Oct 29, 2013 | Miscellaneous
Susan Schlichter says giving is a part of her family history. “My parents set an example for my sister and I,” she says. Throughout her life, Schlichter’s mother gave to causes, including the Jewish Federation, and when she died she wanted her possessions donated. “We...
Oct 21, 2013 | Miscellaneous
One finding of the Pew study that was curious to me is that there seem to be a higher % of secular Americans than secular Jews. I think there is good reason to believe that there are far more practicing secular Jews than even the Pew Study lists. The issue is a...
Oct 20, 2013 | Miscellaneous
I’ve been speaking about the need to support secular approaches to Jewish lifecycle events even as we support our traditional religious institutions. Here’s a great example of integrating a religious practice for the secular or non-religious, a Technology...
Oct 17, 2013 | Miscellaneous
Two weeks ago the Pew Center published its report on American Jewish life that reported what many of us highly suspected: American Jews are, like most Americans, becoming less religiously identified, more intermarried and assimilated. The Pew Study is the most...
Oct 17, 2013 | Miscellaneous
SPOILER ALERT: For those of you who don’t want to know how this journey ends, please read the next paragraph last. Your 2013 Rubinites are back in our St. Louis homes! As the last couple of days of our journey were tightly packed (literally and figuratively in some...
Oct 14, 2013 | Miscellaneous
Apropos for a Sunday morning, we spent the first hours of the day discussing currennt Middle East affairs with a pair of highly qualified speakers. First up was Jodi Rudoren, a 15 year veteran of the New York Times who is currently serving as the paper’s...
Oct 13, 2013 | Miscellaneous
While Shabbat is supposed to be a day of rest, the Rubinites had spiritual missions to fulfill, so it was another bustling morning. We met with social historian and former longtime Tel Aviv University Professor Paul Liptz who gave us a rundown on the general...
Oct 12, 2013 | Miscellaneous
As usual, there were plenty of activities and a surprise or two to fill our Friday. We started the day with one last Kibbutz Dalia breakfast, then met up with our new guide Dovev who accompanied us to our tour’s final home base, Jerusalem. During the two hour...
Oct 11, 2013 | Miscellaneous
Thursday marked our second day in the Yokneam-Meggido region. As has been the case every day thus far (and, according to our remaining schedule, will continue to be the case), we had a full ledger of planned activities. Following the now-customary robust Israeli...
Oct 10, 2013 | Miscellaneous
Our third day in Israel started in Tel Aviv and ended well after midnight at Kibbutz Dalia. In between were a number of activities, a few of which were quite breathtaking. We first paid a visit to Mekorot National Water Company. Water conservation is a huge issue in...
