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Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s SteelTree Fund will give three organizations a total of $13,875 in fourth-round 2015–16 funding: Community Day School (CDS), The Friendship Circle and Chabad of Pittsburgh. The grant to CDS will fund a new program called Shabbat-in-a-Box. The goal of the program is to engage families with CDS through participation with […]
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The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh are incensed and heartbroken over a mass shooting at Pulse, an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Fla. The shooting — which occurred early Sunday, June 12 — left 49 dead and 53 injured. “This is a profound act of […]
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I will not be writing a message next week so I want to take this opportunity to alert you about an important and wonderful activity taking place next Saturday night (June 11th). The Annual Tikkun Leil Shavuot will take place at the Squirrel Hill JCC from 10 pm until 1 am. This comes from a […]
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When I received my Master’s Degree from Brandeis University in 1993, it was in Jewish Communal Service. At the time I began my career, I became a member of the Jewish Communal Service Association. I “Googled” the definition of the word service and this was the first to appear in my web browser: “the action of helping or doing work […]
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I warn you right at the outset of this week’s post – THIS IS A SOLICITATION. Do you own a business that pays income tax to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania? Do you know someone who owns such a business (they don’t even have to live in Pennsylvania – the company just has to be here)? If […]
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This week’s Torah portion, Kedoshim, begins with: And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, You shall be HOLY (Kedoshim), for I the Lord, your God am holy. It then goes on with a listing of things we should do (and not do) in […]
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Israel Week offers everyone in the community some way to personally connect to Israel. Thank you to all the organizations and synagogues that are playing a role to make this a reality! This Israel Week is a celebration of twenty years of Partnership2Gether that couples Pittsburgh to Karmiel and Misgav. Thousands from our community and thousands in Israel […]
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Biblical scholar and author Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, Ph.D., will visit Pittsburgh for the first time in June and will present three lectures on significant Jewish topics. The Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and three synagogues will co-sponsor the lectures. Each lecture will be on a different date and at a […]
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We are still in the midst of the holiday of Passover, celebrating the freedom of the Jewish people. I write to you today about a program taking place next Thursday that commemorates one of the most tragic chapters in Jewish history – the Shoah (the Holocaust). Yom HaShoah will be commemorated on Thursday, May 5th at 7 pm […]
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The purpose of the Unsung Jewish Heroes celebration, Sunday, May 22, 5 p.m., is to sing the praises of individuals who provide outstanding Jewish education. The event, presented by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, will include the presentation of Unsung Jewish Heroes Awards to 20 local educators from early childhood centers and day and […]
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This year Pittsburgh’s Jewish community can take an extra measure of hometown pride in the annual observance of Israel’s independence: In addition to being the year of Israel’s 68th birthday, 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of The Burgh’s sister-city relationship with Karmiel-Misgav, in Israel. To mark both occasions, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Partnership2Gether […]
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At 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 18, at Rodef Shalom Congregation, Daniel Gordis, Ph.D. — senior vice president and Koret Distinguished Fellow at Shalem College, Jerusalem — will speak at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Annual Campaign Thank You event. The event is held in appreciation of donors who have given $1,000 or more to the […]
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A Jewish family from Yemen arriving in Israel at Ben Gurion International Airport, Aug. 14, 2013. (Moshik Brin/The Jewish Agency/Flash90) Typically, I take some time to share my thoughts about our Federation, our Jewish community and issues impacting the Jewish world. In place of my typical writing, I present to you a wonderful piece by […]
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We read often about how companies are using “Big Data”. Every time you go to a website and search for an item to buy, that same item seems to appear on other website you visit as an advertisement. Every month, I seem to receive a booklet of coupons from Giant Eagle and guess what, it’s […]
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The Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh invites current and prospective Foundation fundholders to its third annual investment meeting and breakfast. The event will be Monday, May 9, at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, 5738 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh 15217. A light breakfast will be served at 7:45 a.m. The meeting, […]
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Concurrently, in one 2 hour block on Tuesday morning, three meetings took place involving Federation volunteers and staff. I think it can gives a good snapshot or sense into some of what we are working on to support our community. 1. David Bernstein, the new Executive Director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (the […]
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While most of us were sleeping on Sunday night, the Jewish Agency for Israel rescued 17 Jews from the country of Yemen. The Jewish Agency has conducted these kinds of missions for decades, bringing Jews at risk to safety in the only Jewish country in the world. Specifically from Yemen, the Jewish Agency has moved […]
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PITTSBURGH – Two Western Pennsylvania champions of diversity — Vibrant Pittsburgh and the Urban Affairs Foundation, which is a part of the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh — have joined forces to implement this year’s Mini Grants Initiative: 2016 Civic Inclusion & Engagement Fund. This fund will promote diverse communities […]
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Purim is one of the great celebratory holidays of the Jewish calendar. It rejoices in the victory of the Jewish community of Shushan over their planned destruction by the Evil Haman. What are our “Hamans” today? What or who is trying to destroy or endanger the Jewish people? One answer is that there are none […]
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Did you hear that the twins, Ben and Becca, had a B’nei Mitzvah party this past Saturday night? In an attempt to try something different for our young adult Federation donors, we overhauled what had been our Young Adult Main Event. Instead of a speaker, the Federation worked with a Hollywood writer and produced a […]
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