What are your hopes and aspirations for the State of Israel?
This seems a simple question. Yet, too often, all we hear are concerns about what is wrong with Israel. Certainly Israel has challenges. Yet, I am endlessly hopeful about our future.
Sitting in my office in Haifa in the middle of the month of Elul, I am writing to you to share with you my experience in Israel living the day-to-day embodiment of the values and ideals we hold dear.
A major theme of the “ten days of repentance” between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is self-refection and the belief that we as individuals have the power to change for the better.
At the Leo Baeck Education Center, we believe that both individual and societal change comes through education. And, we also believe it is possible to educate a generation to live a life of choice, change and of being changed. The question is how?
The Hebrew root for the word educate ח נ ך appears in the Torah almost always in the context of dedicating a completed building. The concept of EDUCATION in the Torah is intertwined with the idea of DEDICATION, to give something meaning, and purpose.
And thus, we educate our students here at the Leo Baeck Education Center to be dedicated to the values and vision we all hold dear:
- Liberal and pluralistic expressions of Judaism in Israel
- Tikkun Olam and social justice
- Israel as a diverse, inclusive and shared society for all its residents
You can be a partner to educating a generation of Israeli youth who will choose change and make Israel pluralistic, inclusive and diverse by supporting the Leo Baeck Education Center.
To do so, please send a check payable to:
Leo Baeck Education Center Foundation c/o Houston Jewish Community Foundation 5603 South Braeswood Blvd. Houston, Texas 77096 or
Friends of Leo Baeck Haifa, The Montagu Centre, 21 Maple Street
London W1T 4BE
To donate online go to: http://leobaeckhaifa.org/5780shanatova/ or
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/leobaeckhaifa
When you come to Israel, we would be glad to host you or members of your family for a visit with at our exciting centers for education in Haifa.
To learn more about our innovative and transformative programs, please feel free to be in touch.
May the year of 5780 bring peace, health, and happiness. May the New Year herald a new freedom for all humankind to choose, to dream, to create, and to change their communities and society!
Ofek
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