In celebration of ROI's 5th anniversary, the ROI team led by Lynn Schusterman has decided to change things up a little this year: The 2010 ROI Summit will be a gathering for current members of the ROI Community. In other words, if you have participated in a past ROI Summit or Regional Gathering, or were a Charlie Award recipient, you are eligible to apply for participation in this special 5th anniversary ROI Summit.
March 19-20 is the National Day of Unplugging, in which everyone is being encouraged to relinquish the hold that technology has on them and re-engage in the offline world. A group of Jewish artists created the Sabbath Manifesto, and its ten core principles, as part of a search for "a modern way to observe a weekly day of rest. The group are all members of Reboot, a non-profit group designed to “reboot” the cultures, traditions and rituals of Jewish life."
The ten principles of the Sabbath Manifesto are enumerated on their site and include ways to create a meaningful Shabbat experience, whatever a person's religious level: avoid technology, connect with loved ones, nurture your health, get outside, avoid commerce, light candles, drink wine, eat bread, find silence and give back.
This video explains some of the reasons to unplug - it was filmed by Liz Nord and features Michelle Collins (both ROI 2009).
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In a nutshell, Itza Mitzva is a liberal mitzvot study group that I lead once a month with my rabbi in Chicago. The first Wednesday of the month, we head to Matilda, my favorite bar, and tackle a mitzva or issue from a Jewish perspective. We pick the topic - past topics have included kaddish, mikva, kashrut, preparing for High Holy Days, abortion and modern sexual ethics. Itza Mitzva is supported by an ROI grant and was my project in both 2007 and 2009.
I started Itza Mitzva in 2006 after a well-documented blog fight with CK of Jewlicious. Our fight? Where can Reform Jews learn about mitzvot. I realized most adult Reform Jews didn't take Intro to Judaism like I did, and that my synagogue lacked this opportunity. I asked Rabbi Michael Zedek if he would teach a mitzva study group and we've been meeting ever since. ROI's Speakers Bureau helped to fund my trip to Los Angeles and Long Beach for Jewlicious Festival 6.0, so I could go and teach college students about Itza Mitzva. While I was there I led a session of Itza and then spoke on a panel about DIY (do-it-yourself) learning.
How does Itza work?
1. What mitzva? We bounce around between specific mitzvot, questions of observance, holiday education and bigger issues in society.
2. What does the Torah say? Since I'm blessed with a rabbi to co-lead the group, my responsibility is only organizing and topic-picking. He does the preparation and teaching. If you don't have a rabbi, find where the mitzva is discussed in the Torah and other Jewish texts.
3. How could it be observed? If your group doesn't know how the mitzva would be observed, it is important to talk about how. How do you put on tefillin? How do you say kaddish? How do you prepare for Passover?
4. Why might or might not a liberal Jew choose to observe this mitzva? Since we are approaching our mitzva study from a Reform perspective, we each decide "Is this meaningful to me?" and then whether to observe it or not. Our rabbi helps us understand why the mitzva may be more or less common among our peers and helps us get to a place where we can make an informed choice about observance.
At Jewlicious 6.0, Rabbi Drew Kaplan joined me as co-leader and we talked about Shabbat. I shared what I could remember from Torah, Rabbi Drew added a bit more to the conversation, and then as a group we talked about how we observe Shabbat, what is meaningful to each of us and what we might do in the future.
On the DIY panel, I talked about how to faciliate Itza Mitzva, why we started the group and why we continue to meet month after month. I also encouraged people to take the idea and run with it.
If you would like to replicate Itza Mitzva in your community, I can send you the official logo and help you get things started. Be in touch with me at
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.
Leah Jones is the owner of Natiiv Arts & Media where she is a social media coach for rockers and rabbis. She's also the blogger behind Accidentally Jewish.
The warmth emanating from the conference room of the Conti Hotel in Vilnius stood in stark contrast to the damp weather outside. Just steps away from the site of the Vilnius Ghetto, remnants of which can still be found, more than 30 young Jewish activists from across Europe were miraculously networking, studying and sharing their dreams for the Jewish future.
