Patterns of Singularity: The Motivations of Independent Jewish Funders in Times of Economic Distress

This study explores the motivations of independent Jewish funders, focusing on their support for "independent, innovative initiatives" in Jewish life. Both benefactors and beneficiaries ask: how can other Jewish philanthropists be persuaded to join in supporting new independent and innovative endeavors in Jewish life -- and how can we do so in the midst of an economic downturn

Menorah (No. 1, Fall, 1984)

From The President -- From The Dean -- The Brandeis-Frankfurter Correspondence: A Preview By Melvin I. Urofsky -- Jewish Life And The Ethnic Dilemma: A Review Essay By Herbert Hirsch, Jewish Life In Philadelphia -- 1984-1985 VCU Judaic Studies Program -- Book Grant Presente

Enhancing Jewish Learning & Engagement in Preschool Life: Documenting the JRS Model

The Jewish Resource Specialist (JRS) Initiative, designed in 2008 by the Early Childhood Education Initiative (ECEI) of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties (the Federation), in partnership with the Jim Joseph Foundation, positions the early childhood years as a gateway into Jewish life for children and their families. It is a response to several catalyzing factors. First, preschool is a critical time for young families. Children are eager to learn and are developing socially, emotionally, cognitively and spiritually. For parents, at no other moment will they be so involved in their children's schooling. They are also choosing how they spend their time and with whom they spend it. The JRS Initiative came about to leverage this unique time for families.Second, the JRS Initiative also addresses the dearth of leaders working to build the field of Jewish early childhood education (ECE). Those who want to focus on Jewish ECE and build communities of engaged Jewish families with preschool-aged children are challenged to find the support, mentors and professional development opportunities they need to craft a career path. The JRS Initiative seeks to meet these field-wide demands by developing the skills and Jewish knowledge of the JRS educators who then bring ideas and guidance to their schools

[Review of] Rakhmiel Peltz. From Immigrant to Ethnic Culture: American Yiddish in South Philadelphia

Rakhmiel Peltz, in From Immigrants to Ethnic Culture: American Yiddish in South Philadelphia, presents one of the few ethnographies available on spoken American Yiddish in his investigation of the elderly children of immigrant Jews in a Philadelphia neighborhood. Drawing on audiotaped ethnographic data which includes life histories, personal narratives, interviews, and naturally-occurring interactions in local contexts, Peltz examines how Jewish residents attempt to maintain their yiddishkayt (`Jewishness\u27) as they become a shrinking minority in what was once a thriving Jewish community

Generation Now: Understanding and Engaging Jewish Teens Today

This report is the result of new research in Jewish teen education and engagement. Funders in the Teen Collaborative identified a need to define shared outcomes in order to pursue their common goals and to effectively aggregate and compare evaluation findings. While this research was intended only to lead to the development of outcomes in this space, it yielded insights that can guide and inform Jewish teen education and engagement more broadly, and can be used by those in the Collaborative as well as others. The Jewish Education Project is excited to unveil these insights about Jewish teens -- from their interests, to their fears, to what brings them meaning in life -- along with shared outcomes, indicators, and measurement tools that will gauge Jewish education and engagement among teens participating in Jewish experiences. Throughout this report, we have included the voices of teens, in their own words, to help us get a better glimpse inside the minds of this population. The direct result of this multi-pronged research project is the 14 new outcomes to measure the impact of Jewish teen education and engagement. Effective programs will exhibit the following outcomes: Jewish teens have a strong sense of self.Jewish teens feel a sense of pride about being Jewish.Jewish teens have learning experiences that are both challenging and valuable.Jewish teens engage in learning that enables them to be more active participants in various Jewish communities.Jewish teens learn about and positively experience Jewish holidays and Shabbat.Jewish teens establish strong friendships.Jewish teens develop strong and healthy relationships with their families.Jewish teens develop significant relationships with mentors, role models, and educators.Jewish teens are able to express their values and ethics in relation to Jewish principles and wisdom.Jewish teens develop the capacity (skills and language) that allows them to grapple with and express their spiritual journeys.Jewish teens feel connected to various communities.Jewish teens develop the desire and commitment to be part of the Jewish people now and in the future.Jewish teens develop a positive relationship to the land, people, and state of Israel.Jewish teens are inspired and empowered to make a positive difference in the various communities and world in which they live

