The Wit & Wisdom of Daschell Potts PhD

The Persian Sphinx: Amir Abbas Hoveyda and the Riddle of the Iranian Revolution (In Persian)

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He loved being a Jewish educator and it brought him great joy even with all the mishagas he must have had to deal with. His wife and beloved partner Shulamit, and his children and grandchildren of course, but everyone loved him. A student of his, Eddy Wacks, wrote the following remembrance: Instead of punishing me, he would tell me stories and we would laugh. His eyes would twinkle and he would then say, tell the teacher that I punished you, and send me back to class. He left an indelible impression on me and on all who spent time with him. Abe Gittelson taught those of us who were his students and colleagues what it means to be a Jewish educator.

Heschel could have been describing Abe in an article entitled The Spirit of Education when he wrote, To guide a pupil into the promised land, the teacher must have been there himself. Do I stand for what I teach? Do I believe what I say? The teacher must be able to answer in the affirmative.

What we need more than anything else is not text-books but text-people. It is the personality of the teacher which is the text that the pupils read; the text that they will never forget. Modern teachers are a link in the chain of a tradition. They are the intermediary between the past and the present as well. Yet, they are also the creators of the future of our people. That is the work of the tsaddik, and that is the curriculum of the mensch that was Abe. Remember everyone here wants to meet you to hear about what you do and why you are here.

Networking is more important than sessions here. You will have an opportunity to do that formally on Monday night, and informally after every class, in the dorms, and at meals. We love this pluralistic environment because it means that everyone here is accepted for who they are with open arms. Look for an announcement about dates and an exact location in the fall. This year is no different. This year I am concerned about Jewish education and about Jewish educators. I believe we should talk about both these concerns, but today I would like to focus on the issues facing us as Jewish educators.

That is why the classroom teachers and principals are here. That is why the rabbis, cantors, musicians, artists, and writers are here. That is why the technology folks, the bloggers, and the social media folks are here. We are a team working to pass on Jewish education and culture to a new generation. We find our students everywhere—in formal and informal settings; in every Jewish denomination, and among non-believers.

Some of us work for synagogues, some us work in Day Schools, some of us are entrepreneurs, some of us travel from community to community. Some of our students are very young, some elderly, and every age in between. We are all Jewish educators. Many of us are highly educated, and all of us continue to learn so we can be as knowledgeable about Judaism and pedagogy as possible.

We consider Jewish education to be a noble profession. We enjoy working with children and adults, and we believe our work is important. Working in Jewish education gives us a sense of belonging in our communities. There are fewer full-time jobs in Jewish education today. Either we are working a handful of hours, or we are working many more hours than full-time. If we are working a handful of hours, we have to find full-time jobs to support ourselves. Our research shows that our salaries are important to us.

Benefits are important to us also, especially free tuition for our kids in the schools where we teach. But even when benefits like major medical are offered, many of us consider them too costly given our salaries. They are not allowed to classify you as self-employed to avoid paying FICA taxes. Synagogues and schools are legally exempt from paying unemployment taxes but they can choose to opt into the system or set up a severance pay option. Many Catholic Diocese do this, do synagogues?

We are often technically hired and fired by lay boards that are not responsible for any professional standards of behavior. They too often see their job as focusing on the bot-. Are we in denial about the pressures and disappointments we face? Thank God many of us have partners whose work provides enough money and benefits for both of you and your families to live on, and whose health insurance covers you both.

But Gd forbid your partner dies, where will your health insurance and income come from? Why does this situation exist the way it does? Jewish educators used to travel around the country for full time jobs. Principals were basically all men. Movement placement bureaus expected Synagogues to pay them well—not as well as the clergy, but a living wage and benefits.

Bureau directors were all men. I know this because their national organization was called the Brotherhood of Bureau Directors. Even with the overwhelming majority of women in the field, there is still a gap between how much a synagogue will pay a man and a woman for the same job. If you believe that your salary is OK because you believe Jewish education is intrinsically not a high paying profession, or that you have to support Jewish education by taking a lower salary or no benefits, think again.

These salaries and lack of benefits do nothing to attract new teachers to the field. They do nothing to bring in the best and brightest. They do nothing to bring excellence to the field. You should all be supported to come to conferences like NewCAJE—meaning you should be subsidized completely and paid for your time to be here. Some of you are, but most of you are not. Your congregation should be putting together full-time packages for some of you.

You could visit newborns and their parents at the hospital and welcome them into the community—maybe answer questions about Hebrew names or how to personalize a bris. You could teach adult education, and you could collaborate on curriculum design with your principals.

