As a sector-within-a-sector, the Jewish innovation space must work together if we are to achieve maximal impact. Important conversations about growth, sustainability, and impact cannot take place exclusively behind the closed-doors of boardrooms or within the four walls of any one organization.

Like the secular world, the organized Jewish community today has a bit of a crush on entrepreneurs. In a recent New [...]

Today, Israels 65th Independence Day, it is appropriate that we stop and take pride in the many strengths of this young nation, and what its existence and growth has meant for Jewish people not only in Israel but around the world. 2013 offers much for LGBT people to take pride in compared with 1948.

Today marks the end of a three week period on the Jewish calendar that begins with Passover, in which we tell the Biblical story of our peoples exodus from bondage in Egypt, and ends with Yom Ha'atzmaut, on which this year we mark the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the modern state of Israel. We mark these two connected episodes of liberation, an ancient miracle and a modern one. The creation of the free and independent state of Israel is perhaps the most profound miracle of the 20th century, the reconnection of the Jewish people with our historical roots.

In a recent article in the Sunday Styles Section of The New York Times entitled The Family Stories that Bind Us, Bruce Feiler notes a surprising correlation between the resilience and health of children and their fluency in their familys stories: the single most important thing you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative. He quotes research that has identified that the more children knew about their familys history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem.

An article from The Washington Jewish Week

The cow rose gently into the air, looking robust and healthy until, with a brief spray of blood, its head separated from its body and both parts fell. Moments later a second cow flew up. This cow, sickly green and with a bandage on one leg, fell unmolested, not worthy for sacrifice to God.

Learning the rules of sacrificing digital cows popping up and down on the iPhone screen along with doves and bags of oil and flour may not be quite the same as how the ancient Israelites did things but there's a lot of Torah in this brand new game, the first from G-dcast Entertainment, aptly named "Leviticus!"

In order to genuinely learn about the needs and experiences of others, we must put aside our own assumptions, agendas, [...]

This article first appeared on Jewish Futures.

My father grew up in the real Bronx a world very different from the pseudo-Bronx of Riverdale where he raised his children. He played stickball on the streets with the Italian kids, who called him Luigi The Jew, and came home regularly with torn pants, skinned knees, and the fear of facing his mother, who would inevitably say to him: If youd been the first child, you wouldve been the last! Then hed have to suffer shopping for new pants at Barneys, where he was an irregular husky, a size that weighed on his identity. His family was a member at the Young Israel of Parkchester, an Orthodox community composed of the lower-middle class workers of the East Bronx, many of whom were immigrants and did not have any Jewish education or background. (Professor Jeffrey Gurock, who also grew up in that community, writes about this synagogue, and my grandfather, in the introduction to his book Orthodox Jews in America). The youth were the hope and the pulse of the congregation. And when children became Bar or Bat Mitzvah age, they became responsible for ensuring the continuity, relevance, and vibrancy of the community.