Giving Compass' Take:

• Malka Fleischmann writes for eJewish Philanthropy about her own experiences in Jewish philanthropy and the importance of summer camps, community involvement and putting people first. 

• What can other sectors of philanthropy learn from Malka's article? 

• Learn more about understanding, context and perspective in Jewish philanthropy. 

Some of what unfolded at last week’s first Chicago-based Jewish Futures conference, co-sponsored and executed by our team at The Jewish Education Project and our partners at UpStart, affirmed well-trodden territory in the field of Jewish ed. But some of it, for me, wrenched loose fresh questions about the power balance between teacher and learner or between those who are more literate and those less so.

The central idea being explored – the power of information and how shifting power impacts Jewish education – asked participants to consider the educational implications of current trends and inclinations being expressed among our youth, chiefly the desire to reinvent ritual and create more of a DIY Judaism, one that doesn’t cede all power to traditional curricular materials, sacred text and highly literate teachers.

During a speaker panel featuring Jewishly-engaged students and young professionals, when asked what turns them away from wanting to participate in a Jewish experience, Moishe House Without Walls Program Manager, Liza Moskowitz, explained that the lack of democratization in Jewish education is her personal sticking point.

Read the full article about giving back through Jewish philanthropy by Malka Fleischmann at eJewish Philanthropy.