The same crisis facing classroom teachers is also facing our musicians and artists. Do we want them to stop writing and performing Jewish music and making art? You are asking them to take a moral position as employers. You are asking them to study Jewish sources on the responsibility of employers to their employees. They need to come to their own conclusions. You need to know how to ask for what you need in a way that they can hear you.

Board members are our neighbors and friends, and they are the parents and grandparents of our students. We need to gather up-to-date statistics so we can speak about the facts and get lay leaders on our side. In fact, we need to make them partners so they become invested in the excitement of our work. Here at NewCAJE we can speak with a united voice—a calm voice, a factual voice about the problems we face.

Do you think that the people we work for imagine that we will retire in poverty? Do you think that they would like knowing that some of us have no health care? Do you think they have thought through the impact of not paying social security or that we have no unemployment tax to fall back on? I give them more credit than that. We need to raise awareness of these issues.

We have wonderful and timeless materials that were created in a Covenant Grant called Project Kavod back in All this breaks down into four main issues: What can you do back home? Let them know how hard it is to find and retain qualified educators. Let them know what you are doing to fill positions in your community. Talk with them about the problem of school attendance and ask for their ideas of how to move forward. Let them see for themselves the exciting options in the field.

Until all this comes about, or the Messiah comes, take some steps to help make your future brighter: He can answer all your questions about how your synagogue can set up a retirement fund for you without any investment on their part. This account will travel with you from job to job. At very least pay self-employment tax for yourself. On Tuesday night, we will set up the foyer of the Fine Arts Building as a series of Platform Committees like the ones the Republicans and Democrats used to design their platforms.

Go to the topic that interests you most. Brainstorm with your fellow educators about steps we could take to improve the profession of Jewish education. Then just listen and inform yourself. If not here, where? And if not now, when? The assignment to combine this text with a tree proved fertile ground for combining many of my favorite concepts and elements: I see with every teaching session how my students engage my problem-solving thinking, trying to find one more way to communicate a concept or to motivate the student.

Davis is a calligrapher and Jewish educator living in western Massachusetts. She began working with Hebrew lettering in ; her work covers a wide range, including ketubot, invitation design, personal and organization commissions, cards and art prints. The question becomes not how much we paid for the toaster, but how much would it cost to replace it. If every volunteer was replaced by a paid staff member, the funder asked us, what would it cost to run the organization? So we have a financial bottom line, and we have our assets which include every volunteer hour.

The difference between those two numbers is staggering. We could never afford NewCAJE without the volunteers who plan it and those who donate their teaching and performing. This is a gift of love we give to each other—the community of educators and artists and clergy and musicians and storytellers that is NewCAJE.

Amy Ripps, Program Committee Chair: She sets the curriculum and finds the best teachers for us, her students. When you see her, make a point to thank her. The sessions review committee works with Amy. They call all the presenters to make sure their titles and descriptions matched their sessions as accurately as possible so you could can the classes you need.

This is a critical conference task, and each of these committee members did an amazing job. They listen and help the teacher shape their session into excellence. They often go to the session to give the presenter feedback. Thanks to Cathy Kaplan and Deborah Goldstein for helping us lay out the conference program. You are the life-blood of the conference. You come to learn and to teach. You make all of us better at what we do.

That makes our schools better and means you have a real effect on the Jewish educational enterprise. Very conservatively speaking, together we reach between , children a year, and many more adults. This year, we had about 60 applications from folks wanting to give an intensive. We chose 11 of the 60—the best of the best. We wanted to make sure that we chose carefully, so we put together a committee of reviewers to read all 60 and try to decide which ones you would want to learn from most.

The intensive teachers are our featured presenters. This review committee includes Reform and Conservative principals, youth professionals, and consultants. There were two locals among the group because we wanted something that would resonate with the needs of educators in Chicago. There is even a Covenant Award winner among them. They ranked each session on several criteria, and the highest winners were chosen to come to the conference to teach their intensive and three other sessions so all of us to benefit from their expertise.

We are honored by the presence of our featured presenters who will teach an intensive and three sessions. A special thanks to Ana. Ana Turkienicz is that donor, and we are so happy to have her in our presence. Avis is doing well and hopes to be strong enough to be with us next year. This team met to plan the events that happen when we all get together. We talked about how best to make you feel welcome at the conference, how to build a community at the conference, and how to put forward the NewCAJE agenda.

Thank you plenary team! This committee plans wonderful after-dinner events. Of course, fun includes learning skills and songs you can take back to your classrooms. In fact, some of you will be lucky enough to take back some of these artists to your community this year. This committee works very hard to put together the best events they can. Judy Caplan Ginsburgh makes sure that everything is coordinated and that the producers get what they need. Rabbi Judy brings joy and healing to both her Jewish and non-Jewish audiences with her beautiful music. No wonder they call her Judy Music! How lucky are we to have the top talent in the country producing our shows year after year!

