For 11 senior educators from TALI schools, the educational track within Israel’s state secular school system that offers non-Orthodox religious education and programming, it was an exhausting, exhilarating week in the Big Apple.
The teachers and principals from elementary, junior and high schools from throughout Israel visited pluralistic Jewish day schools in Manhattan and Brooklyn and met with teachers, administrators and communal professionals. For most, used to being surrounded by Hanukkah menorahs in Israel each December, walking on Fifth Avenue to see Christmas in full display offered an additional eye-opening experience.
The participants, from such cities as Beersheva, Modi’in, Haifa and Jerusalem, have been taking part in a two-year program known as Halleli, a Hebrew acronym for “Introduction to Jewish and Israeli Identity Education.” In year one, the educators focused on text study and cultural literacy to develop a sense of their own Jewish identity and values. In year two, the program focused on Jewish peoplehood and the connection of participants to the world around them.
“Coming here is a chance to be inspired by the creative vitality of the North American Jewish community,” said Dr. Peri Sinclair, the TALI Education Fund’s director.
The trip offered a firsthand look at the similarities and differences between Jewish education at TALI schools and American Jewish schools.
The Halleli educators meet with New York City Criminal Court Judge Rachel Freier (in black robes), the first Hasidic woman to hold public office in the United States. Courtesy of TALI.
Enhanced Jewish studies
TALI, a Hebrew acronym for “Enhanced Jewish Studies,” opened its first school in 1976 to provide Jewish content and a Jewish studies curriculum to children in Israeli state secular schools. Today TALI provides educational programs and resources to 65,000 children in 200 preschools and nearly 100 elementary schools in diverse communities throughout the country.
The delegation visited such pluralist schools as the Abraham Joshua Heschel School (AJHS) on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in Brooklyn’s Mill Basin neighborhood, and such movement-affiliated schools as the Hebrew school of the Reform Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn’s Park Slope and the Conservative movement-affiliated Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan, also on the Upper West Side.
The educators visit Lincoln Square Synagogue in Manhattan. Courtesy of TALI.
They also visited and met with leaders from Orthodox. Conservative and Reform synagogues and other organizations, including the UJA-Federation of New York, which provided funding for the trip, Lincoln Square Synagogue, Sephardic Bikur Holim and Romemu Center.
At a dinner at the JCC Manhattan on the first night of the trip, participants shared initial impressions (“the staff and children were so chill and quiet!”) and discussed such topics as antisemitism and their understanding of the role of Israel in the lives of the North American Jewish community. Such processing and sharing continued throughout the week.
“This journey expanded and inspired my thinking about Jewish Identity both of Israelis and Americans and made me think about what each side brings to the other,” said Osnat Kor Chen, the vice principal of K’ramim School in Modi’n-Maccabim-Reut.
Avigail Ben Hamu, regional supervisor of early childhood education at the Ministry of Education in Jerusalem, was struck by the diversity she saw in the pluralistic schools. “The beautiful diversity and the communal organization bring different colors and dynamics to Judaism and varied expressions which update, renew and sustain.”
Galia Netzer, TALI coordinator and teacher at Ha’Chita School in Zichron Ya’akov, returned home with a lot to think about. “It stimulates my curiosity and thinking.” She is left struggling with ways to incorporate what she experienced into her work in Israel. “I only wish that we could bring this type of pluralism and tolerance to Israel.”
Meirav Dahan, a pedagogic consultant for TALI, added, “In every meeting I felt that I was meeting and seeing myself.” She began thinking about “how Israeli society is too traditional and conservative.”
“The freedom to self-define oneself is a value that we need to fight for,” she said.
Sinclair was pleased with the informative albeit exhausting trip.
“I wanted everyone to see what else is out there and go home and ask, ‘How do we provide for as broad of a perspective as possible.”
Sinclair has extensive experience in the Conservative and Masorti movements in both Israel and the U.S. She is a graduate of the TALI School in Hod Hasharon and a proud alumna of the Israeli Conservative movement’s Noam Masorti Youth group. She has spent 15 summers in senior staff positions at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires and received her M.A. in Jewish Education from JTS’s Davidson School of Education and her doctorate in Midrash from the Jewish Theological Seminary.
The Classic Theatre of Maryland is celebrating a full decade of professional theater in Annapolis. And local Jewish musician Marc Irwin has been along for the journey nearly from the start.
