Posted by Anonymous on 1/25/2012 9:22:00 AMThe link below is to an article by Elicia Brown that appeared in the January 25, 2012 online edition of The Jewish Daily Forward.
http://forward.com/articles/150165/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=The%2520Forward%2520Today%2520%2528Monday-Friday%2529&utm_campaign=Daily_Newsletter_Mon_Thurs%25202012-01-26
Posted by Lynn Schusterman on 1/16/2012 1:42:00 PM
Chair, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation[The following article originally appeared in the January 14, 2012 Huffington Post - http://tinyurl.com/7nf84jo]
I was a young girl the first time I learned about the concept of paying it forward. My dad was advancing tuition payments for a struggling medical student, and the student asked how he could pay him back. "By being successful and helping someone else," he told him.
I had already been volunteering with my dad for a few years by then. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of holding his hand as we visited elderly people who had nobody else to care for them.
It wasn't until years later, however, that I understood these expressions of my father's universal ideals stemmed from the millennia-old values that provide much of the moral and ethical foundation of Jewish life -- tzedek (justice), chesed (loving-kindness) and tikkun olam (repairing the world).
As Jews, we are commanded to give tzedakah -- an act of justice, not charity--because it is the righteous thing to do. We are told it is our duty to treat everyone with derekh eretz (civility and humanity) and chesed (mercy and kindness). And we are obligated to take an active role in creating a better world for all people and for future generations.
As we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who transformed our country with his vision and leadership, I am reminded of the deep connections between these values and what Dr. King stood for: Justice and liberty for all. Diversity and equality as fundamental tenets of our communities and our country. Judging people on the content of their character, not on the color of their skin.
From big cities to small towns, as thousands of people across the nation answer what Dr. King called life's most urgent and persistent question -- what are you doing for others? -- they are transcending political, social and religious differences to come together and give back to their communities.
For these precious moments, we are no longer rich or poor, black or white, conservative or liberal, Christian, Muslim or Jew. We are no longer allowing the voices on either extreme to crowd out those of reason, consensus and civility. As human beings, we are taking ownership and communal responsibility for creating a more just world.
But our service cannot last just one hour or even one day. We have to foster a lifelong commitment to contributing to a virtuous cycle of giving back and paying forward, of enhancing our own lives as we better the lives of others. At a time when our country and our world are so divided, it is ever more important that we are united in knowing what it is we stand FOR, not just what we stand against.
It may seem daunting, but I am optimistic. I believe that as we face unparalleled prosperity in some quarters and deep impoverishment in others, it is the willingness of the next generation to bridge the gap between the two that will return us to our sense of purpose and focus.
From the streets to cyberspace, they are mobilizing around their passions, be it eradicating poverty and illiteracy, preserving the environment, or creating educational equity and opportunity for all. Indeed, I look at the educational reform movement currently sweeping the nation, and I see it being powered by inspiring, effective young leaders who believe that through equal access to education, all people can cross the boundaries from which they were born and live self-sufficient lives.
It was, after all, a young college student named Wendy Kopp who, armed only with passion and an idea, turned her college thesis into a movement for educational opportunity. Today, Teach For America has nearly 33,000 corps members who have reached more than 3 million children nationwide, and it has spawned a global effort in 22 countries operating under the banner of Teach For All.
To all of the young people out there who are creating social change or even fomenting social movements: hold on to your idealism and your belief in your ability to change the world. Your lofty goals demand attention and deserve support.
There is a saying in Jewish tradition, n'aaseh u'nishma, we will do and we will listen. To me, this means we are called to put deeds above words, to lead by example. On a day like today, we think of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who stood side by side with Dr. King in his struggle for justice and is famous for saying as he marched in Selma, "My feet are praying."
By making a lifelong commitment to service, we put ourselves in the company of great leaders who have dedicated their lives to helping repair our world. Starting today, I challenge all of us to answer the question of what we are doing for others by praying with both our hands and our feet. I challenge all of us to give back and pay it forward.
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Higher Education International Jewish Life Lay Leaders Newsmakers)
Posted by Rena Nasar on 1/13/2012 1:40:00 PM
CUNY, Baruch CollegeStudent life at Baruch College is vibrant and energetic, with music, bake sales, speakers and other events. Members of YOFI, the new Israel club at Baruch, have never noticed any anti-Israel activity, and last semester they began to wonder if there’s just a general sentiment of apathy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or perhaps something deeper.
With the support of the Israel on Campus Coalition, members of YOFI, Youth Organization For Israel, devised a quick, nine-question survey that they administered to the students at Baruch in order to evaluate the underlying sentiment towards Israel.
Baruch has been recognized by US News and World Report and the Princeton Review as the most ethnically diverse campus in the country. Approximately 2,000 of the school's 17,000 students are Jewish, and YOFI wanted to gauge awareness about Israel among a population that includes people who hail from dozens of countries around the world and speak a multitude of languages.