We are thrilled to have Rick Recht produce our closing show. We greatly appreciate Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff agreeing to be the producers of our opening night show. They are so talented and have brought a whole new aspect to Jewish music. As they celebrate their first wedding anniversary, we know how much they appreciate the opportunities NewCAJE gave them, and we appreciate all they have brought us.

This year, they are bringing their band to perform. Check out the wonderful alternative programs they have created. Help support Jewish arts and artists! All of our Performers fly in at their own expense to honor you— the Jewish educator. They bring a musical and artistic curriculum you can and should use in your communities.

So bring them out to your communities. The conference would not be so great without them. Shabbat Programming, Jeri Robins, Chair: Shabbat planning is a labor of love for Jeri Robins. She wants each of us who come for Shabbat to have a lovely experience, and we do. Shabbat at NewCAJE is the best ways to spend quality time with fellow educators, and it makes the conference feel small and accessible.

See the Shabbat pages for all the other thank yous, but know we are grateful for all who led pieces of Shabbat services. Bless you, Neil, for doing this important work! The Emerging Educators is a new program this year. Eliana Light has served as chair of this program that brings a group of educators in the first five years of their career to participate with us in the NewCAJE7 conference.

We are looking forward to seeing them again at NewCAJE8, when they will share their teaching with us. This is our first cohort of this program, and we thank Eliana and her great team, listed below, for making it successful! While Ezra Fox has moved on from being our conference coordinator and conference staff, he still took the time to design our program book.

Thank you so much for doing this. I am sure you will agree that Peggy Davis has done an extraordinary design this year for our cover and Tshirts. Check out the page where she explains the designs. I know that most of you have spoken to Rebecca Buzen Coleman on the phone or in person. She is the one responsible for making the conference happen and making it go smoothly.

There are not words to describe how grateful the board and I are for the great work that she does year round. She is gracious, competent, and great to work with. And thanks to our wonderful conference staff: His job is to help us raise awareness of NewCAJE in the Jewish philanthropic world in the hopes of finding partners that share our mission and goals.

He also helped us to promote the conference, raise money for Chicago participation, and work closely with the board. He has done all of these tasks admirably, and we look forward to working with him in the future. Thanks also to the Grinspoon Foundation for its help in partially funding this position. Technical Support, Leora Koller-Fox: We joke with Leora that she is our Technical Support Professional. Thank you Leora for being there when I need you! They have been a pleasure to work with. Many thanks also to Chef Sid Levitz for putting together the menus and preparing our meals.

The Chicago Rabbinical Council did a wonderful job helping us figure out what needed to be kashered at the university and how to do that. They went out of their way to help and provided the Mashgiach to supervise the kitchen on site. This year they gave us a matching grant for scholarships and also to fund our development position. I like to call Natasha Dresner our special gift from the foundation. She is our organizational advisor and is helping the board by clarifying our ideas and our organizational structure.

Nora Gorenstein and Lisa Litman are bringing the PJ Library folks from around the country to the conference this year. Thank you for the help and advice you give us, and also the important work the Harold Grinspoon Foundation HGF continues to do for Jewish education. He introduced us to great educators, and helped us to raised money so that they could participate in the conference. Board of Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago: She made our case before the Chicago principals and gave us valuable access.

Besides all that, she runs an amazing Jewish learning center and creates fabulous materials that you can access on www. The board consists of five members. I am President, Jerry Benjamin is Treasurer. We meet monthly online to make decisions about finance and policy. This year we had an in-person two-day meeting in Philadelphia with Natasha Dresner of the Grinspoon Foundation.

The Persian Sphinx: Amir Abbas Hoveyda and the Riddle of the Iranian Revolution

We appreciate very much that Johanna Potts joined us as well. I am grateful to the Board for their wisdom, creativity, and hard work. The NewCAJE peer-review journal has been on hiatus for the past two years, but we are looking forward to its return this winter thanks to Stephanie Marshall stepping up to chair the journal committee, and Judi Resnick coming in as editor. As we prepare for the Hanukah family program in the chill of winter We remember them. As we teach children the four questions in the rebirth of spring We remember them. As we built a new curriculum for teaching Torah in the beauty of autumn We remember them.

At the beginning of the school year and when it ends We remember them. As long as we live, they too will live; Their work is now our responsibility and they are a part of us so we remember them. When we are weary and in need of strength We remember them. When we are lost and sick at heart We remember them. When we have joy we crave to share We remember them. When we have decisions that are difficult to make We remember them.

When we have achievements that are based on theirs We remember them. They were our teachers, our colleagues, our benefactors, our inspirations, our friends As long as we live, they too will live; for they are now a part of us as we remember them. Norma Barach, a St. Louis native and highly respected Jewish educator and writer of a popular Jewish cooking column, died suddenly at her home in Jerusalem. That same year, she married Jerry Barach. Her first teaching job was in Maryland Heights School District.

