In this edition of the Peoplehood Papers we decided to explore the relations between millennials and Peoplehood through the practical lens of the Peoplehood nurturing work in that age group. We engaged three groups of stake holders in this conversation: senior professionals of organizations focusing on millennials, educators and millennials themselves. Some key questions we asked were: • What are…
The author brings her experience with engaging unaffiliated young Jewish adults and argues that one key element of fostering Jewish Peoplehood is through the building of meaningful relationship between individuals from different backgrounds.
In this collection, 20 short articles grapple with the following questions: “What does Peoplehood mean? Why is it important? How do we nurture it?” It is interesting to note that the younger the age of the contributors the stronger the shift from the content of Peoplehood to the nature of the relations it entails. While…
Friedman reflects on the tension of universalism and particularism in Israel's current ethical dilemma surrounding whether to absorb African refugees into its population. She expands the tension to her work as coordinator of Siach, a network of international Jewish social justice and environmental professionals. She uses an upcoming conference in Budapest of Jewish social justice…
Josh Feigelson suggests addressing the issue posed in this volume through "Big Questions," Big which provide the possibility of creating new dynamics and new paradigms. “If we are to renew a sense of peoplehood, we have to renew a language and ethic of responsibility. And doing that starts with asking bigger questions … that animate…
This (12th) volume of the Peoplehood Papers "grapples with the tension between sustaining the Jewish People and contributing to Universal goals. Finding new ways of contributing to the world has become part of the search for a new meaning for being Jewish. The Jewish people are seeking meaningful answers to the question, "why Jewish" or…
Looking back on an article she wrote almost a decade ago (“The Mitzvot of Peoplehood”) where she posed the question, “I’m a member of the Jewish People, so what should I do when I wake up in the morning?”, Wilf offers five potential avenues of action to nurture a sense of belonging to a Jewish…
Schwarz reports on the program he directs, the Rene Cassin Fellowship Program (RCFP), a yearlong program on Judaism and human rights for young adults with hubs in New York, London and Jerusalem. He believes that the "lesson for those who care about strengthening the Jewish people is…to meet today's young adults where they are at…
Schusterman shares her family foundation's approach towards the development of a virtuous cycle of vibrant Jewish life. "If we are successful, we will see a time when the vast majority of young people readily participate in Jewish life, draw on Jewish values to inform their worldviews and take on leadership roles in their communities. We…
Porat is the director of the NY-IL connections office of the UJA Federation of New York, which oversees joint programs that partner NY and Israel-based institutions, with the aim of enhancing connections and nurturing Jewish Peoplehood. All programs include a mifgash (encounter) element. He highlights what happens as a result of including a mifgash experience…
Goldwater and Ravid focus their response broadly on education. They introduce the Toolkit for Peoplehood Education, acknowledging that there is an identity crisis requiring a holistic educational approach, facilitated by educators as key change agents for assuring a strong and rich Jewish collective future. It reflects their conviction that the response should be practical, proactive…
In responding to the task at hand of how to change the Jewish landscape to one that is nuturing to the collective, Brown proposes bringing a national version of Limmud to the United States. He believes that a strong, national Limmud is the perfect vehicle to connect, and engage young American Jewish adults in Jewish…
When the challenges of Jewish Peoplehood emerged in the Jewish world, most efforts went into trying to understand the meaning and significance of Jewish Peoplehood in the present. Some lead questions included: what does peoplehood mean today? Why is it important? How do we define it? Later, Jewish organizations and leaders asked: How do we…
Using the language of rock music, Arnoff suggests that in order to help the individual view Jewish communities as compelling enough to join, the Jewish educator must move beyond the personal and facilitate "a community comprised of individuals with rich, meaningful experience." He notes that, "navigating peoplehood requires a multidimensional, pluralistic map to the biblical…
Israel education is a persistent dilemma in Jewish education with practices that fail to inspire or make the case that Israel is integral to contemporary American Jewish life. This book offers a new strategy and an educational paradigm shift for the success of Israel education in the Diaspora.
In this short pamphlet, published by Beit Hatfutsot, Shlomi Ravid offers a reinterpretation of the narrative of the State of Israel as “the vision and venture of the Jewish people”, in order to frame the conversation about the future of Israel from a Peoplehood perspective. The pamphlet addresses the questions of: • What is my relationship,…
