The People of the Book
By Rabbi Phil Warmflash, Executive Director/ On January 26th, Jewish Learning Venture will formally launch year seven of One Book, One Jewish Community (OBOJC) with an Author Event and Book Signing featuring Michael Lavigne, author of this year’s featured selection, "The Wanting." Arriving at this year seven milestone is quite an accomplishment and a tribute to the dedication and tenacity of a group of volunteers, many members of which have been working on OBOJC since its inception.
Standing at the Intersection of Tradition and Innovation
By Rabbi Phil Warmflash, Executive Director/ Over the last two weeks, many people have offered congratulations on Jewish Learning Venture’s being selected as one of the 50 most innovative organizations in Jewish North America by Slingshot ‘13-‘14. I must admit, it is great to be at the top of the “TripAdvisor” guide to Jewish organizations. And more than that, I am very excited about the recognition when I consider that the other agencies selected are, in the main, start-ups and entrepreneurial initiatives that have recently been developed to meet a need in the Jewish community. Not so Jewish Learning Venture.
Engage, Engagement, Engaging
By Rabbi Phil Warmflash, Executive Director / Engage, Engagement, Engaging – this is the word that is ubiquitous today in Jewish education and communal parlance. It has supplanted “outreach” which was employed for several decades. Outreach implied going out to “them” and bringing them to “us” and was always seen side by side with “inreach” to those who were already “with us.” Jewish engagement speaks of a different approach.