Her column for the St. The family moved to Cleveland in , and Norma taught at the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, as well as at Sunday schools and adult education classes. In , the couple and their four children made aliyah, settling in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Funeral services and burial were in Jerusalem. Rivke Klein Berkowitz, a teacher, was widely known throughout the Buffalo Jewish community. She spent nearly 60 years in the classroom, as an administrator, or behind the scenes to support schools and education. In September she, her husband, and their oldest daughter were on a plane bound for the United States when they became victims of terrorism.

At the time, she was pregnant. The TWA plane was one of 3 hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and flown to a desert airstrip in Jordan in an operation called Black September. The terrorists removed all hostages, separating 54 Jewish and other captives, and blew up the empty planes. Identified as Jewish, she was held for a week, while her husband was among 6 men held for nearly a month. Back in Buffalo, Mrs. Berkowitz devoted significant time as a volunteer, teacher, associate headmaster, and a lifetime honorary board member of Kadimah Day School, now Kadimah Academy.

The school was founded in by community leaders, including Mrs. Berkowitz also did volunteer work for the National Conference of Synagogue Youth. She and her husband served as Buffalo chapter advisers, and were voted as Advisors of the Millennium for upstate. Broadway dimmed its lights when Theo died. Close your eyes and listen to his voice: Theo was my friend for forty-four years. It was at the monthly Board meetings that I got to know Theo. Whether it was Soviet Jewry, labor union issues, civil rights, or the many challenges that faced Israel, Theo was the first to stand up and always the last to give up.

He never tired of debate, had a clear view of the line between right and wrong and often was the peacemaker when tempers flared. Theo, with his stentorian voice, was able to do the thirty-minute narration in three long takes. Cindy later came out and worked with Theo and Rita on the text. A few years later he was performing in Cleveland, so Cindy and I drove up to meet him at a deli.

We had brought a gift. My younger brother, Sheldon, had meticulously collected over Yiddish folksongs sung by our bubbe, Sarah Benjamin, of blessed memory. Bubbe had perfect recall of the songs of her childhood, and we never tired of singing with her, time-travelling back to her shtetl, Shtreshin, a tiny village in Byelorussia. It was a treasure trove of Yiddish folk music. I suppose it was chutzpah to ask Theo for so many performances, signatures on numerous fundraising letters, and contributions to endless good causes, but there was one favor that raised the bar on chutzpah.

When my brother turned fifty his wife, Miriam, threw him a big birthday bash. The house overflowed with their friends, and all had been asked to prepare a tribute to Sheldon. When it was my turn, I brought out a set of speakers, wired them to the phone, got Theo on the line and asked him to sing the Yiddish version of happy birthday to Sheldon.

We talked politics, and he wanted to know what had become of CAJE. We will miss you, Theo. Borowitz was the Sigmund L. In , he was ordained a rabbi by the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, and in received the degree of Doctor of Hebrew Letters for a dissertation in Rabbinic Thought. D from Columbia in That same year he joined the faculty of the Hebrew Union College in New York, where he continued to serve until his death. His seventeen books, countless articles, and thousands of lectures were instrumental in encouraging the American Jewish community to take theology and issues of religious faith seriously.

A Journal of Jewish Responsibility from reinforced his preeminent position as a contemporary Jewish religious thinker, public intellectual, and cultural critic. Borowitz was also an activist. In , in response to an appeal by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Augustine, Florida, for a civil rights demonstration, where they were arrested for praying in an integrated group and sitting down with black people in a restaurant. The episode was the subject of a front page article in The New York Times. In a letter co-authored by Borowitz and Albert Vorspan on behalf of the group from a St. A New Jewish Theology in the Making systematically presented and evaluated the particularistic reality of a twentieth-century tradition of Jewish religious thought.

In his two other works—How Can a Jew Speak of Faith Today and Choosing a Sex Ethic—Borowitz argued that the religious rationalism that dominated an earlier generation of Jewish thinkers had come to an end. Instead, he was attempting to address a broad swath of American Jewry who made their Jewish decisions in large measure on the basis of personal freedom. In Renewing the Covenant, one can identify the dialectical themes of Covenant and self, God and community, that Borowitz emphasized throughout his theological writings.

Borowitz affirmed there that Judaism provided a powerful communitarian ethos and sense of morality that can inform the life of the postmodern Jew. He showed how the integrity and wisdom of the Jewish ethical tradition could contribute much to a modern society that all too frequently floundered in its quest for values and direction. A couple of stories—this one by Professor Larry Hoffman: Gene noted that the vowels had been irretrievably lost and that the pronunciation was problematic, even though there were various theories about how to do so. He asked us questions and listened to us.

