Since the beginning of our history, Jewish destiny has often been shaped not by individuals acting in isolation, but by movements of dreamers, seekers and activists inspired by a cohesive ideology. Sometimes these movements last a couple of decades; other times, they become permanent fixtures of Jewish experience.
As this issue of Contact was being readied for publication, the staff of Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation received the tragic news that its beloved Executive Director, JJ Greenberg, had been fatally injured by an automobile while riding his bicycle in Israel.
Jewish life once revolved around service. A hierarchy was established in which the greatest esteem was attached to good deeds that could not be repaid. Since caring for the dead was an example of absolute altruism, membership in burial societies became the highest honor.
Since the Second World War, the State of Israel and the Holocaust have served as touchstones of Jewish identity in America. More recently, catchphrases such as “continuity” and “spirituality” have begun to play more prominent roles in the national Jewish lexicon. Today, more and more of our leaders and organizations are talking about the critical importance of Jewish education to both identity formation and the revitalization of Jewish life in the United States.
According to many Jewish thinkers and leaders today, the synagogue is in a state of profound crisis. Since the synagogue is one of the most ancient, visible and important institutions in Jewish communal life, this could have dire consequences for American Jewry: the vitality of the synagogue has often been used as a barometer of the health of the Jewish community as a whole.
The Jewish Retreat Center
Rabbi Irving Greenberg
New Jewish Life In The Wilderness
Bob Greenbaum
Jewish Summer Camps
A Tool for Transformation
Robert & Elisa Bildner
A Personal Reminiscence
Holly Brod Farber
After School Programs are Essential
Rabbi Judd Kruger Levingston
