Original Article Published On The Jewish Ledger

WOODBRIDGE — Rabbi Joel Hoffman’s physical and spiritual journey has included stops in Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Israel.

Now, Hoffman comes to New Haven as the new director of the Department of Jewish Education for the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven.

Hoffman succeeds Sydney A. Perry, longtime DJE director who was appointed executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven last year.

Although Hoffman isn’t set to begin his work as director until March 1, he has already been spotted teaching a class on a recent Shabbat morning at a neighborhood synagogue.

“Rabbi Hoffman is committed to Jewish education and making people — kids and adults — want to learn more, attend more, connect more and want to love their Judaism. Rabbi Hoffman embodies and embraces all of these thing,” notes Dr. Norman Ravski, chairperson of the DJE search committee.

“One thing that stood out about Rabbi Hoffman was the fact that he asked us our vision before we even asked him his vision, a question

asked of each candidate,” reports Ravski. “Hoffman is committed to working with the DJE board and all constituent groups-day schools, Hebrew schools, and others.”

Hoffman, his wife Beth and their three young children – two-year-old twins, Avi and Abi, and six-months-old, Akiva n are settling into their new home in New Haven. Hoffman says he is ready to take over the reigns of the already vital Jewish education department.

“Sydney Perry, the previous DJE director, has developed a wonderful DJE,” Hoffman said. “As the new director, my primary role is to apply my knowledge, experiences and skills in doing the necessary tweaking to keep DJE at the forefront of Jewish community education,” reports Hoffman.

Hoffman said his goals for the DJE are “to expand the DJE’s learning opportunities for adults, as well as to increase our partnerships with area institutions, and to increase the exposure and participation level of the DJE’s programs and services.”

A Spiritual Journey

Rabbi Hoffman grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where he was “very involved” in United Synagogue Youth (USY).

“My experience in USY was so important. I think involvement in Jewish youth groups – any youth group, of any denomination or affiliation is so important for Jewish identity,” notes Hoffman.

Hoffman received a B.A. from the University of Illinois where he played ice hockey, and spent a semester studying in Israel at Tel Aviv University. Hoffman received masters of arts degrees in both Jewish Philosophy from Spertus College of Jewish Studies in Chicago, and in Jewish Education from Gratz College in Philadelphia.

In what Hoffman describes as a “multi-year spiritual journey,” he studied with Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox rabbis. Hoffman spent three years studying in Israel, mostly at Yeshivat Darche Noam/Shapell’s Yeshiva, and received his rabbinic ordination.

The personable Hoffman has already spent a lifetime in Jewish education.

Early in his career, Hoffman worked as a classroom teacher and informal Jewish educator. In St. Louis, he served as director of education at the Central Agency for Jewish Education. In this capacity, he directed a community Hebrew school, ran shabbatons, and taught adult education classes.

As director of the Department of Jewish Education in New Orleans, Hoffman provided educational leadership, facilitating a community needs assessment, strategic planning for the community Hebrew school, and providing for the Judaic studies needs of the community day school.

Dr. Ravski acknowledged that it can be difficult replacing a long-term director.

“Sydney Perry was the DJE director for more than 18 years, and these are big shoes to fill,” noted Ravski.

Original Article Published On The Jewish Ledger

Teenagers in Westport, Wilton, Weston and Norwalk are learning the true meaning of (the song lyrics) “You’ve Got A Friend.” Every week, a team of two teenagers visits with their same “special friend” in his or her home as part of the “Home With Friends” program.

Zach Zorfas of Westport spends an hour or more every Monday afternoon with his 11-year-old Weston “friend.”

“I thought it would be good thing to do,” reports Zorfas, an 11th grader at Staples High School in Westport. “We do homework, activities, play video games. My friend is happy to have someone to play with and his parents are extremely grateful when we come.”

Home With Friends is part of the Circle of Friends Program, started in September 2004, for children with special needs and is a project of Beth Israel of Westport/Norwalk and the Schneerson Center for Jewish Life Connecticut. Freida Hecht, director of the Circle of Friends Program and wife of Beth Israel’s Rabbi, Yehoshua Hecht, tells her teen volunteers, “You will give a lot, and you will get even more!”

Hecht recounts how volunteers exhibit a sense of maturity and responsibility and feel so needed.

“It puts everything in perspective,” notes Rebbetzin Hecht. “Everything is a blessing.” Hecht reports that the Circle of Friends Program has 60 volunteers and 30 participants with special needs.

“We have participants from ages 4-16 – and we are getting calls all the

time,” notes Hecht proudly. “People call and ask if we are full. We are never full! We are always looking for new kids.” Hecht has worked hard to spread the word; she has visited public schools, learning centers, synagogues and other Jewish organizations, and she has assembled an advisory committee of five professionals.

The Circle of Friends Program also offers the Children’s Circle, a respite program held one Sunday a month.

“Parents can leave their child in the hands of qualified professionals and loving volunteers,” reports Hecht. “He or she will be with a teen friend and enjoy music, art, sports and story time, and he or she will learn about their Jewish heritage, holidays and traditions.”