Irwin, a pianist and composer for the theater company, formerly known as the Annapolis Shakespeare Company, also serves as the musical director for the renowned Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. The multi-talented Irwin is a composer, arranger, rehearsal and pit musician for Broadway shows; he has a jazz group; and he performs and records professionally in New York City and locally.
The Classic Theatre of Maryland, or CTM, was founded by Sally Boyett in 2013 as a professional theater company with a commitment to promoting the highest level of artistic excellence. The current season will feature more than 170 shows planned in celebration of their exciting milestone — 10 years of performances. Performances include interpretations of Shakespeare classics, two family-friendly holiday favorites, a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama and comedies.
The season kicked off with Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” set in the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1920s.
“I am so excited for this 10th anniversary season,” said founder and producing artistic director Boyett. “CTM is Anne Arundel County’s only year-round professional regional theater company. Our creative team, along with resident and guest artists, bring Broadway, Broadway National and International Tour, as well as London’s West End credentials, to CTM. This is reflected in the outstanding quality of the work at CTM and is unparalleled in the region.”
In addition to Boyett, prominent actors and directors who have contributed their award-winning skill and talent at CTM over the last 10 years include Donald Hicken, Mario Ramos, Angie Schworer, Mike Noonan, Ian Knauer, Marc Irwin and William D’Eugenio. They have received such awards as Helen Hayes Awards and Emmy Awards, and have been Tony Award finalists.
“The theater strives to bring the best quality art to its audience,” reports Boyett. Along those lines, she speaks highly of local Jewish talent Irwin.
“To do this, we need the most talented, disciplined and dedicated artists we can engage. Experience at the highest levels of professional theatre is essential, and Marc Irwin is a valued artist at CTM because he brings his gifts as a composer and musician, as well as years of experience working on Broadway shows. He knows the rigorous process required to make great theater and welcomes the opportunity to practice the art he loves. His original compositions adorn our stage with beauty, sensitivity and insight, and he works diligently with the artistic team to mold and nuance every aspect of each production.”
From “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Donald Hicken and composed by Marc Irwin (Photo by Joshua McKerrow)
‘We do an ensemble on the bimah’
Irwin, who lives in Baltimore, is a pianist, composer, arranger and recording artist with a lengthy list of accomplishments locally and nationally. He has served as assistant conductor for the Kennedy Center’s production of Words and Music, participated in area performances at the Hippodrome, and the Lyric Opera House and worked as a sound designer and keyboardist as part of Harry Belafonte’s global tour.
The native of Brooklyn, N.Y., started playing piano at age 5 and attended the Manhattan School of Music.
But, he reports, “I leaned my craft — conducting, performing, leading groups and composing — in the Catskills!” After graduating music school in 1974, Irwin played “lots of gigs,” including accompanying famous cantor and Jewish musician, Paul Zim. “I went with him on the road to a few cities.”
Irwin moved to Baltimore to attend the Peabody School in 1988. He and wife, Adele, who runs the music program at Baltimore’s Park School, raised their two children in the city. He has served as musical director at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation since November 2021.
There, he praises his colleagues, Cantor Ben Ellerin, Cantor Ann Sacks and Rabbi Andrew Busch, noting that “we do an ensemble on the bimah with the cantor and rabbi each Shabbat service.”
Irwin also directors the Kol Rinnah, a choir formed in 1982 that consists of both community members and hired singers; they perform at several worship services each year.
He recounts a somewhat serendipitous route to Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, saying “it all started when Cantor Sack’s son studied with my wife at school and studied piano with me. She said they needed a pianist for the High Holidays.”
Irwin makes it more than clear that he enjoys his work at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and at the Classical Theater Company, where he has been involved since 2017.
“For me, it was appealing,” he says.
And as for CMT, he made it a point to praise founder Boyett: “Sally was very determined to try to lift up the level of the art form. She is a tireless worker. I was glad to get on board to assist in the process. They have done some good work. They are true to what they believe artistically.”
Tamir Goodman, who started his illustrious basketball career at Talmudical Academy (TA) in Baltimore, returned to the city of his youth earlier this month to share his love of basketball and his dedication to bringing together people of different backgrounds. The Unity Clinic at the Weinberg Park Heights JCC provided an opportunity for local Black and Jewish basketball players, in addition to several sports world celebrities, to come together to learn and play basketball and to begin forming meaningful relationships.