As I listened to their conversations, it quickly became clear why the conference organizers had decided to hold this meeting in Lithuania: There is no place in the world quite like Vilnius, once home to one of the largest and most respected Jewish communities in the world.
Check out Leadel's video interview with cartoonist Chari Pere (ROI '09), to find out more about what inspires her work, including the Unmasked Comics project that she co-founded with Inbal Freund-Novick (ROI '08).
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Over a month has passed since my super-short visit to the City of the Angels as a participant in the three-day Jewish marathon known as “LimmudLA”. Only now, while enjoying a hour-long break from all the chaos and the traffic of Mexico City, can I finally think about how this weekend visit to Jewish LA has influenced me.
Limmud LA is a melting pot for all types of Jews, ranging from Israeli ultra-Hassidic black-hat Orthodox Jews to the San Francisco flower-power renewal Jews. The spectrum is so wide that it doesn´t even matter if someone considers himself Jewish or not, since the very definition of “Jewish” is a topic that remain in constant discussion. Everyone (and by “everyone,” I really mean everyone) came together to learn from each other, under the tenet that every Jew can say something of importance about Judaism regardless of their age, background, sex, gender or political views.
The result of this horizontal and egalitarian take on Jewish education is an all-day, ongoing series of debates and chats that prolong themselves into the wee-hours of the morning, giving new meaning to the words “Jewish discussion” (and boy, do we know what those words mean!).
I had heard much about Limmud from fellow ROIers, and a few weeks before the conference I was both expectant and eager about submerging myself in the eclectic waters of the Jewish sub-culture of LA. The interesting thing about my eagerness was that, locally, I was among the very few who felt it. There was an noticeable lack of Mexicans (three or four, tops) in the actual convention. Which, in a sense, was both an advantage and a drawback.
I participated as a speaker in the “Innovation Ecosystem” series, a panel organized by Joshua Avedon, from Jumpstart, that managed to gather the directors and promoters of many new Jewish grassroots organizations, from Moishe House to IKAR. It was interesting to hear, in the same panel that I was on, Sam Yerbi, Melissa Balaban and Dov Gartenberg, whose innovative work was truly a source of motivation (even if it takes places so far away from where I usually am).
But what impressed me the most was the fact that people of all ages and backgrounds got so psyched about all the new NGOs that were setting up shop in Mexico City. Both the Jewish Salons and Moishe House are initiatives that seem to spark an almost immediate interest in any crowd: however, when it comes to these initiatives setting up on Latin American soil (not to mention, in the “dark” and “scary” environment of Mexico City), the interest doubles, as if doing something innovative and Jewish in Spanish was something out-of-this-world. I felt extremely exotic.
I particularly enjoyed meeting fellow ROIer Matt Bar, who, apart from having an incredible project called Bibleraps [LimmudLA reflections by project founder Matt Bar to come later this week], is also a major in philosophy who's obsessed, as I am, with Nietzsche (and his relationship with the Jews). I can already see most of the discussions we had during those days somehow filtering and impregnating the whole vibe of our local Jewish Salons events.
The metaphor, so popular nowadays, of intellectual (and international) cross-pollination, has helped me understand the importance of contemporary communications and multicultural dialogue on an intimate and much more personal level. This is one of the key concepts that has been engraved in my mind since the ROI Summit of last summer and I think that the Jewish Salons project makes a pretty good job of taking this concept to another level. This is why even LA Jews were so drawn to the whole idea of Salons (even if it´s not meant for the US): it´s an open opportunity to connect their take on local Judaism with the wide, plural array of cultural (and Jewish) manifestations taking place in the rest of the world.
Want to put yourself on the global Jewish innovation map? Whether you're a social enterprise or a nonprofit initiative, you can become part of the growing movement of Jewish innovation by registering for the 2010 Survey of New Jewish Initiatives, launched last week by Jumpstart, The Natan Fund, and the Samuel Bronfman Foundation. The 2010 survey will also expand beyond the U.S., and cover Canada and, in a special partnership with the UK's Pears Foundation and the ROI Community of Young Jewish Innovators, extend to include initiatives in Europe. (If you or another leader of your venture hasn't already received an invitation, please register to take the survey; you may also recommend a project at: http://2010survey.jewishecosystem.org/)
"New initiatives, whether they are independent startups or intrepreneurial ventures at established institutions, are the building blocks for 21st-century Judaism," said Shawn Landres, co-founder and CEO of Jumpstart. "By mapping the field and profiling its leaders, we can anticipate new directions for our communities and focus our efforts where support is most needed."
