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Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
May 2013
My wife and I arrived in Budapest, Hungary days for an unforgettable Shabbat and three day World Jewish Congress (WJC) Plenary Assembly held on May 5 – 7, 2013, which we attended as part of the 18-person Canadian delegation. This was our first time visiting Budapest and although it seems to be a rather cosmopolitan city, certain of its elements were reminiscent of a past Soviet era. The WJC
This past weekend, nearly 80 percent of our Wexner Heritage SF ’08 group came together for the third year in a row to learn, celebrate and enjoy Shabbat together with spouses, significant others and families. On location at the beautiful Mayacamas Ranch retreat center in Sonoma, CA, our Shabbaton has evolved into annual tradition rooted in our group’s desire to stay connected despite hectic lives and considerable geographic distance between
It is nearly six years since we came to Efrat for “the Summer”… It looks like we’re staying. Our oldest daughter, who married two years ago at age 18, is expecting her first child in July. She and her husband live across from us. Our son, who was eagerly anticipating his States-side bar mitzvah when we came here – and was justifiably outraged when we decided to stay on at
May 2013
I write this article a short two days after the unbelievable discovery that three women, taken when they were girls and missing for ten years, were found alive and safe, rescued from a house blocks from where they lived. I work for Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, and these women are constituents of ours. Details of the horrific conditions they were subjected to for ten years are starting to come out. The
Below is a recording of a lunch and learn that Gidi Grinstein, Wexner Israel Fellow Alumnus, Class XIII, led for the Wexner Heritage Alumni and the current Wexner Russian Speaking Jews Class in New York last week.
There are moments that are (as my father Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach would say) “Beyond the Beyond” — moments of infinite, abundant, joy and truth, where we can fully access the power of who we are. Shavuot is a time when we are supposed to head to the Mountain, to try to receive the word of G-d, to go beyond the beyond. Personally, I beg for these moments, live for them,
May 2013
Conversations among Wexner alumni almost inevitably include discussion of our work as leaders in the Jewish community. When that topic comes up, I feel somewhat abashed. The truth is that I committed a huge amount of my time and energy to leadership roles before I entered the Wexner Heritage program. I don’t think I ever said no to a committee membership, a chair position or a board seat, and I
May 2013
I have found that many of us in the Wexner community wrestle with the call to serve our community and the call to serve humanity. We have been blessed with so much abundance, education, opportunity, and, of course, each other. Is the highest expression of our leadership journeys to serve a largely privileged Jewish community when there is also an infinite need for our leadership in the larger world? I
Alumni of the Atlanta ‘10 Wexner Heritage class are pleased to announce the launch of the Wexner Atlanta 10 Giving Collaborative. The fund arose from our class’s desire to have a collective impact on the Jewish community in Atlanta. We are committed to help strengthen our Jewish community by funding Jewish social entrepreneurs and the innovative and promising causes they champion. The fund, which will be distributing a maximum of
May 2013
I am a religious listener to NPR’s This American Life, a weekly radio show that brings unique “slice of life” stories centered loosely around a theme each week. Religious, that is, in both senses: I am a religious Jew and I listen to the program without fail each week. The stories are often compelling, thought-provoking, and educational. Sometimes they are even profound and moving. Recently, my ears perked up at