The Jewish Holiday Program offers children with special needs, parents, siblings and teen volunteers an opportunity to share Jewish holidays together. A Tu B’Shevat program of music, crafts and sports taught participants about the Jewish New Year for Trees. A Purim program is scheduled for March 13.

Rabbi and Rebbetzin Hecht have been serving Beth Israel Synagogue and the larger community for 20 years. While the synagogue is affiliated with the Orthodox Union and its literature refers to it as “A Modern House of

Torah and Tradition – serving the communities of Westport, Weston, Wilton and Norwalk,” the Hechts are Lubavitchers and are clearly influenced by the teachings of the Rebbe.

Rebbetzin Hecht notes that her husband “has always taken children with special needs in to the Hebrew School and has prepared them for bar and bat mitzvah. We believe that “No Child Shall Be Left Behind!” Rabbi Hecht states passionately, “People with special needs often feel abandoned, ostracized and left out through no fault of their own. Our programs are a wonderful way for a community shul to say, Look – this is part of our community. We realize your child as special needs, but he or she is a special diamond – with a soul, a Yiddishe neshamah.. No child shall be left behind.” The Circle of Friends Program, as well as the range of programs at Beth Israel and the Schneerson

Center for Jewish Life – from Aleph Bet Preschool, to Talmud Torah Hebrew School, Sunday Teen Torah Youth Group, Mommy and Me Program, Junior Congregation and various holiday programs are some of the ways the Hechts and the shul are living this motto.
Beth Israel Synagogue is located at 40 King Street in Norwalk, CT., (http://www.bethisraelct.org), Tel: 203-866-0534; Call Rebbetzin

Hecht at the same number or email her at friendship@snet.net for information about Circle of Friends and to learn about teen volunteer opportunities.

Original Article Published On The Jewish Ledger

SNEC director builds people-to-people relationships with Israel

Laura Campbell is the new executive director of the Southern New England Consortium (SNEC), a network of 13 Jewish Federations in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts.

She grew up in Orange, attended synagogue at Mishkan Israel and graduated from the Ezra Academy, the school that her two sons, ages 10 and 7, attend.

Early in her career, she worked for CBS in New York City as a financial analyst in their operation’s division. Upon completing her MBA at New York University, Campbell returned to New Haven, where she has held a number of jobs serving the Jewish community. Campbell notes that she “opened the new JCC building” approximately ten years ago. She served as membership director for the JCC. In 1993, she began working for the Jewish Federation, where she has worked on special projects for the Department of Jewish Education, and manages the Eder Leadership Institute.

She recently spoke with the Ledger about exciting projects and developments with our partnership community of Afula and Gilboa in Israel.

Q: What is the goal of SNEC?

A: SNEC is committed to establishing relationships with the people of Israel’s Afula-Gilboa region by sharing in the development of mutually beneficial programs and by participating meaningfully in the budgeting and distribution of Partnership 2000 funds through the Joint Steering Committee. Our current SNEC president and chairperson is Nancy Mimoun.

Q: Can you tell us a little about Partnership 2000.
A: The Jewish Agency’s Israel Department launched Partnership 2000 in 1994, together with the United Jewish Communities and Keren Hayesod/UIA.

Partnership 2000 links Jewish communities abroad and regions in Israel in a mutual effort to strengthen Israeli society, while promoting unity and Jewish identity. Partnership 2000 marks a noticeable transition from the traditional Project Renewal twinning model, in which one side gives and the other side receives. In this model, decision-making is a joint process, and it creates a more shared, if not equal forum, for Israeli and American Jews to learn, grow and build their communities together.

Q: What are the primary goals of Partnership 2000?

A: To build people to people relationships between Jewish communities in the Diaspora and Jews in Israel To create programs that mutually benefit partners. To strengthen Israeli partnership regions through people-to-people and social service programs. To use Partnership programs and relationships as a campaign tool for Federations.

Q: How many regions in Israel and in the Diaspora participate? What are some areas of collaboration between Israeli and Diaspora communities?

A: To date, 42 regions in Israel have been matched with 550 Diaspora communities. Nearly every region combines urban centers with neighboring rural communities. The principal categories for intervention are immigrant absorption and population growth, job creation, and human needs.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about the Afula-Gilboa region and the people who live there?

A: The city of Afula is the capital of the Jezreel Valley. There are 40,000 people living in Afula; 13,000 people (33% of the population) are new immigrants 4,000 are from Ethiopia and 9,000 are from the Former Soviet Union. The Afula industrial area included a number of large factories, there are 22 schools in Afula (serving about 10,000 students), and HaEmek Medical Center serves the population of the entire area. The Gilboa region is one of the most beautiful in the country and includes all forms of rural settlements including kibbutzim and community settlements. There are 32 settlements in the Gilboa Regional Council, including five Arab villages. Arab villages comprise 40 percent of the population of Gilboa.

