Olay Olay Olay Olay: Jewish Peoplehood and the Mondial (World Cup)

Last Updated on Monday, 14 June 2010 08:51 Written by bryfy Monday, 14 June 2010 08:51

Recently I was asked about one of my favorite sites in Israel and why it meant so much to me. It took a few moments but then I recalled a place in Israel that always makes me smile – the soccer pitch at Kiriat Moriah in Jerusalem.

This pitch (if you can call it that) is a broken up piece of asphalt with barely visible markings and nets with gaps in them the size of soccer balls. And for those of you who know Kiriat Moriah, and have lived there and eaten in her cafeteria, you may be even more surprised with my choice of favorite Israeli site.

But I hearken back once again to 1990 and World Cup fever had descended on all of us. As an Australian growing up on Aussie Rules and cricket I was rather surprised to learn that there was in fact a world sport and that involved a round ball. But after the initial shock I began to learn a thing or two. Argentineans and Brazilians, who had been best of friends for many months, could come to blows during a soccer match. Grown men could cry inconsolably as never heard of before Cameroon defeated their heroes. And everyone who wasn’t British seemed to despise England.

Corn Chowder and Sticky Experiential Jewish Education

Last Updated on Tuesday, 1 June 2010 01:08 Written by bryfy Tuesday, 1 June 2010 01:08

“There was my good friend Betsy and there was also Vera. The room was dark and we turned the benches over as we sat on the floor and said the prayers. I  fasted on Tisha B’Av but only when I was at camp. And then, when the fast was over, we ate corn chowder.”

This quote above was from Susan (not her real name) telling us about Tisha B’Av as a camper. Now a camp director, the Tisha B’Av that Susan described, as if it took place just last summer, actually occurred 45 years ago. As she retold the story her eyes closed, her voice quivered a bit and everyone else in the room was enraptured by her story.

Last week I had the opportunity to speak at the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Cornerstone training. I was conducting a session about the “challenge” of  experiential Jewish education and an amazing thing happened. We had began by speaking about great Jewish experiences that we had. Those memories that really stick with us. One of the reasons that I offered that certain episodes in our life “stick” is because we had to go through some sort of challenging experience in order to have them consolidated within our own learning experience. I learn a new skill, I struggle with it, I finally work it out, eventually I might master it, then I reflect upon it – and I have learned. Professor Joseph Reimer at Brandeis University has also been doing some work around stickiness in Jewish education – there is definitely more that we can learn from the life’s broader disciplines.

But when Susan spoke something else happened. There was an emotion in the room. Not just the emotion that everyone felt for Susan as she recalled such a powerful memory. But an emotion that within this room, we all had the power to create these experiences – that would last with our campers, our students, our chanichim for 45 years and beyond.

What makes certain experiences stick and others fade?

The Revolution Before Our Eyes

Last Updated on Thursday, 27 May 2010 07:58 Written by bryfy Thursday, 27 May 2010 07:57

The following post appeared in eJewishphilanthropy and was catalyzed by a comment from a reader of this blog (dlevy) to a prior posting.

Historically speaking there are many characteristics of a revolution. Archetypal revolutions involve transformation brought about by a major groundswell of people. Most revolutions have a central leader (or leaders), and almost all have a clear and articulated vision. The Jewish world has gone through several revolutions. Exemplars of Jewish revolutions include the establishment of Yavneh as a center of Jewish learning after the destruction of the Second Temple; the Haskalah (Enlightenment) and its various offshoot movements in 18th century Europe; and Zionism.

It is my contention that we are now in the midst of another major revolution in Jewish life. Unlike classic revolutions there is no single leader or even a few leading figures. It is however lead by masses of people, best categorized as Time Magazine’s 2006 person of the year – You! This particular revolution also lacks an articulated vision, because by its very nature it is fragmented. Nevertheless its impact is universal and it is leading to the greatest transformation in Jewish life in more than a century.