Menorah Review (No. 72, Winter/Spring, 2010)

A Philosopher Rediscovers His Jewish Roots -- An Extraordinary Rabbinic Life -- An Interpretation of Isiah 6.8-10 -- Books in Brief: New and Notable -- Moreshet: From the Classics -- The Noah Affair -- Who Owns and Who is Responsible for a Soul

'Confounding closed systems': transforming the boundaries of jewish identity in Rebecca Goldstein's novel mazel

In contemporary Jewish American fiction, the themes of immigration and resettlement take on a renewed significance. In various short stories and novels, a threefold composition – (prewar) life in Europe, the transatlantic journey and settlement in America – serves as a starting point for the contemplation of postwar Jewish American identity. Rebecca Goldstein’s novel Mazel is an excellent example of this. The novel reconstructs the lives of three generations of women in a setting that covers both prewar Europe and postwar suburban America. It portrays the complex mother-daughter relationships and depicts the different worlds that each woman inhabits – worlds that are unknown to the others. But this novel also deals with the notions of origin, belonging and not belonging, the possible continuity of tradition, and different definitions of Jewish identity. This essay suggests that Goldstein portrays a constant struggle with ethnic or communal identity – a struggle structured around inclusiveness and exclusiveness – that results in a broadening of the concept of Jewish identity. The novel attains this by challenging and undermining fixed or predetermined ideas and dichotomies (man/woman, shtetl/outside world, tradition/modernity, Europe/America, past/present, descent/consent). Instead, Mazel eventually offers the idea of a more hybrid and flexible definition of Jewish identity that favors the fusion of a strong communal identity with the possibility of multiple affiliations. These ideas are specifically rendered through the character of Fraydel, the sister of one of the main protagonists

Review of Leonard Barkan\u27s Berlin for Jews: A Twenty-First-Century Companion

Berlin for Jews: A Twenty-First-Century Companion seems to be directed at an insider community of Jews who care about Jewish history, especially those considering a trip to Germany. The book\u27s meandering look at Berlin is broader and more nuanced than a travel guide, with close attention to how Jews of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries understood their own relationships to Jewishness. Still, it remains unclear who beyond a small subset of travelers will be interested in Leonard Barkan\u27s writing on Berlin. That the author is not an expert in either German or Jewish Studies has both merits and drawbacks. As a professor of comparative literature, art and archaeology, classics, and English, Barkan has written a type of memoir for a general audience that scholars in German or Jewish Studies might not venture or desire to write. The first two chapters use a cemetery in Prenzlauer Berg and a neighborhood in Schöneberg as windows into specific eras of history. Chapters 3 through 5 present Barkan\u27s own special Jewish pantheon of Berlin Jews: salon hostess Rahel Varnhagen, art collector James Simon, and writer Walter Benjamin, whose legacies are intertwined with the history, people, and places of Berlin. Barkan concludes with a brief discussion of Holocaust memorialization and tourism, with a few poignant pages on Jewish daily life in Nazi Germany. One highlight throughout is the book\u27s emphasis on architecture and works of art. [excerpt

Jewish settlement in Lower Silesia 1945 – 1950

Currently, the issues of Polish-Jewish relations and anti-Semitism in Poland are the topic of hot discussions and debates. The falsified image produced during the communist period needs evaluation and reliable research. Besides some more general and often widely discussed papers, e.g. Fear: AntiSemitism in Poland after Auschwitz: an Essay in Historical Interpretation by Jan Tomasz Gross, a number of more detailed works concerning these particular communities appeared during the last years. The research related to the presence of the Jews in the so- called “Regained Territories” is also related to the growing interest in the history of these regions, as they, and especially Lower Silesia, became the centre of the Jewish life in Poland after the war

Better Work, Better Life: Practices and Policies in Jewish Organizations

For Jewish organizations to function at the highest levels, improved work-life policy is essential. This survey of 227 organizations reports on the degree of receptivity to improved work-life practices and policies and provides recommendations for what good values and good employment practices demand