He waited until each one of us told him his own story about what it was like to go out of Egypt and to cross the Red Sea. And he waited until each one of us told him his own story of what it was like to stand at Mount Sinai and accept the Torah. His influence upon generations of Reform rabbis and the academic and theological worlds was profound, and will continue to be felt for years and years to come. Ruth Boynick was one of my first and most engaging choir directors who let me sing with The Temple Beth Avodah adult choir as soon as I turned I had begged her for years.

We wore mustard colored robes. They were just awful but I loved mine. I loved that it was all about what we sang, not what we wore. It took years, but I eventually became an alto.

Ruthie used to stop the choir and end every piece the exact same way: Then, lifting her strong, manicured hands towards her choir, she stood urging, nay, begging us to eke out that last drop of prayerful passion on that one final note. On and on it went, her hands shaking under the weight of the whole Jewish world for the climax of a thousand year old piece of liturgy. The choir and congregation on fire, eyes piercing the darkened sanctuary, bringing the kahal with us into spiritual ecstasy! Have a nice life. Sit down in your mustard colored robes.

I will sing her praises for the rest of my life, thank God, as an alto. While she had only come as an audience member, she shared her stories and ideas at the various workshops and swap sessions. It was the first time that she had told a story publicly. We became instant friends! That day, she won over my heart with her passion and talent for telling stories, especially her own personal stories as a child from a shtetl in Eastern Europe and coming to America. When the next Jewish Storytelling Festivals were held in and , we unanimously invited Roslyn to be a presenter.

This conviction to tell her stories and convey the importance of transmitting stories grew throughout the years. Since her death on August 7th, , Roz comes into my heart and thoughts almost every day. I still hear her laughter with the joy she got from people. She never stopped telling stories with her outrageous, passionate, and joyous style! We all loved her and loved being with her! She also attended a number of CAJE conferences where she presented workshops and performances.

Roslyn had also done considerable research about immigrants, the labor movement, and the garment industry, and she taught and told those pivotal stories about America at schools, museums, and festivals. As a master storyteller, Roslyn was a quintessential teacher conveying values and history in her most beautiful manner. She had the power to reach people in ways that transcend explanation.

It was always a joy to hear her tell stories! In addition to her live storytelling, Roslyn recorded several audiotapes, published a book of stories, and had several of her stories included in anthologies. She also worked with folklorist Steven Zeitlin and City Lore to further disseminate, through her unique voice, the history and ideals of the labor movement and the garment industry. Roz is survived by two sons: Roz had one granddaughter and one great-grandchild, plus children and grandchildren from her beloved second husband, George Perry, who predeceased her.

Mom takes her place as an honored Jewish Educator. She developed a rich curriculum of song and ritual for Jewish holidays, and wrote on the importance of involving parents in Jewish life through their children and empowering her students to be independent. Thalia Temma Yaffey Stern Broudy had a conscience, was a fighter during the Miami Beach integration of the s, and worked in the Peace Movement in the s.

She was steadfast in her vision that the Berkeley Jewish Community Center and its nursery school should have a distinctly Jewish heritage in its early years when the community struggled with whether or not Jewish culture should be part of its mission. In , she, her first husband, and others brought a lawsuit against the Miami Dade School Board, challenging the practice of prayer and Bible reading in public schools.

This case went all the way to the Supreme Court, and in they prevailed so that no public school may insist on prayer and Bible reading. This was the shell of a bus that had been blown up in a Jerusalem terror attack with great loss of life. She advertised this as an Interfaith Rally against Terrorism.

The San Francisco and Berkeley Jewish communities were opposed to bringing the bus, fearing it would increase underlying anti-semitic and anti-Israel sentiments. She and the others felt they had to learn the lessons of Germany in —not to stay silent, and to stand up to injustice. When the bus came, there were loud demonstrations by Palestinians and allies. The demonstrations got violent, and Thalia was knocked down, breaking her collarbone. She believed nonetheless that the rally was successful because people attended as well as TV and print reporters.

Mom became a scholar of childhood education, modeling the best principles of child development. A Jewish school is aware that Jewish concepts, identification, and commitment are caught as well as taught from the entire warp and woof of the fabric of the school experience and most importantly from the teacher. Her attitudes and values are the pivot point around which all experiences revolve. Values are caught every minute of every day for better and for worse. She was a Jewish educator in Miami for 20 years, and on the West Coast for 30 years. It was truly a calling. Whether teaching preschoolers how to make and love music, or teaching adults how to speak truth to power, she was an inspiration…Her intensity of feeling drew you to her like a magnet and made you, simply made you, want to get involved.