Using free ice cream to entice students to complete the survey, YOFI members spent one afternoon last semester culling responses from more than 80 students. They deemed the effort a real success.
YOFI Vice President Gil Grafi explained that the group felt it was imperative to evaluate the opinions of the student body, and that the survey helped accomplished this goal. “No one is really vocal about their opinions, so the survey was a great way to find out what people are really thinking,” he said. “Once we know what people think, we can plan events accordingly.”
YOFI Outreach Coordinator David Mandil agreed with Grafi, saying, “Once we get a better feel for the campus, we can cater to what the campus needs.”
After YOFI members administered the survey, they began to assess the results -- and some of the answers were pretty surprising.
One of the questions in the survey asked which country was the only democracy in the Middle East. The multiple choice answers included Iran, Jordan, Israel, Yemen and Turkey. Sixty-two percent of the respondents answered Israel, but 38% gave other answers. “It’s just shocking that people chose Iran, Jordan and even Yemen,” Grafi said, “especially with all the turmoil and unrest going on in the Middle East right now.”
Another question asked for opinions on Israel’s treatment of human rights, minority rights, environmental issues, security, LGBTQ rights and technology. About half of the respondents said they had no opinion. But when it came to defining Israel, about 65% used the words "war" or "conflict." This sent a clear message to the members of YOFI: Students at Baruch do not see Israel beyond the conflict. “Israel contributes so much to the global community, but the surveys showed us that students at Baruch fail to see that,” Mandil said.
As they analyzed the survey results, YOFI members realized that they face an interesting combination of apathy and ignorance at Baruch. “Though some of the answers were difficult to read, it gave us great insight into what our campus is lacking," Grafi said.
As the new semester gets underway, YOFI members plan to use the survey results to shape their future advocacy efforts. “We’ve gotten a good head start on what types of events to plan for next semester," Grafi noted.
He believes that the next step musty be to "rebrand" Israel on the Baruch campus. “We have to remove Israel from this ‘conflict context' and rebrand it,” he said, adding that future events will focus on other aspects of Israel, aside from the conflict. “We have to promote a positive image of Israel on campus through educational, cultural, humanitarian and social programs, not only political ones. We’re going to focus more on Israel’s culture, diversity, humanitarian aid, minority rights and human rights.”
The group's leadership understands that collaborating with other campus clubs can help them showcase different aspects of Israel, and YOFI members are planning future programs with that in mind. “By working with these other clubs, we’ll be able to show different sides of Israel,” said Mandil. "We’ll be sending a message to the larger campus that way.”
Some of the clubs they hope to work with include the Black Student Union, Peace in the Middle East Club and the Environmental Club. “We’re keeping our options wide open,” Mandil said.
Work already is underway for a month-long human rights campaign that begins in May, with YOFI collaborating with five other clubs on a social justice initiative that advocates for human rights on a global scale. Each club will have its own event within the campaign, in which they will focus on a certain aspect of human rights. YOFI will address those rights in Israel. “Many people answered ‘no opinion’ for human and minority rights in Israel,” Grafi noted. “We want to give them an opinion, a reason to care.”
When YOFI members decided to survey their peers last semester, they had no idea it would lead to such an ambitious spring semester plan, but now that they know what their campus needs, the path to success seems clear.
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About Hillel Israel Education Student Leadership Campus Life)
Posted by Steve Goodwin on 1/5/2012 3:52:00 PM
Hillel SICRead this excellent - and spot-on - article by Dan Libenson, executive director of the Newberger Hillel Center at the University of Chicago.
http://zeek.forward.com/articles/117450/
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Posted by Edgar M. Bronfman on 12/21/2011 2:40:00 PM[NOTE: This timely and thought-provoking article was written by Hillel Board of Governors Founding Chairman Edgar M. Bronfman and originally appered in the online editition of the December 20, 2011, Washington Post.]
My first Hanukkah memory has nothing to do with the story of the Macabees overthrowing the Greeks to protect the temple, the lighting of candles, or even the taste of crispy potato latkes fried in oil to commemorate the miracle of lights.
In 1935, I was around five years old and living in Montreal when I opened a small envelope from Aunt Ann and Uncle Harry that contained a $5 bill inside and a note that said Hanukkah Gelt. I was bewildered. What did the holiday have to do with money?
It’s been over 75 years since then, and while many changes have swept North American Jewry during that time, I suspect that thrill for young children--of getting gifts--is what many people still have as their first Hanukkah memory. And it’s not just Jews who’ve begun to associate the holidays with gifts, all Americans are prone to turning to material possessions to celebrate winter holidays.
