ֶנִּתָּן לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ. ש�?ָמַעְתִּי מַקְהֵלוֹת רַבּוֹת ש�?ֶל �?וֹמְרֵי-לָ�?ו – בְּנֵי �?ָדָ�? וְ�?ִרְגּוּנִי�? ש�?ֶ�?ֵינָ�? מַ�?ֲמִינִי�? בְּנִסִּי�?, וְזָכִיתִי, בְּנִגּוּד לְתַחֲזִיּוֹתֵיהֶ�?, לָחוּש�? �?ֶת הַהִתְלַהֲבוּת ש�?ֶבָּ�?ָה בַּד בְּבַד עִ�? הֶשֵּׂג קוֹלֶקְטִיבִי ש�?ֶמֵּעַל לַצִּפִּיּוֹת הַסְּבִירוֹת.
בִּמְשִׂימוֹתַי הַחִנּוּכִיּוֹת �?ֲנִי מְיַשֵּׂ�? לְקָחִי�? ש�?ֶלָּמַדְתִּי מַהַ�?ַקְטִיבִיזְ�?.
מִי ש�?ֶמְּש�?ַמֵּש�? לִי כְּמוֹפֵת הוּ�? נַחְש�?וֹן, ש�?ֶצָּעַד לְתוֹךְ הַיָּ�?. הַ�?ִ�? נִבְקַע הַיָּ�? בִּזְכוּת �?ֱמוּנָתוֹ ש�?ֶל נַחְש�?וֹן, �?ֹמֵץ לִבּוֹ �?וֹ הָ�?וֹפְּטִימִיזְ�? ש�?ֶלּוֹ? �?וֹ מִשּ�?וּ�? ש�?ֶבְּכָל צַעַד ש�?ֶצָּעַד לְתוֹךְ מַיִ�? עֲמֻקִּי�? יוֹתֵר הָיָה מִשּ�?וּ�? קְרִי�?ַת תִּגָּר לַבּוֹרֵ�?? (לְעִתִּי�? קְרוֹבוֹת �?ֲנִי מוֹצֵ�? ש�?ֶ�?ֲנִי ש�?ָקוּעַ בַּמַּיִ�? עַד צַוָּ�?ר). תְּהֵ�? הַסִּבָּה �?ֲש�?ֶר תְּהֵ�?, הָעִקָּר הוּ�? ש�?ֶהַיָּ�? נִבְקַע.
בִּמְנוּסָתֵנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִ�?, �?ֶרֶץ הַהֵיְרַרְכְיִיַה הַמֻּש�?ְחֶתֶת וְהַדָּתִית, �?ֶרֶץ הָ�?ֱלִילִי�? וּש�?ְלִילַת הַהַעֲצָמָה, עָמַדְנוּ לְמַרְגְּלוֹתָיו ש�?ֶל הַר צָנוּעַ יוֹתֵר, �?ַךְ לְרַגְלָיו ש�?ֶל �?ֵל גָּדוֹל יוֹתֵר,

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http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2007/04/26/news/local/bcover0427.txt

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Click here to watch!

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Jewish Social Action Month

Building Unity through Positive Action

We invite you to join Jewish communities, organizations and individuals from around the world in celebrating a month of social action and Jewish unity. The Hebrew month of Cheshvan – which in 2007 will be from October 13 until November 10 – has been declared Jewish Social Action Month.

This year’s Jewish Social Action Month (JSAM) promises to be once again an amazing time of increased unity and positive action involving Jews from many countries and perspectives. Every group or individual is welcome to mark Jewish Social Action Month in the way that is most meaningful to them and their community. Cheshvan can be a month to launch new social action projects or increase your existing efforts. The actions can be large scale projects or simple acts of individual kindness. They can be focused on the Jewish community, on the wider world or the environment. Jewish Social Action Month presents endless possibilities for you and your community to make a difference. Each act is important in itself and will also link you to this global Jewish effort to make the world a better place (click here to watch video action from previous years).

Jewish Social Action Month is an initiative of KolDor, a global network of young Jewish leaders, the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel, MK Rabbi Michael Melchior and socialaction.com. In just two years since its launch, JSAM has evoked a remarkable response. Political support has come from the Presidents of both Israel and the United States of America, British parliamentarians, US senators and congressmen, Israeli Knesset members and others. A wide spectrum of Jewish religious leaders, major institutions, youth groups, communal organizations and many others from around the world endorsed the initiative and created exciting and widespread programs. Jewish Social Action Month was introduced into the Jewish calendar and into the lives of many. See www.cheshvan.org for a fuller indication of partners and projects.

