By Nicki Pollock, Executive Administrator at Jewish Learning Venture In contrast to my coworkers, I didn’t grow up with the celebration of a seder being a central family tradition. So, my recipe for an epic and notable seder includes just a few key ingredients. Among the most meaningful are those I source directly from my children and their experiences at the early childhood center, religious school, and junior choir at Congregation Beth Or. Whether it's an elaborately decorated floral center piece from an ECE center Seder gone by, a sprig of Karpas from a seed planted during an in an class activity, [...]

By Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, Director, Whole Community Inclusion Reesa shares about autism in school and in social settings Did you know that 1 in 68 children is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)--a neurological condition that affects social understanding, communication and sensory integration? April is #AutismAwarenessMonth, a time when extra attention is focused on both raising awareness about autism and also taking action to better support and integrate people with autism and their families into our communities. The amazing teens in the Reta Emerson Fellowship/Teen Assistant Program (TAP) have been learning best practices for working with students who have autism [...]

By Anna Marx, Director, Jewish Education and Leadership Development In our busy lives, running from task to task, managing the overwhelming to-do lists of our jobs and personal lives, it can be very difficult to stop, breathe, appreciate, and dream. But last Thursday, 15 of us took the opportunity to do just that.   Led by friend and colleague, Cyd B. Weissman, of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, we took time to explore the changing world around us - a world of Gen X and Millennials - and acknowledged the deep need for reimagining our Jewish institutions. With this in mind, we practiced Appreciative [...]