The Hebrew month of Elul has just begun, and with it comes the countdown to the new year. Rosh HaShana and the season of the High Holydays is only a few weeks away. Elul is a month with enormous power. It is traditionally the time in which Jews start a process of “cheshbon nefesh” (…
DetailsIn this talk from the JDov series, Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-HaLachmi argues that the future of Jewish Peoplehood depends on three questions that are being discussed in contemporary Israeli society, and beyond. Watch the 15-minute talk here. Discuss the following questions: Discuss each of the questions raised here. How does each one address or reflect…
DetailsAs a kick-off to our new series of movie resources, based on the engaging and stimulating short films from the Ma’aleh Film School in Jerusalem, we are excited to share with you a link to the movie “House no. 103”, a story of a community and family struggling with crisis. Movie: House no. 103 – a…
DetailsIn our spotlight series, we highlight the work of excellent Peoplehood educators and programs. In this edition, we hear from Liat Cohen Raviv, Senior Director of the International Diller Teen Fellows. 1. Tell us about a Jewish Peoplehood experience that you have had. My most memorable experience was actually someone else’s experience! It was borrowed…
DetailsThe recent war just like any war before also raises issues relating to the Jewish people as a whole. Below are a few questions and issues I have been grappling with in these difficult days. We would love to hear your insights: Solidarity – when Jews are in trouble their sense of solidarity rises to…
DetailsThe current crisis in Israel has educational ramifications for Jewish educators everywhere. We encourage you to explore some of the big issues with your students and constituents, from a Peoplehood perspective. Here are some topic ideas, based on some reflections in our recent blog posts: 1. Big Questions. Read Shlomi Ravid’s recent blog post about…
DetailsIn November 2012, when operation “Pillar of Defense” was in progress, I wrote an op-ed reflecting on Jewish Peoplehood in times of crisis. In that short piece I expressed my frustration at the knee-jerk impulse of the organized Jewish world to show solidarity with Israel in times of crisis. I argued that “this form of…
DetailsThe current, on-going crisis in Israel, has been making me reflect on lots of things lately, about Jewish values, the centrality of the State of Israel, the nature of violence and oppression. But mostly it makes me think of my family. My immediate family (some of whom live in Israel and some of whom live…
DetailsIt is instructive to note that within Judaism there have always been universalistic and particularistic dimensions, and this dual approach to the world finds expression in the concept of covenant (brit) that appears at the very beginning of the Bible. This notion maintains that God stands in relationship with all people. To be sure, the…
DetailsWhat does it mean to be a Jewish social justice activist? What do Jewish social justice activists from Israel, Europe and North America have in common? And how does Jewish Peoplehood fit in? These are just some of the key questions discussed by 70 young Jews at the recent Siach gathering; “From Me to We”,…
DetailsBig Questions and Hard Questions For whom are we responsible?” is a different question than “What does it mean to be responsible?” or “Do we have a responsibility to our particular heritage?” The latter questions are examples of what I’ve come to call Hard Questions: they matter to everyone, but they invite a response only…
DetailsI really appreciate Josh Feigelson’s distinction between Big Questions and Hard Questions. I think it is so rich and helpful, and can provide us with a roadmap to more effective Peoplehood education. As he says so eloquently “If we are to renew a sense of peoplehood, we have to renew a language and ethic of responsibility.…
DetailsThe Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education is delighted to welcome Tova Garr to the team. Tova is taking a new position for the Center; the Greater New York Peoplehood Educator. In this role she will be working with institutions and organizations in the New York area, introducing them to the resources of the Center for…
DetailsThere are many ways in which to understand why and how Israel is significant for Jews. Some argue that it is the Promised Land; it is a refuge from persecution; it is the realization of secular Jewish nationalism; it is the hub for Jewish culture and innovation. Each of these approaches reflect a set of…
DetailsAt this time of year, following Passover, the Jewish calendar is full of celebrations and commemorations that highlight the national aspects of being Jewish. Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) are powerful and rich expressions of Jewish Peoplehood, and offer many educational opportunities to explore…
Details“Who is really here for who?” The question resonated for the whole group, as they sat in their specially-built temporary structure (a sukkah of sorts), in the northern Negev. It was Friday night and the 41 participants in the “Tribal Fire” program (in Hebrew Medurat Hashevet) had reached a level of open communication that the…
DetailsOne of the most powerful statements about the importance of Jewish Peoplehood comes to us every year through the story of the Wicked Son in the Passover Hagaddah. What does the Wicked Son (‘Ha’Rasha’) say? “What is this [Passover] to you?” To you, and not to him. And since he excludes himself from the community…
DetailsWe can all imagine just how different they are. Clearly a young Jew growing up today in Paris with the anxieties we all know about, the threats we have all read about and experienced if we have done anything Jewish in Paris over the past few years, has a totally different set of formative experiences…
DetailsThe Center for Jewish Peoplehood interviewed Alon Friedman, CEO of Hillel Israel about the work of his organization and why Jewish Peoplehood is so central to its mission. How did Jewish Peoplehood become so central to Hillel Israel? Choosing to focus on Jewish Peoplehood was part of a thoughtful strategic process that we went…
DetailsCome to Budapest, a re-emerging center of Jewish life in the heart of Europe, where questions of “tribal” and “global” have special significance From Me to We: Between Tribal and Global is a three day gathering which will bring together 70 Jewish social justice and environmental activists from the Siach network and around the world…
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