May her name be a blessing. Gerald Bubis was a memorable teacher and pioneer. Born in Winnipeg, he grew up in Minneapolis. He was especially interested in Jewish identity formation, identifying eight components in a chapter he wrote in Roberta Louis Goodman, ed. He spoke about the importance of Jewish family education, seeings an important interactive partnership between the family and the school, the synagogue and the Jewish community center. He said the goal of any education must continue to be to help produce knowledgeable Jews, but he cautioned us not to forget that knowledge is only one of the components of identity.

He also urged us to take the opportunity to celebrate the possibility of becoming Jewish educators, Rabbis, or Jewish communal leaders. May his memory be a blessing. No one remembers ever seeing Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Feldman not smiling. Not Sheila Lax, who recalls how her 11th-grade teacher would open up his home to his students, trying to help them feel closer to Judaism. He had such a good heart. When Beth Jacob closed, he went to Boston and was teaching up there.

Then he went to teach in California and Atlanta before coming back here. That was typical of him. He was very compassionate and warm. Always had a kind word and a smile on his face. His mother was a Hebrew teacher. He attended Yeshiva University and received his doctorate in education from the University of Miami. In he married Shulamit, also a Jewish educator and the other half of this power couple, and they moved to Miami the next year.

Then, for more than 30 years, Mr. He established the Judaica High School program. After his retirement, he continued teaching adult education courses, including in the many retirement communities that dot South Florida. He was a long-time supporter of CAJE, teaching at many conferences.

People could see him read the telephone book and be enthralled. He had insight, his topics were incredible. In South Florida, he was the guide, the Rebbe, the Moreh-teacher, for how many? I only know that the year I lived with the Gittelsons and the many winter times I came down for five days or a week. Gittelson as we who knew him before his Doctorate embodied Torat Chessed, by which I mean that Torah can be taught gently, caringly, without a shred of arrogance or hint of verbal abuse of students…child, adult, or Elder.

When I lived with the family, I ask again, Who can count? Menuchato Shalom — May his Olam HaBa be a peaceful one, and one where he is allowed to continue teaching. Susie Gross never grew up, and Squirrel Hill Pittsburgh should be thankful for that. She stopped teaching when her first daughter, Lesley, was born, and later returned as a substitute. When the daughters matured, Mrs. Gross waltzed into the JCC and offered her services. Her love of children? The kids in her classroom were her kids. She would give special attention to those just learning English.

And if a child came in with messy hair? As a child growing up in Huntsville, AL, Heidi was always singing. She sang from the time she got up in the morning to when she sang herself to sleep at night. Eventually, the family settled in Charleston, S. Heidi learned how to conduct—and went on to lead all the music programs at KKBE for the past 8 years. Heidi was meticulous in her pursuit of synagogue music education and had planned to obtain her HUC Cantoral Certification. At KKBE, it has taken two people to replace the hole left by her loss.

She worked hard and tirelessly to make things happen musically, for the synagogue, and her family. Carol was director of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Jewish Congress, and the development director of the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, where she also taught for ten years. Carol was an active layperson and board member with the Jewish Federation, through which she visited women refuseniks in the former Soviet Union and Ethiopian Jews in Addis Ababa.

Carol was deeply beloved throughout the Jewish community as an activist, mentor, and role model. She led our Jewish Federation in many of its most important initiatives, and did so quite unassumingly. She brought many young people into the orbit of Jewish life through her work at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute. It was her thundering voice that usually announced that she had entered the room, or a resounding laugh. She was an embodiment of love, of care, of acceptance—all in a very open person, deeply committed to the future of the Jewish people.

You could disagree with her and know that she disagreed with you, but it never came at the expense of her embrace and acceptance. Her incredible ability to engage others was one of her great gift as an educator. She was often a mother figure to the youths that attend BCI. Carol was the person whose great gift was to be a voice for Jewish life and ethics in a variety of settings. Her voice has been silenced by death, but it continues to resonate in the lives of the very many people who she touched with her wit, charm, humor, intimacy, intellect, courage, humanity and knowledge.

She will be missed, but her voice will live on. Carol was married for 43 years to Rabbi Richard N. She leaves her husband, her daughters Sarah and Elizabeth Levy, and one grandson. After serving as a staff attorney in the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission, she entered private practice concentrating in real property transactions and estate planning for nearly 50 years.

Claire was also a passionate Jewish educator, beginning this second career during her law school years, and continuing in leadership capacities in synagogue and community-based religious schools in Westchester County, NY and Connecticut. She was a regular participant in CAJE, bringing ruach and innovative educational approaches back to her local community.