"The report from the previous survey changed the conversation about innovation within the Jewish world,” said Jumpstart co-founder and COO Joshua Avedon. “The leaders who take this year's survey will be able to make the case to their partners, constituents and funders that they are shaping Jewish life for the 21st century."
Based on the 2008 Survey of New Jewish Organizations and the research that yielded the concept of an Innovation Ecosystem, the 2010 survey focuses on understanding the leaders of new Jewish initiatives, in addition to documenting key changes since the previous survey was conducted in November-December 2008. The survey is open to all Jewish startups, regardless of budget size; reflecting new trends in social innovation, it also is open to non-tax-exempt social enterprises.
The survey's expansion to Canada and Europe marks the first-ever transatlantic census of innovative and entrepreneurial Jewish ventures. Jumpstart expressed a hope to expand globally next year, to include Israel and countries in Latin America. Israeli and Latin American organizations should also register for the survey.
"The Innovation Ecosystem report has served as a rallying point for innovators and their supporters," said Felicia Herman, executive director of The Natan Fund. "By repeating the survey now, and extending its international reach, especially in the wake of the economic crisis, we hope to help current and potential funders and nonprofit leaders make data-driven decisions that will strengthen 21st-century Jewish life."
David Shor, an entertainment executive who holds the rights to make a musical based on “Sleepless in Seattle,” said that he began sending “20 Things to Do With Matzah” via e-mail to friends as a holiday greeting, and then began corresponding over the Facebook website with Ms. Citrin, who is part of the Brooklyn indie music scene and whose other popular YouTube pieces include “Rosh Hashanah Girl.”
He eventually tapped her to help write the music and lyrics, and she brought in another colleague, Josh Nelson, a musician who is a former director of jazz ensembles at Boston University.
This is just a quick update to let you know that we are off to great start over here in Vilnius at the ROI-Paideia European gathering. Beto and Brachi (from Paideia) did an amazing job with all the preparations and naturally took on their leading roles as the gathering got underway.
We began this morning with an intense staff training meeting where we reviewed the schedule and shared facilitation methods. Once all the participants arrived and registered, we kicked off the gathering with a series of interactive high-energy ice-breakers led by Beto and Brachi. We then broke out into small group discussions that will be continuing throughout the gathering. Following dinner, we held the official opening where Barbara Spectre and I spoke on behalf of our respective organizations. Then the President of the Lithuanian Jewish community welcomed us with an emotional speech in Yiddish, and Simon Gurevich, the impressive 28-year-old executive director of the community gave a welcome that was nothing short of a hilarious stand-up comedy act! The event also featured musical interludes by our Polish participant, Piotr, who composes Jewish jazz music. The energy is running high and people are excited to dive-into the intensive day of programming that is planned for tomorrow.
We were also all very relieved and happy to finally greet No’a, who deserves a medal for enduring a grueling day of Polish mishaps - she had been stuck in Warsaw for about 8 hours as a result of the communication tower at the airport going dark. Thank goodness she's here now!
More updates soon, as the gathering continues in Vilnius...
Everywhere I went this weekend at LimmudLA, I heard everyone - adults, parents, kids, singles - talking about how amazing Bible Raps was, enabling the Limmudniks to participate in this practically instant original rap video, titled "Learn, Baby, Learn" (which was also the slogan on the LimmudLA t-shirts).
Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!
March 19-20 is the National Day of Unplugging, in which everyone is being encouraged to relinquish the hold that technology has on them and re-engage in the offline world. A group of Jewish artists created
Over a month has passed since my super-short visit to the City of the Angels as a participant in the three-day Jewish marathon known as “
Want to put yourself on the global Jewish innovation map? Whether you're a social enterprise or a nonprofit initiative, you can become part of the growing movement of Jewish innovation by registering for the 2010 Survey of New Jewish Initiatives, launched last week by 