The power of the societal pull that turns December into the “season of giving” is impossible to resist in much of the Diaspora. In a culture that parallels Christmas with Hanukkah, it is easy for many people to easily confuse the celebration of holidays with the exchange of material possessions. Even in my own life, I have fallen into that trap.
When I came to New York from Canada in the 1950s to run the American business of the Seagram’s Corporation, my first wife and I had a Christmas tree and all the pageantry that accompanied it. As a highly assimilated New York German Jew, it was something she had grown up with and came to expect participating in this “American” custom. I was indifferent and it was important to her, so I went along.
Even when we were no longer married, I continued to have a tree in my home until I met my current wife who sensibly pointed out to me that in a Jewish home one doesn’t celebrate Christmas.
I was 60, and it was the beginning of a Jewish journey for me which awakened me to the wonders of Judaism. After a lifetime of knowing I was Jewish, it was only at the beginning of the third act of my life that I began to take pride in my religion and the way I saw and practiced Judaism began to evolve.
One of the things I am most inspired by in Judaism is the religion’s adaptability. We can often be overly reverent in thinking that Judaism is a religion of obedience. One of Judaism’s great legacies, however, is our ability to reinterpret tradition and the shared studying of our texts. While people often think of Jewish texts as the study of Torah and Talmud, there are smaller texts that we use in the most intimate of moments: prayers.
Like gifts, many people think of prayers as an exchange--you ask for something and hope you get it. In my mind, this is not the purpose of prayer. I see prayer as an opportunity to acknowledge that for which we are thankful. Prayer is an opportunity to articulate intention. Just as many of our greatest texts are a collective memory of how to pursue what is just and fair, our prayers are moments when we must speak out loud what it is we wish for in our hearts.
I have felt most empowered and connected as a Jew when I have taken tradition into my own hands. As a humanist and a Jew, I see Jewish tradition as an evolving, living thing that must constantly adapt, or becomes stagnant and loses its meaning. It is a golden thread that connects us to our ancestors, but unfurls in our hands to pass on to the next generation while we witness the direction they take it.
Blessing children is a sacred tradition in Jewish faith and is a way of connecting generations. Every Shabbat, as we celebrate the dignity of rest, Jews pause to bless our children.
Ostensibly, it is to ask that they be granted grace and protection, but in my mind the greater gift is the children hear they are valued and treasured. We express love and gratitude for them in our lives, and they hear our dreams for them. The traditional text blesses sons to be like Ephraim and Menashe-the sons of Joseph who were the first brothers in the bible to be without rivalry-and daughters like the mothers of our people-Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. If you decide to write a blessing, it can be an opportunity to educate yourself about the Jewish figures in history you most admire and to teach your children and yourself about who these people are.
This Hanukkah, instead of the traditional gelt, take your Judaism into your own hands and write a blessing for each child; pick a special night for each during the eight day period of candle lighting. Tell them why you are grateful for them in your life and what your dreams are for them. It will be one of the greatest gifts they ever get, and one of the greatest you will ever give.
Many children might still prefer gelt at the moment, but this is an opportunity for you to give something greater: a moment to connect them to yourself, your family, and the Jewish people. By enacting Jewish values that place the home and the written word as being of the highest value, it will instill in them Jewish pride and a feeling of being safe, loved and treasured. It is also a gift no one else can give to them. We can substitute possessions, but not family or love. That is an important lesson to remember in all traditions, and year round.
Instead of binding another gift in fancy wrapping that will be enjoyed and then discarded, you will be binding your family together in the meaning of a Jewish home, and rebelling against seeing Hanukkah as merely an extension of the December gift-giving season.
Edgar M. Bronfman is the president of The Samuel Bronfman Foundation which seeks to inspire a renaissance of Jewish life. He is the former CEO of the Seagram Company Ltd, and is currently at work on a book about Jewish peoplehood with the journalist Ruth Andrew Ellenson.
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Historical Holidays Jewish Life Newsmakers)
Posted by Hillel President and CEO Wayne L. Firestone on 12/7/2011 1:09:00 PMA must-read article by Hillel President and CEO Wayne L. Firestone
http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/getting-next-generations/
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Posted by Sara Cohen on 12/2/2011 12:34:00 PM
Middlebury CollegeWith her permission, Hillel passes along this op-ed piece written by Middlebury College Hillel member Sarah Cohen ’15.
http://www.middleburycampus.com/node/525
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Posted by Mike Schneider on 11/23/2011 10:34:00 PM
New York UniversityOne of the projects that I am working on is a short video relating to the Holocaust. The target audience is our generation with a goal of keeping the memory alive. There is a recognition that in these days of sound bites and all the information flowing that a short video on You-tube has the potential to inspire people not to forget, but perhaps more importantly inspire curiosity and further research on what happened. The film shows Poland before its occupation and scenes from the Majdanek concentration camp. It is different in that it is a re-enactment and has appropriate music and vocals. I'm been working to raise awareness of the video and funds for its completion. I am reaching out to those that I know would be interested in keeping the memory alive for our generation and future ones. What I really would appreciate is if you would look at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/796335553/rainbow-in-the-night-a-holocaust-short-film-music.