Claire was active in numerous Jewish and charitable causes, and was a tireless advocate and supporter of Israel. She loved to travel with her husband, visiting Israel over 70 times, in addition to exotic destinations across six continents, always with golf clubs in tow. In addition to Myron and her three children, Claire is survived by four grandchildren whom she adored: Claire was a well-respected community member, professional, and friend, yet her proudest accomplishment was her family. This past year we lost two great musicians that have given their talents to many artists in our Jewish community.

He was an unbelieveable saxaphone player well known in Phoenix. He was struck down by cancer at the age of Both of these musicians have been featured on over 30 albums of Contemporary Jewish Music over the last 10 years. In addition they have performed live with many of us at concerts and musical services. In addition to their musical talent, Paul and Alan both brought a lot of fun and laughter to all our studio sessions, and they will both be terribly missed. Zichronam Livracha, May their memories be for a blessing.

Morris leaves his wife Michele Hardison and Paul leaves his parents. This true woman of valor enriched the lives of countless people—her family and friends, members of the various organizations of which she was a member, families with young children, and early childhood Jewish educators in Los Angeles and all over the country. Marla made friends everywhere she went. She treated everyone like family, and was a source of inspiration for all whose lives she touched.

Her son Scott remembers her as a voracious reader and an adventurous cook. Everyone joked that she could defrost a Bar Mitzvah meal from the freezer. She was a world traveler, a life-long learner, and a college instructor. Hazzan Mimi Haselkorn, her niece, wrote that Marla organized shopping expeditions, cooking experiences, and engaged everyone in singing.

She was a blessing as an early childhood educator, an amazing wife, mother, bubbe, sister, aunt, cousin, colleague, and friend. Marla was involved in the field of Jewish early childhood education for over forty years. A former parent commented that Marla created such a warm, loving environment that welcomed and nourished so many families. One of our local EC directors noted that much of the success of Jewish early education in Los Angeles is due to the work done by Marla.

Marla was also a California Early Childhood Director Mentor for ten years, sharing her extensive knowledge of and dedication to the field with new directors, thus strengthened their ability to serve children and families with the same joy, passion, and commitment to quality that she personified. I had the privilege of being mentored by Marla for a year. She was quick with a hug or a kind word, and forever welcoming. Her energy, exuberance, kindness, intelligence and love were treasures she shared freely with all. She leaves a legacy of caring and deeds to make the world a better place.

He spoke the same way to a Druze villager or a cabinet minister. He treated every person with dignity and respect. Bob was my mentor and teacher. He brought me to Haifa in to work at the school he headed for 25 years, the Leo Baeck Education Center. My actual position was advisor to North American exchange students, but when I arrived he made me cantor of the synagogue on campus, Ohel Avraham.

Along with his invitation to work at Leo Baeck came a different kind of invitation—to compose new music for the synagogue and the young Israeli Reform movement. He loved music and art, books and big ideas, the Land of Israel, and playing softball. Most of all he loved people, but he hated hypocrisy and insincerity.

He could smell it a mile away and had no patience for it. He held himself and others to a high standard, a mantle he took upon himself as a Reform rabbi and a student of Rabbi Abraham Cronbach —to emulate the prophets of Israel, to speak the truth, and to champion the cause of the powerless, a message he taught to thousands of students over the decades. Bob made inclusion his mission. He made regular trips to the villages to meet the families of his Druze students.

He was always asking questions, always searching for a better way. He was a pioneer of Reform Judaism in Israel and established two reform congregations in Haifa. His impact on Israel and Progressive Judaism was profound, but it was the sparkle in his eye, the way he loved you with that big Texas heart, that gave you strength and hope for the future. He is survived by his wife Annette and his children Ami, David, Tamar and nine grandchildren.

Rabbi Deborah Slavitt—the name brings a smile to my lips. Quite simply, she transmitted her knowledge and met people wherever they were in their journey because she loved learning and she loved Judaism. We shared many people in common, including Rabbi Neil Kominsky, whom she knew at Harvard and had performed her wedding to Evan.

At some point when she was the chaplain at Phillips Exeter, and he was the chaplain at Phillips Andover, they conspired for me to be hired at Congregation Tifereth Israel CTI in Andover, providing me the parnasa to finish rabbinical school. Throughout all of the negotiations, late night meetings, writing of curriculum, Debbie was again humble, putting the needs of the congregation and families ahead of her own. We had lots of discussions about our kids—my Sarah and her Isaac, Hannah, and Tamar.

She was so proud of all of them. I remember when Isaac went into the Coast Guard and when he graduated. And I think it was the first house I was ever in where the kids called on their cell phones from one floor to the other! Now I admit to doing that all the time. At Congregation Beth Israel, she inspired people to learn.

