I am sitting with the MetroWest delegation to the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) General Assembly (GA) in Denver, listening to Rabbi Elie Kaunfer teach about opening up a dialogue about what Israel education and engagement can be. 

 

This has been a constant theme at this GA. And I bet that you didn't know that MetroWest is enrolling participants right now into one of the country’s cutting-edge programs in Israel education.

 

One of the great things about our community is how many wonderful programs we have available for building Jewish knowledge; one of our challenges is making sure we get the word out. So this is just a brief post to tell you about the opportunity to engage with the renowned Shalom Hartman Institute's nine-session series titled "Foundations for a New Relationship."

 

The goal of these sessions is to engage in, in fact wrestle with, our relationship with Israel, based on text study and discussion. If you are interested in an open discussion about how our heritage informs our current lives as Jews, this is the class for you.

 

And here's another truly MetroWest aspect to this class: it is a model of religious pluralism, because it is being co-taught by Rabbi Menashe East of the Orthodox Mount Freedom Jewish Center, Rabbi Amy Small of the Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Hatikvah, and Rabbi David Nesson of the Conservative Morristown Jewish Center.

 

This exciting journey begins on December 15th. I look forward to seeing you there.

 

More about the GA when I get back!

 

All the best,

Leslie