Q: What are some of the priorities for SNEC in the Afula-Gilboa region?
A: We have several major goals, including assisting newcomers to

Israel, encouraging cooperation between the city of Afula and surrounding Gilboa region of eight kibbutzim, 15 moshavim and five Arab villages, and establishing relationships with partners within the consortium. Partnership priorities include peaceful coexistence (between Israeli Arabs and Jews), integration of diverse groups, and “the living bridge.” Living bridge projects create connections between group members from the SNEC communities, and the Afula-Gilboa region. Some living bridge projects include the Young Emissaries, the Teacher Exchange/Cultural Development project, and Mifgash.

Q: Can you tell us about the recent Mifgash and about the Young Emissaries Program?

A: We are very excited about the recent Mifgash. Fifty teenagers from New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, the Greater Stamford area and Western Connecticut participated in a incredible endeavor to Israel over winter break. They spent time in the region, living with families, visiting their schools, living their life. And the Israelis and Americans spent Shabbat together in Jerusalem. Programs like this are the best and easiest ways to make connections with our sister cities, to make a difference in Afula-Gilboa, and to bring Israel alive here. We are hoping that next year, teenagers from Afula-Gilboa will come here for a mifgash. We are also excited about the Young Emissaries Program. Young emissaries come to Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island to work and share in our communities in the year before their army service. It was exciting when our mifgash participants got to see these shlichim in Israel – especially since some of them had stayed in their communities and in their homes! Our teenagers got to stay with their families. We hope to have 14 young emissaries next year, serving in seven communities.

Q: What are some of the current programs and projects of SNEC and of the Afula-Gilboa region?

A: Current projects we fund in Afula-Gilboa include a teen information and guidance center; a Women’s Business forum; Unistream, a business initiative center for Arab and Jewish teens; a hot meals program at various children’s centers; a drug prevention workshop for parents and teens; a “Jumpstart” program run by the Center for Educational Technology; and the various exchange programs I mentioned before. In April, we are hoping to host a strategy and planning retreat with our colleagues from Afula-Gilboa so we can continue creating bridges and choosing projects.

Q: How is SNEC funded? How can our readers become involved in SNEC?

A: SNEC receives its funding from the Federations. (We don’t solicit donors from our communities). We are an extension of the Federation, and we are one of the ways communities in our region are able to have a direct link to communities in Israel. It is one of the goals of Partnership 2000 for us to be a tool to strengthen the Federations’ campaigns. We are always open to people getting involved in our work. Readers may contact me at 203-387-2424 ext. 315.

Original Article Published On The  Jewish Ledger

NEW HAVEN — Members of the New Haven community last week presented Rep. Rosa DeLauro with a petition asking the U.S. government to take action against the ongoing violence in Darfur, Sudan.

On Friday, Jan. 14, just days before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, members of the community, including representatives of the Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Federation leaders, including Federation President Dr. Alvin Greenberg and Federation Director Sydney Perry, and local ministers, gathered in the conference room of the New Haven Register to present the petition, which contained nearly 1,000 signatures.

Just last month, on Dec. 10 n “Human Rights Day” — the JCRC held another rally for Darfur at New Haven City Hall, co-sponsored by Interfaith Cooperative Ministries, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale.

At that time, statements of support by Sen. Chris Dodd, Rep. DeLauro, Mayor John DeStefano, and Bishop Peter Rosazza were read to the gathering.

At the petition presentation last week, JCRC Chairman Dr. Milton Wallack presented DeLauro with the petition which in Wallack’s words expresses outrage at the “escalating human calamity of ethnic cleaning” in Darfur, Sudan.

The petition urges the government of Sudan to “take immediate and decisive action to disarm the militias and to allow relief workers to deliver humanitarian aid, without delay.”

Wallack noted the significance of the timing of the presentation of signatures and the focus on Darfur, which takes place on both Martin

Luther King’s weekend and on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps by the Allies in Europe. Rev. Eric Smith, president of Interfaith Cooperative Ministries, addressed the gathering and stressed the need for consistent U.S. and U.N. policy in the region. Smith pointed out that two U.N. regulations which have been passed have been subsequently ignored.

Sydney Perry recalled the words of Dr. King: “An injustice anywhere is an injustice against all of us!” “That’s why Jews are speaking out,” said Perry, who reminded the crowd that Jews worldwide are currently reading the biblical account of slavery in Egypt and will soon read of the Exodus from Egypt. “We always align ourselves with the victim, not the victimizer.”

DeLauro applauded the group and said she wished there was no need for a meeting like this one.

“Our humanity cannot survive unless we stand together against genocide,” DeLauro said. “I’m remembering what we didn’t do in Rwanda just ten years ago. Our humanity is at stake.”

DeLauro noted the outpouring of sympathy and support for victims of the natural disaster in South Asia and pointed out that “what’s happening in Darfur remains a serious man-made tragedy.”

“You have my wordI will get the petition to the Secretary of State, the Congress, the Sudanese ambassador and anyone we feel should receive it,” she said.

DeLauro praised the community for “exercising democracy at the highest level by going out to the people and getting them engaged. The government needs to take its lead from the people.”