There was always learning, and gentleness and compassion and warmth. When I moved to Elgin, we lost touch somewhat, but I was pleased when a member of the congregation here needed a rabbi in South Carolina to perform a wedding. Debbie filled the bill with her usual warmth, humor, and grace—a great wedding, I am told.

When in Boston, we would meet for coffee. She taught me all her coffee haunts in Andover.

It included a simple dinner, and the families loved that it provided a way to engage Jewishly, celebrate Shabbat, and not stress about food. When I inherited the program, together with the families we wrote a Tsaadim siddur, family education at its best. I am currently in a similar project and I think of Debbie as I write. She helped so many families with young children enjoy Shabbat To do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with G-d.

In their bulletin, the congregation said: It was the first time I saw a guitar played in synagogue, and, needless to say, it had a powerful influence on my life and career. A few years later I studied voice with Ray, and he became a mentor and friend. Ray was one of the architects of the modern Reform cantorate. He was brash and bold, never hesitating to challenge those in power if he felt that cantors were not being treated with dignity and fairness. For over 20 years he was director of the Association of Certified Cantors and that whole time he fought for the idea that the rabbi and cantor are partners in their clergy work in a congregation.

As a voice teacher he was ahead of his time, basing his techniques on physiology and science. He did a doctorate and studied how a person can protect their voice and use it their whole lives as he did. As a composer on the cutting edge of contemporary synagogue music, he always remained connected to Jewish tradition and his calling as a cantor. His music reflected his personality; it was also brash and bold, born of insights that were rare for a cantor of his generation, and which he expressed in the liner notes to Edge of Freedom: I realized after almost twenty years of teaching them the sound of my God, that I must listen to the sound of theirs.

I dared enter their world aware that I may be respectfully tolerated, amusingly indulged or murmuringly ignored. It may be what happened when their God met mine. Neely Snyder died on August 10th, , at the age of Neely touched everyone she met and was truly beloved in her community. She brought community into our lives in real ways that benefited people all around her.

And we were blessed to have her as a colleague and to witness that miracle of what she brought to the world. She was my mentor, my adviser, my collaborator. No one person could have achieved all that Neely accomplish in her all-too-short life. She was instrumental in organizing Informal Jewish Educators in day schools so that we could gather and learn from each other as a professional cohort in a way that had not been done before.

About the Book

She and her family were always sharing their lives with every part of the community. For more info, and to donate, go to associated. As our shock subsided after the 6 Day War and we realized Israel had been in danger of annihilation, a generation of college students began to search for their Jewish roots. We were idealistic, used to working towards giving blacks their power and identity, and used to fighting against an unjust war in Vietnam, but certainly wandering and searching for our own identity.

To move forward, we needed to meet Jews, older than ourselves, who were comfortable and sure in their Jewish identities and still shared our political concerns. Max Ticktin was one of those important teachers. A student of Heschel and Kaplan, Max was a rabbi who found his first pulpit in the Hillel of the University of Wisconsin. Later, he went to the Hillel of the University of Chicago.

He was an expert in empowering young adults, and I suspect he had a fondness for the idealism of that age group. He became not the rabbi of that community, but their mentor, teacher, source of wisdom both Jewish and practical. Max and Esther were also shepherds of their community, caring for their friends with compassion. He was great with the kids— he was the older guy with candy in his pocket to hand out to the kids as the Torah came around. He and Esther taught the kids at the Farbrangen Heder. He was great with searchers—even those who did not know what they were searching for.

He would show people how their soul connected to their Judaism—whether through their music or their politics or through whatever door he could lead them too, but they never thought they were being led—only shown the way to exactly what they had been looking for all along. He danced with us when we rejoiced, and held our community in his hands when we mourned.

In so many ways, Max filled in the missing gaps of our knowledge, but never by making us feel less than. Max had an unshakeable moral compass. He did what he believed was the right thing to do. He did not believe that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories would be wise for Zionist ideology. He was a staunch Zionist—he and Esther had joined the Haganah in —but in he joined Breira, a group that called for Israel to make territorial concessions and to recognize the legitimacy of Palestinian national aspiration. Max was the Jewish grandfather most of us never had.

He spoke Yiddish at us. Jaye Johnson Sep 2, Raman Frey Sep 1, IanSanders Sep 2, Mary Mon Sep 1, Thomas Stachl in Walk of Growth Sep 2, Tim Wasem Sep 2, Michael Spotts Sep 1, Courtney Wilbur Sep 1, Sean Thorton Sep 2, MontessoriEdTech Sep 2, Sarah Mathieson Sep 2, Homer Sim Sep 2, Brett Neese Sep 1, Quote Bard Sep 2, Better Humans is a collection of the world's most trustworthy writing on human potential and self improvement by coaches, academics, and aggressive self-experimenters. Articles are based on deep personal experience, science, and research.

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