An Interview with Yehuda Poch, Director of Communications For the One Family Fund
July 25, 2008
Yehuda Poch is Director of Communications for the One Family Fund, an Israeli organization dedicated to providing support and services to victims of terror and their families in Israel. Mr. Poch recently took some time to answer a few questions about the organization via email. More information may be found online at onefamilyfund.org.
NVR: For those who might not be familiar with the work of OneFamily, can you give us a brief description of the work your organization does?
OneFamily provides comprehensive assistance for the victims of terrorism in Israel and their families. This assistance includes financial, material, legal and emotional assistance, victims' retreats, therapeutic workshops, support groups, home visits, youth programs such as camps and a Big Brothers/Sisters program, programs for young adults, and special programs for bereaved parents. The overall aim of this assistance is to give the families the feeling that they are not alone, and that there is a broader, more experienced family there for them to help them cope with the tragedy and rebuild their shattered lives.
Features
The Human Place in Nature
July 24, 2008
by Ellen Bernstein
And God blessed them and God said to them,
“Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and master it,
and have dominion over the fish of the sea and the flyer of the heaven,
and every live creature that creeps on the earth.” (1.28)
Va-yivarekh otam Elohim va-yomer lahem Elohim
Peru u-revu u-milu et-ha-aretz ve-khiveshu-ha
u-redu bi-degat ha-yam u-ve-of ha-shamayimu
ve-khol chayah ha-romeset al-ha-aretz.
In 1967, historian Lynn White argued in a now famous essay in Science Magazine, that the Bible gave humanity a mandate to exploit nature when it empowered the adam/human to “master the earth,” and “have dominion over” it.i Many environmentalists and theologians are still haggling over White’s thesis even after hundreds of articles and books have tackled the topic over the last 30 years.ii
Editorial
Returning to a Better World
October 10, 2008
by Daniel E. Levenson
Yom Kippur is a day on which we stand alone before God at a kind of crossroads – behind us lie all of the experiences of the previous year, both good and bad, while ahead of us is an unknown path, the coming year, the future. It is also a day which brings Jews together, to offer prayers of repentance and express our deeply held desire to be inscribed for another year in the book of life. As with any other form of ritual or observance, I find that I have many more questions than answers - What is the purpose of Yom Kippur, I’ve often asked myself, why do we need to spend a day, once a year, fasting and considering past transgressions? What is it about setting aside this time that can make a difference in my own life and community?
Arts & Letters
Interview with Emily Mello, Director of Education at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University
July 25, 2008
Emily Mello, Director of Education at the Rose Art Museum recently took some time to answer a few questions from the New Vilna Review by email. In this interview she talks about the history of the museum, as well as upcoming exhibitions.
NVR: Can you tell us a little about your own background in education and the museum world?
I studied art history at Mount Holyoke College and knew that I wanted to pursue a career in arts that involved engaging diverse audiences. I was particularly interested in the way that the art of our time engaged directly with the issues and ideas of our time and felt that access to this work should be shared by all. After interning at the RISD Museum of Art I got my Masters in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I was attracted to pedagogical approaches that privileged process over product and I think that mirrors much of the art and readings of art that I am also drawn to. From Harvard, I went on to be a Curator of Education at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati Ohio for over 4 years. There I managed and directed our tour, school and community programs as well as developing public programming that included music, film, and performance. I came back to New England to work at the Rose as Director of Education in January.
Fiction
The King and His Leg
(A Parable)
by Zohar Atkins
April 23, 2008
THERE was a king who lived in a splendid castle far from the rest of the kingdom. One day, the king’s toe became infected. For a long time, the king did not notice the infection. The king, as it happens, was a giant, and it took years for his toe’s sense receptor to send signals to his brain. By the time the king looked down at his toe, the infection had moved all the way up his leg.
An Excerpt from the Novel Who by Fire, Who by Blood
April 21, 2008
by Jon Papernick
The sun was setting as Stone and Gabby arrived at the Fulton Landing, just in time to see a tense wedding party dressed stiffly in full regalia, mock smile, and pose at the photographers insistent commands, shrilly barked with all the decorum of a middle-school gym teacher. The party looked miserable. Gabby quipped, “And they wonder why I’m not married.”
Poetry
Survivor
Bat Mitzvah - Portion Noah
-Walter Hess
You and Me
-Daniel E. Levenson
Jewish Boston
11th Annual Unity Shabbaton Draws a Diverse Crowd
August 21, 2008
by Daniel E. Levenson
The Massachusetts Synagogue Council held its 11th annual Unity Shabbaton at the Holiday Inn in Peabody on the weekend of July 26, which drew Jews from a wide range of congregations in the Bay State to participate in a weekend of prayer, learning and community. The Shabbaton featured small group discussions, text study opportunities, insightful group learning with the Shabbaton faculty and a chance to experience different prayer services from Reconstructionist to Orthodox.
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DANIEL E. LEVENSON Editor in Chief |
At the root of faith is a question or many questions perhaps, about the nature of the universe and the meaning of life. Read More |