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Arts and Culture Historical International Jewish Life)
Posted by Anonymous on 11/16/2011 11:06:00 AMTraditionally, Jewish girls and boys have their Bat or Bar Mitzvah – the ritual that confers Jewish “adulthood” – upon reaching the age of 13. Once past the age of 13, Jews are less likely to partake in this rite of passage. But at Cornell University Hillel, four students recently participated in a B’nai Mitzvah (a Bar Mitzvah ceremony for multiple participants). It was a first for Cornell and proved to be a big hit! Read more!
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About Hillel Campus Life Jewish Life Student Leadership)
Posted by Samantha Tropper on 11/9/2011 6:12:00 PM“Israel education is helping young and old develop their own positions about what Israel can be, what it should be.” – Dr. John Ruskay, Executive Vice President & CEO, UJA-Federation of New York.
Breakout session number two, “Israel Engagement: A New Narrative,” was a new way to look at Israel and Jewish education in the U.S. The different speakers discussed the importance of renewed education in this field to promote advocacy and engagement. One of my favorite quotes was: “To be confident around an issue doesn’t mean you already know the answers; it means you are willing to ask the questions.” I love this; it’s totally true. We are all passionate and educated about something (or a few somethings) but we all still have more to learn. We have to be able to admit when we have questions and to listen not only to new information but also to differing opinions if we want to become a true intellectual. I’ve always felt that it is essential that we understand opposing views in order to accurately form our own arguments.
As a Taglit-Birthright alum, I was thrilled when he mentioned the program that changed my life. His statement was not what I expected about such an amazing program, but it definitely made me think and realize how fitting it actually is. He said, “Birthright is activating a poetry around Israel but we still need to add the prose.” This metaphor gets exactly to his point and I couldn’t agree more. Birthright was a way for me to get my feet wet; after that I had to plunge into the pool headfirst. The experience sparked my interest both in the Middle East in general and in Jewish culture there. It definitely accomplishes its goal of encouraging young Jews to continue investing themselves in Israel and its future.
Yonaton Ariel, the executive director of the NGO Makom, shared his opinion that “Israel is politics on Viagra,” which brought quite a laugh from the audience. Israeli politics are analyzed on every front by everybody, which exaggerates them and turns them into much larger issues, which actually happens with most politics in the Middle East now. Mr. Ariel brought up good points in his talk. Everything that happens in Israel and the rest of the Middle East is scrutinized and debated until it becomes heated and difficult to discuss in certain arenas. This stifles its advancement. As Mr. Ariel stated, “If you want a tree to grow, don’t pull it out every day to examine its roots.” However, education should not be lost in this endeavor. I believe that debates may not be as passionate if we didn’t have to first educate the other people (and they us) on various topics, to an extent.
The Arab Spring has brought the Middle East into sharp focus. Its eventual effects on Israel are not yet clear. But what is clear is that the Middle East as a whole is moving more toward democracy and freedom than ever before. As Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said in her talk about the recent Arab revolutions, “Suddenly, governments feel a sense of accountability toward their people.” What does this mean for Jews? In going to the forum, “The Impact of the Arab Spring on Jews in the Muslim World,” I wanted to discover just that.
My experience being a Jew in the Muslim world was an interesting one. While in Cairo for eight weeks this past summer, I discovered so many new aspects of the Arab world and its relationship with Israel and Jews in the diaspora. Most, if not all, of the Egyptians who saw the Star of David hanging around my neck were confused at first. They knew that I am American and that I have no Israeli relatives of which I am aware, which is why the Star confused them. I realized that many Egyptians think that all Jews are Israeli. They equate one with the other. In fact, the word in the Egyptian dialect of Arabic that means Jewish (“yehudi”) is also the term used to identify Israelis. This intrigued me as I walked around the streets of Cairo, since the Jewish population there is so small it is almost non-existent. Many of the Egyptians I spoke with about Judaism had a narrow-minded view of the religion simply based on Israel’s politics. But then I realized that many Westerners have a similar jaded view about Islam. They see extremists, the Muslim Brotherhood, and veiled women as the only representatives of the religion. This is incredibly stereotypical, one-sided, and sometimes completely false, as the radical Islamists represent only a skewed interpretation of the true religion. I think many people of both cultures and both religions could do with some non-biased education about the other, just as many people involved in various debates and conflicts should learn about the other position. So next time you’re browsing through Barnes N Noble, take a look at something new. Knowledge is power; education is the path to understanding.
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