“It was so magical to be back,” reports Goodman, 40, who spent his high school years in Baltimore before transferring to Takoma Academy Preparatory School (TA Prep), a Seventh-Day Adventist School in Takoma Park, Md., so he could remain Sabbath-observant and still play competitive basketball. “It was a slam dunk! They established positive relationships,” says Goodman, who was pleased with every aspect of the day.
“It was a great workout; leading coaches led their favorite drills; and they had doughnuts and drinks together at a meet and greet afterwards,” he describes. “At the end, they exchanged game schedules, and coaches and players will come out to games and support each other.”
Goodman does not take their forming relationships for granted: “They arrived not knowing each other and possibly never knowing each other, meeting each other. and they left as friends. That is how we better the world through basketball. I am just so thankful that it went so well.”
Participants in the clinic play at what Goodman describes as “two basketball powerhouses — Mervo and Baltimore City College (high school).” They joined players from Yeshivat Mekor Chaim, a local yeshivah coached by Goodman’s former coach and lifelong friend, Coach Haim Katz. “I met Coach Katz at age 7 or 8,” Goodman says affectionately. “I am 40 now. We talk one or two times every day!”
Katz reports that Goodman has “worked his whole adult life to bring peace to people. He does not see colors or religions, he just sees people — creations of God — and it bothers him. He thinks that each person is created in God’s image and is holy.”
He notes that “basketball is his life, and he sees the great things that can come out of it — it can be used as a metaphor and vehicle to bring peace, joy and understanding to people.” Goodman playfully adds, “I was a Jewish kid who went to a Catholic school for high school and roomed with a Muslim player in college.”
Celebrities at the Unity Clinic included former Baltimore Ravens running-back Matthew Lawrence; former professional basketball player and NBA coach Corsley Edward; former Portland Trailblazers player Ronnie Murphy; and Joanne Pasternack, who formerly headed the philanthropy, and community relations and outreach functions at the San Francisco 49ers and the Golden State Warriors.
The players in action, taking tips from the teachers. (Photo courtesy of Tamir Goodman: Israel Orange)
‘A storied place in my heart’ While in town, Goodman also addressed an Israel Bonds business networking event and the Weiner Family Basketball Tournament at the Beth Tfiloh Dagan Community School. The tournament has been bringing Jewish teens from around the United States, Canada and Israel together for basketball, Shabbat observance and comraderie since 1988.
Goodman’s illustrious and evolving basketball career started during his own high school career where he averaged 35 points per game in the 11th grade at TA and was ranked 25th best high school player in the country. He remained committed to Orthodox religious practice even as he pursued his basketball dreams. Playing at a Seventh-Day Adventist school, where Saturdays are observed as the day of rest, afforded an opportunity to play high-level basketball for the remainder of his high school career.
Goodman initially received a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Maryland, but he ultimately declined the offer given difficulties accommodating his Sabbath observance. He then accepted a scholarship from Baltimore’s Towson University in 2000. He averaged 6 points, 4 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game in his first year, and was awarded the coach’s award for his performance on the court and in the classroom. He continued at Towson for his sophomore year, ultimately leaving when the basketball program underwent significant changes.
His very public high school and college career were covered extensively by such publications and media outlets as Sports Illustrated, “60 Minutes,” ESPN, CNN, Fox, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld even performed a skit about “The Jewish Jordan.”
Goodman went on to play professional basketball in Israel. He signed a three-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2002 and played with several teams in Israel over the course of his career. In 2004, he served in the Israel Defense Forces, where he was awarded “Most Outstanding Soldier” and also suffered a knee injury. After a seven-year career playing basketball in Israel — and several other serious injuries — Goodman retired from professional basketball in 2009.
Goodman has continued to be actively involved in all aspects of the basketball world. He runs a summer overnight basketball camp in Jerusalem for players from around the world. His clinics also brings Arab and Jewish children together. “My culture diversity camps unite people and they form relationships through basketball,” he says.
Slam dunk; lesson learned. (Photo courtesy of Tamir Goodman: Israel Orange)
In 2013, Goodman shared his story in the book “The Jewish Jordan’s Triple Threat.” He is also an accomplished entrepreneur and business consultant. He founded Zone190, a training device being used in the NBA; as well as Sport Strings Tzitzit, compression-fit, moisture-wicking ritual fringes; and Aviv Net, a basketball net that dries and sanitizes basketballs as they pass through the basketball net. Goodman works in business development with the Hapoel Jerusalem Basketball Club and is working to develop a system for “on net advertising,” which he reports is “soon to premier in its first indoor pro game and will hopefully get to all leagues around the world.”
