CAJE Blog

As we were looking at the reflection of the water and the giant, forty foot-high outstretched sculpture of a tattooed arm and hand reaching skyward at Federation’s Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach, the New World School of the Arts violinists began to play the Schindler’s List Theme, originally performed by Itzhak Perlman.

Join Dr. Robert Watson on Wednesday, May 11 at 7PM for a program of meaningful insight into the rise of Antisemitism today and the long history of hate that has followed the Jewish people throughout history. He will address the rise of micro-aggressions on college campuses and will include resources for how to engage in dialogue to combat the vitriol and hatred.

"Kol Yisrael Arevim Ze La Zeh – All of Israel is Responsible for One Another" You’ve probably heard this saying before, maybe even learned it as a song in school. But what does it really mean when we say that all Jews are responsible for one another? It means that all Jews have made this unspoken commitment to something larger than ourselves.

This year’s Jewish Communities Mifgash (Encounter) was one for the books, bringing another unforgettable experience to the Fellows. Each year, the Mifgash provides the Diller Teen Fellows the opportunity to discover, learn about and connect with their peers, Jewish communities and cultures in our partner community of Yerucham (Israel) and around the globe.

Telling Stories is at the heart of Pesach (Passover). We read from a book (more like a script) called a Haggadah (literally: telling) in which we reenact a distant dramatic experience (the Exodus from Egypt) by performing ritual activities in an orderly manner at a seder (literally: order) so as to remember the past and to link it to the present. Telling stories is also the essential purpose of cinema.

CAJE has another great program for teens: IsraelNow! Created in Chicago, IsraelNow is an immersive travel experience for eighth graders who are not enrolled in a Jewish day school. It has a proven record of success in getting teens to fall in love with Israel and then become active participants in community programs upon their return.

How can we build a Marshall Plan for Jewish education writ large so that we do not destroy the one factor that has enabled our people to thrive in Diaspora life over centuries of difficulties and joys?

The Eleanor Meyerhoff Katz z”l Teacher Initiative Awards are grants provided to exceptional Jewish day school teachers to implement new and creative classroom initiatives. Funded by the Eleanor M. and Herbert D. Katz Foundation and administered by the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE), a subsidiary agency of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, the Katz Teacher Initiative Awards are now in their 7th year.