This wonderful support revealed a hunger in the Jewish world for the opportunity to unify around our traditions of tzedek (righteousness) and tikun olam (repairing the world). Help make Jewish Social Action Month even more of a global celebration. Mark the first of Cheshvan, October 13, on your organizational calendars as the beginning of Jewish Social Action Month. Start planning the social actions in your community that will make this Cheshvan a month of meaning and justice. Jewish Social Action Month belongs to everyone who wishes to take part. Contact us (office@koldor.org ) for more information. Please download this form to let us know about your support and how you’re planning to mark Jewish Social Action Month so that your efforts can be publicized and everyone around the world can join in the success.

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In the spirit of the counting of the Omer, leading to Shavuot and the theme of Jewish education, is the Statement of Motivation from the Covenant Award process.

     I am convinced that we can impact the destiny of the Jewish people. Through accidents of history and biography, I have been part of movements to rescue Jews from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. Part witness, part catalyst, I felt first-hand the force of power that is generated by vision, strategy and action. I learned that reaching across organizational lines allows you to stretch the range of possibility. I have heard many choruses of nay-sayers–people and organizations who do not believe in miracles–only to experience the exuberance of unlikely collective accomplishment.
     I bring the lessons learned from activism to my Jewish educational ventures.
Nachshon, who marched into the sea, serves as a role model. Did the sea split because of his faith, courage or optimism? Or was it because each step into the deeper water was a challenge to the Creator? (I often find that I am up to my neck.) It doesn’t matter, so long as the sea splits.
     Racing out of Egypt, a land of corrupt and religious hierarchy, a land of idols and disempowerment, we stood as a people at the foot of a lesser mountain but the feet of a greater God awaiting our marching orders. Read more

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By Yosef I. Abramowitz

(JTA) — Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people, the entire Jewish people in all generations. While there are clearly many educational successes in Jewish life that should be celebrated and supported, we must also acknowledge that there is room for improvement in both quality and reach.

American Jewry, even with an estimated $30 billion infrastructure — all the buildings, land, budgets, staff, endowments, foundations and other assets — still has the highest attrition rate of any religious group in the United States.

Most educational leaders and philanthropists who have focused on Jewish education are only planning for modest, incremental improvements rather than developing sweeping, national strategies.

Click for the whole column.

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Support Aliza on the Arava Bike Ride

Posted April 14, 2007

Aliza, who turns 14 on April 27th, is going to ride a bike (with her mom) from Jerusalem to Eilat starting May 1 for a week to raise money for the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and Hazon, two organizations who are doing great work. go to Hazon.org, click on riders, and donate to cheer Aliza on and donate to a worthy cause. Thanks, Yossi

More info: Read more

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I am proud to serve on the advisory board of the Jewish Student Press Service and penned their first cover story, under the editorship of Sandy Edry. It is a quality publication, a great training ground for future Jewish leaders, thinkers and journalists, and an important new voice in Jewish life that connects authentically with the sensibilities of a wide range of Jewish students. They lost federation funding in a narrow-minded power play by old school funding types and dynamics. Here’s the note from JSPS and the links; worth reading the Nation entry. I hope people see this and send JSPS support; I know I have.

1. New Voices/JSPS in the news!Most of you probably know about the major grant that we lost last year from Solelim, a donor-advised fund that is associated with the UJA-Federation of NY. Since then we have had some exciting coverage in the Jewish media when both the Forward and the Jewish Week ran articles about it, and yesterday we got some wider exposure. One of our conference speakers, a fantastic journalist named Eyal Press, was so taken with our story that he wrote about it for The Nation’s website. It just came out yesterday and there are already blog posts all over the place about the article.

Most of you probably know about the major grant that we lost last year from Solelim, a donor-advised fund that is associated with the UJA-Federation of NY. Since then we have had some exciting coverage in the Jewish media when both the Forward and the Jewish Week ran articles about it, and yesterday we got some wider exposure. One of our conference speakers, a fantastic journalist named Eyal Press, was so taken with our story that he wrote about it for The Nation’s website. It just came out yesterday and there are already blog posts all over the place about the article.Here are links to all three articles:
The Nation (4/18/2007): http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070430/press
Jewish Week (1/5/07): http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=13490
Forward (10/20/2006): http://www.forward.com/articles/student-magazine%E2%80%99s-funding-cut/

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