On Sunday evening, March 19, two organizations that share the mission of strengthening the Jewish home will come together for an evening of inspiration. Participants in Jewish Journeys of Northern New Jersey will gather together with Rabbi Mark Wildes, founder and director of Manhattan Jewish Experience, New York City’s place for Jewish singles. The evening will explore the joint goals of the two organizations: raising Jewish awareness and strengthening the Jewish family.
Rabbi Wildes is known to many as one of America’s most dynamic Jewish educators. Through his Manhattan Jewish Experience he has created a warm and open community where single, young Jewish professionals can explore Jewish life and mingle with each other. Through a wide range of engaging and inclusive programs and activities, Manhattan Jewish Experience has attracted thousands of Jewish young people who have established and maintained Jewish connections since its founding in memory of Rabbi Wildes’ beloved mother, Ruth, a”h.
Jewish Journeys is a local Bergen County organization whose mission is to strengthen the Jewish home through a renewal of connection to Judaism and Israel. Through their Momentum tour to Israel, a dynamic, 10-day trip sponsored by the international Jewish Women’s Renaissance Program (JWRP), women with children still living at home are invited to participate in this highly subsidized program that is geared to inspire, motivate and equip participants with the tools through which they can bring a newly heightened awareness of Judaism and Israel into their homes. Since its initiation in 2011, Jewish Journeys has taken over 130 Bergen County women to Israel for this Birthright-like experience. From Tzfat to Massada, from the Kotel to the Dead Sea, the participants are informed and inspired by lectures in Jewish history, contemporary Israeli society and Jewish culture. Volunteer experiences such as those at Shalva—The Association for Mentally and Physically Challenged Children in Israel, as well as the Lone Soldier Center, add to the spirit of the visit.
Phyllis Krug of Teaneck, who has led Bergen County contingents on several Momentum trips, shares, “The purpose of the trip is to create a sisterhood, a supportive community, for our participants. Primarily, it starts with creating friendships and exploring our common Jewish identities. You cannot accomplish this anywhere else but in Israel because the soul of the nation is here joining up with the soul of the women. When we come to Israel, it is literally a baring of the soul, and when that happens, you’re willing to approach topics you would not have done in Teaneck.”
Robin Baer is an attorney from Fair Lawn, whose children are 19 and 17. Her October 2013 Momentum trip “was just the beginning. As a result of the trip, I became more connected to my Judaism. I started lighting Shabbat candles more regularly, expanded our Friday-night dinners and tried to observe the holidays a little more deeply. My husband, Michael, has gone on the recently organized men’s trip.”
Once they are back home, participants in Jewish Journeys, along with over 100 alumnae of prior trips, have an opportunity to choose from a “smorgasbord” of activities for continued growth and connection throughout the year. These activities are organized and implemented by a team of local “city leaders” including Dena Levie, Phyllis Krug, Esther Friedman, Debbie Rosalimsky, Andrea Portal, Elana Kaplan and Julie Farkas. Each of these talented women brings her own “flavor” and strength to the program. Levie feels that her niche is best described as bringing spirituality and a sense of belonging to the group. “I love to lead the singing, dancing and praying for which I transliterate the Hebrew texts to make them accessible to all of our women.”
The calendar is filled with Friday-night dinners at host families and periodically at Beth Abraham, Sunday morning and Monday evening Torah classes, private one-on-one study partnerships, challah bakes and holiday celebrations. Chesed opportunities such as participation in Federation’s Mitzvah Day, visiting nursing homes and Holocaust survivors, packing for Tomchei Shabbos and driving for Meals on Wheels bring the alumnae together throughout the year.
At their annual fundraiser, Jewish Journeys presents a featured speaker whose activities and message cohere with theirs. This year’s speaker, Rabbi Mark Wildes, does just that. As the children of Jewish Journeys’ participants mature and leave home, they are often at a loss for locating Jewish communities within which they can continue adding on to the foundations that were established in their homes. In comes an organization such as the Manhattan Jewish Experience, which picks up on the mission by creating a community of young adults committed to continuing on their own journeys of commitment to Jewish ritual and lifestyle. In his presentation, “Reaching Out and Searching Within,” Rabbi Wildes will explore the challenges and excitement in the exchange of growing Jewish awareness. Also part of the program will be a presentation by Sherry Frank, an alumnae of 2013, who will discuss how this unique JWRP Israel trip has impacted her life and the life of her family.
Admission to the program on March 19, to be held at Congregation Beth Abraham, 396 New Bridge Road, Bergenfield, New Jersey, at 8 p.m., is by donation ranging from $36 to $1,800. Please make checks payable to Congregation Beth Abraham or online at www.jewishjourneys.org. For more information visit [email protected].
For information or to apply for the trip, contact Julie Farkas, [email protected].
By Pearl Markovitz
