In the last month, Clal faculty met twice with a group of college-age Russian speaking Jews who are part of LEAD, a student internship program operated by FEGS and sponsored by UJA Federation of New York. The program brings students together to study leadership and introduce them to the Jewish community. The sessions, arranged by Clal Teaching Fellow Janet R. Kirchheimer, offered the students a chance to learn more about what it means to be a Jewish leader, and are part of our ongoing work with LEAD.

In the first session, led by Ms. Kirchheimer, she asked the students to consider what it means to lead Jewishly using text study, and incorporated a creative writing exercise to explore their Russian and American backgrounds. She also asked them to examine how their life stories might influence their vision of leadership.

In the second session, Dr. Joshua Halberstam, Clal Associate, spoke about the different steams in Jewish life, including the Hasidic movement, its origins, and its place in America today. He challenged them to think about their place in the Jewish community and what they can offer in their future roles as leaders. Aliza Kaplan, Clal’s Director of Operations and Administration, talked about Clal, our history, programs, and current work. In addition, Anna Rakhlin, Clal’s Staff Accountant who emigrated from the former Soviet Union, talked about what it means to work in the Jewish community.

These Clal programs engage students in dialogue about how Jewish values can inform their leadership abilities. Describing Clal’s work with the LEAD interns, FEGS Program Manager Karen Klein said that Clal always challenges the interns to think about their potential in new ways, and commended Clal for leading inspirational seminars on Jewish leadership.

By Judy Epstein from Clal