In addition, the tireless Goodman is working with Fabric, an Israeli sport tech and sports engagement firm that brings people together through an innovative technology platform. Fabric served as a sponsor for the Unity Clinic.
Goodman lives in Jerusalem with his wife and five kids, and brought one of his daughters with him on his recent Baltimore trip. “I’ve been in Israel for 20 years,” he says. “But Baltimore always has a storied place in my heart. It will always be extra-special to me.”
More than 300 day and overnight camps provide nearly 180,000 campers and young staff with a meaningful connection to Judaism each summer.
The Foundation for Jewish Camp’s (FJC) Leaders Assembly three-day conference in Atlanta furnished living proof that Jewish camping is alive and well and evolving to respond to a post-COVID reality.
Last week’s gathering offered 850 camp professionals from across the religious and communal spectrum, from the U.S., Canada, Israel and Europe (including Ukraine) as well as community lay leaders, advocates and funders, opportunities to learn from experts, share best practices, problem solve and offer support. Attendees also visited local institutions and museums, prayed, sang and socialized, and participated in affinity groups and breakout sessions on such topics as camper care, inclusion, business and operations.
The Foundation for Jewish Camp’s conference in Atlanta. Courtesy of the Foundation for Jewish Camp.
Throughout the gathering around the theme “Imagine What’s Possible,” participants had opportunities to visit the Kikar (marketplace), relax in the Restoration Station, enjoy a comedy show rich in camp humor, meet with experts during “office hours” and socialize over dessert and drinks—something not usually permitted on camp grounds.
Foundation for Jewish Camp CEO Jeremy Fingerman kicked off the ninth biennial gathering and introduced such field leaders as Tom Rosenberg, president and CEO of the American Camping Association (ACA).
While Fingerman is proud of the role FJC has played since its inception back in 1998, he is particularly pleased with how the organization has responded to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“FJC’s role as a central resource, convener, accelerator and catalyst has only been enhanced during the pandemic. And, rather than looking back, we challenged the field to come together to Atlanta with courage to dream big for our shared future,” he said.
Many field leaders stressed the ongoing importance of Jewish camping. Rabbi Avi Orlow, FJC’s vice president of program and innovation, noted, “Jewish camp is critical now more than ever. For many it is a home away from home. At Leaders Assembly, we had an amazing camp reunion for 850 people who make Jewish camp happen. After years apart due to the pandemic, coming together was a wonderful homecoming.”
Skip Vichness, chair of the Board of Directors of Hillel International, a former FJC board chair, and a director and investor in the summer camp industry for nearly 50 years, put it succinctly, “There is nothing more important than Jewish camping for giving Jewish kids a strong sense of Jewish identity. The fact that over 800 people are here, emerging from the pandemic, says something about Jewish identity!”
For many, the FJC Leaders Assembly was their first conference and first work travel since March 2020.
Rosenberg was moved by the number of people committed to Jewish camping. “For the field to gather again after all of these years of challenge—with such momentum—to help all children tethered by challenges—is incredible. I get the chills when I think of it.”
Workshops and discussions addressed such topics as camper and community care, registration security, recruitment and Israel programming. There were sessions titled Fostering Resiliency, Supporting LGBTQ+ Campers, Camper Recruitment, Supervision, Day Camping, Empowering Boards, Lay Leaders and Communities to be Radically Welcoming, Israel at 75, Staff Training, Vocational Programs for People with Disabilities, Disaster Preparation, and Building and Renovating Camp with Your Core Values in Mind.
Accountability consultant Diana Bloom of Tampa presented a workshop for middle managers titled “Leading from the Middle.”
“It is geared to help people bridge the gap between intentions and actions. People often intend to do what they commit to but struggle to deliver,” she said.
Jennifer Phillips, CEO of Keshet in Chicago, presented on “Disabilities Inclusion” and “The Building Blocks of Inclusive Camping.”
“Leaders Assembly brought our Camp Community back together. It was inspiring to see a new generation of leaders committed to inclusion and making sure every camper has success. As we look towards the future of creating a community of belonging in our camp community, I know that we are moving in the right direction. I am excited about seeing where we are headed,” she said.
