“As human beings it is in our nature to learn from our experiences, and as Jews it is our responsibility to learn from our experiences; learning which ultimately impacts the formation of our identities and enhances our personal agency.”
“A thick institution is not one that people use instrumentally, to get a degree or to earn a salary. A thick institution becomes part of a person’s identity and engages the whole person: head, hands, heart and soul.”
“We need a word for that feeling one experiences when you either a) reply all in error or b) send a sensitive (or worse) email to the wrong person … I suggest we call it a kishkor – a mash-up of kishke and error because, at least in my experience, that is where the feeling hits.”
“Although not every application of behavioral economics will make the world a better place, I believe that giving economics a more human dimension and creating theories that apply to humans, not just econs, will make our discipline stronger, more useful, and undoubtedly more accurate.”
“When staff and board members at foundations need trusted information about philanthropic practice, there’s one source that tops their list: their peers.”
“If nonprofits committed to understanding their true cost of operations and funders shifted to paying grantees what it takes to get the job done, the starvation cycle would end.”
“Jewish tradition encourages Jews to think of themselves as an extended family; by reaching into the most extreme and insular corner of the Jewish world to find universal themes, Shtisel sends the message that, despite everything, they still are.”
“Never before was there a civil, secular Jewish state. This is the first time we have had such a thing. One would expect that special circumstances such as these would result in a different type of Jewishness.”
“At a time when the word “alumni” is often reduced to banal jargon, what really is its value, and what is the purpose of the deep relationships between institutions, individual participants and visions that last?”
“Jewish communal service is a privilege and being CEO is a remarkable opportunity. But it’s not a right. While we should respect seniority, institutions function better as meritocracies. Our community deserves nothing less.”
“It used to be that most ultra-Orthodox, or haredi, men in Israel studied the Bible full time through adulthood. But that’s changing.”
“[The University] will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.”