This week saw a flurry of activity at the Dan Family Aish World Center. After a difficult year for the Jewish people it was good to see so many of our friends making the trip to be with Aish in Israel. One of the most special visits that took place was to celebrate a new program at Aish that I am incredibly excited about.
A few months ago I received a call from my good friend Miriam Wallach who serves as the Head of Social Responsibility at Cross River Bank. We discussed a visit she had to a University campus where she heard firsthand about some of the antisemitism that was happening to the Jewish students there. We discussed whether there was a way to create a supportive environment for these students online that would connect them to other Jewish students having similar experiences across the US.
What emerged from our team was a dynamic new effort called “United Against Antisemitism” (UAA). UAA is a unique online community that provides a dedicated safe space for support, action, and community-building among Jewish students and young professionals. UAA is a private online community, ensuring a space where Jewish students can freely express themselves, discuss difficult situations, get answers to their questions, share resources and ideas, and combine to implement action items against antisemitism.
Leading the charge as UAA Program Manager is Beatie Deutsch, the acclaimed American-Israeli marathon champion and inspiring community leader. Deutsch is known for her accomplishments as a public advocate for the Jewish people who brings with her over a decade of experience directing programming for thousands of Jewish students and young professionals globally.
We were honored to host the dynamic CEO of Cross River Bank at Aish who was in Israel with his team visiting the many programs that they support. Yaakov Gade has become a personal friend of mine and someone who I look up to every day. He has had countless trips to Israel since October 7th to volunteer with Magen David Adom as a medical professional. We are honored to partner with such an amazing socially conscious organization like Cross River Bank and we look forward to welcoming many young Jewish University Students into the Aish family so we can properly support them in an increasingly perilous world.
Aish has always been known for being infinitely creative. Every day as you walk the halls of Aish you will hear about new programs being proposed. Our entire institution is one big research and development laboratory. Even the youngest students are constantly dreaming up schemes to improve the Jewish experience. Programs like UAA, Speed dating, Discovery, Momentum, OpenDor media, Honest Reporting, the Chizuk Mission, and Birthright were all birthed in one way or another at Aish.
Rabbi Rosman, the indefatigable brilliant head of our educational arm had a new dream. Parents who came to Israel to visit their children constantly said that they wished they could have the same experience. Rabbi Rosman always told them the doors were open and in fact a number of parents came to sit in on our classes. Having witnessed firsthand the transformative experience that ensued Rabbi Rosman decided to take it to the next level.
After a brainstorming meeting with my wife Rachel and me in Miami, Rabbi Rosman set about creating a week-long program for the mothers of students currently enrolled in our world-class Erber Family Gesher program. Assisted by Aish curriculum expert Andrea Schulman, a schedule was formed that would allow the Moms to immerse themselves in the Seminary experience. This visit to Israel would have no touring on the schedule. The participants would be going back to seminary to study Torah.
It was a smashing success. All of the participants felt elevated and spiritually moved. Every day saw new growth. Perhaps the most moving experience was when the Moms, who are living observant lives in Jewish communities, had the chance to learn with our Aish Aspire program. The young women of Aish Aspire did not grow up with Torah in their lives. They chose to passionately engage with their roots. The relationships between the two groups was electrifying and moving.
One of the greatest moments for me was hearing our second-year EFG students say that they saw these Moms as role models for themselves. They looked up to the fact that these women who were no longer seminary age were striving to grow in Torah. That is who they want to be. The term that came to my mind in Hebrew was “Mivakshei Hashem”. The seekers of the Almighty.
By the end of the week, the program had been nicknamed “Mominary”, the Seminary for Moms! The lesson here is that no one is too old to go back and study in a Yeshiva or Seminary. We all must return to bathe in the waters of Jewish wisdom. Its healing powers are ethereal. There are so many of us who need a boost in life. We need to recalibrate our minds and souls. Studying Torah gives us the ability to do that. Spending a week immersed in the Almighty’s wisdom elevates a person so high that they would need to look down to see heaven.
At Aish, we are hereby committing to throw our doors open to anyone who wants to study their heritage, in-person or online. Whether one is a university student who needs a larger community or a parent who needs to recharge their spiritual batteries, Aish is your home. The choice is now yours to commit to walking in the footsteps of our people. We will always be there to walk alongside you with friendship, love, and support.