Lori Zlotoff, REDI (Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) and camper care manager at the Union for Reform Judaism’s Camp Harlam in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, added, “Being at Leaders Assembly was inspiring both professionally and personally. So much of our work as individual camps is done in a silo, so to be with 800 other Jewish camp professionals was galvanizing in more ways than one. One of the biggest inspirations was seeing how many camps the FJC has brought into the Inclusion world—and there were so many workshops around inclusion, mental health, disabilities, LGBTQ+, racial equity and diversity that I had to make some hard decisions about which session to do next.”
The conference featured 17 participants representing the Summer Camps Israel forum.
Shawna Goodman, originally from Montreal, has taken her love for Jewish camping to Israel, where she now lives.
Goodman reported, “Summer Camp Israel was initiated because of the absence of meaningful summer programming for Israeli kids during the chofesh hagadol [the long summer break] in July and August. It is simply not sustainable to export kids to North American camps. Israelis need to find affordable solutions to provide safe and nourishing environments for their youth during the dreaded summer holiday.
“As an olah, one feels the need to be additive and importing, in a highly adaptive form, the North American model of summer camps felt natural. It was what infused me with a love of community and provided me with a connection to Israel and a sense of belonging,” she continued.
“Extracting these elements and nourishing them with Israeli culture on the Land is our response. Working with licensed Israeli amutot [non-profits], we have provided this 10-night model to 15,000 Israeli kids between the ages of 11 and 16 whose Israeli parents entrust us during the school year. We are educating and providing capacity-building grants and scholarships to help them reach their potential in providing a 10-night immersive, content-rich experience,” Goodman said.
Indeed, Israel was very much on the agenda at the Leaders Assembly. On the final day of the conference, camp directors offered reflections on the impact of Israel delegations on camps and campers over the years, including welcoming soldiers to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin in 1967 direct from fighting in the Six-Day War. Others spoke of the importance of sending teenage campers to Israel and shared details of RootOne, the initiative to jump-start and subsidize teen travel to Israel.
The Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Leaders Assembly in Atlanta. Courtesy of the Foundation for Jewish Camp.
On Monday evening, the entire conference visited the Georgia Aquarium to mark “The Field at 75: A Celebration of Past, Present and Future.” Guests learned that a major donor to the $290 aquarium is Bernie Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot. Marcus and the Marcus Foundation have been long-time supporters of the FJC.
The Yedid Nefesh initiative for mental health was launched in 2019 with a generous investment by the Marcus Foundation. The foundation recently awarded $60 million to RootOne in support of programs that enable American Jewish teenagers to travel to Israel. The evening paid tribute to founders of FJC as well as to camp professionals who stood to be recognized for years of service ranging from one year to over 40 years.
Elisa Spungen Bildner and Rob Bildner, FJC founders and current board co-chairs of the Board of Trustees, looked on with pride at the impressive organization they started.
“Rob and I started the FJC because we saw, more than 25 years ago, how little attention relatively the Jewish community paid to one of its most precious resources—camping—despite the fact that Jewish camping is one of the best ways, and a proven way, to get kids and their families to love and learn about Judaism,” Elisa Spungen Bildner said.
“Needless to say, the fact that 850 people who are invested in camping, from professionals to funders, flocked to Atlanta for the past Leaders Assembly is a testament to and affirmation of the key role Jewish camp plays in attracting young Jews to Judaism and keeping them involved—more than that—keeping them excited by Judaism,” she continued.
“But, let me be clear. Our work is not done, by a long shot. We need to attract even more Jewish kids and teens, from campers to counselors, to experience Jewish camp. And, the product we offer, Jewish camp and Jewish summer experiences, needs to continue to be better than what these same kids, teens and their families could choose among secular offerings,” Elisa Spungen Bildner said.
FJC strives to foster excellence and accelerate innovation at Jewish camps across North America by developing adaptive talent, deepening immersive learning experiences and catalyzing field growth. FJC also works to elevate Jewish camp on the cultural and philanthropic agenda, creating opportunities to engage even more young people in Jewish camp through groundbreaking programs such as One Happy Camper and FJC’s Specialty Camps Incubator. FJC advocates for more than 300 day and overnight camps that provide nearly 180,000 campers and young staff each summer with a meaningful, personal and lifelong connection to Judaism.
