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January 21, 2005/Shevat 11 5765, Vol. 57, No. 21
Ruach Hamidbar receives $100,000 matching grant
STEPHANIE N. HENSCHEL
Staff Writer
Ruach Hamidbar-Spirit of the Desert has been awarded $100,000 as part of a matching grant program created by the Avi Chai Foundation and the Jewish Funders Network.
The grant program, which aims to boost Jewish education, allows donors to choose the beneficiary of their grant dollars, and the co-creators would match the funds up to $50,000.
Eliyahu Eckelberg, a member of the Jewish Renewal synagogue as well as of the Jewish Funders Network, came across the idea and presented it to the congregation's rabbi, Ayla Grafstein, in November 2004.
Eckelberg had previously sponsored a Jewish Renewal conference for local and national educators, aimed at helping those teachers and administrators promote Judaism in their schools.
The successful conference spurred Eckelberg and Grafstein to apply for the matching grant.
"I thought it was a great way to get money back into the community," said Eckelberg.
According to Grafstein, other area temples will benefit from the grant, as she plans to work collaboratively with them to create a series of programs over the 18 months. She said the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix - whom she got to support the grant proposal - were particularly interested in programs on kabbalah.
"We've always done all our projects at Ruach Hamidbar" collaboratively said Grafstein, explaining that it helps to "bring more people in."
"I think education is really important," said donor Eckelberg. "We have to find a way to reach the unaffiliated and bring them into the community. I feel that education is a good way to do that."
"The community here is really unique," said Mark Shore, president of the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center and one of the grant collaborators. According to Shore, about 70 percent of the Jewish population in the Valley is unaffiliated.
Though Shore acknowledges that some in the community may not want to be affiliated or involved, "we need to provide different ways" for everyone to participate.
"I think we're living in a time where there's a lot of unity in the Jewish community," Grafstein said of the collaboration.
It is one of the fundamental principles of the Alliance for Jewish Renewal (ALEPH) that congregations work together, said Deborah Kolodny, executive director of the organization
"It's just so exciting for us that Ayla, who is so creative and cutting-edge, will be bringing in these opportunities," Kolodny said.
Kolodny expects the programs and collaborative work "will be a model for cross-denominational work throughout the country."
"The board was very enthusiastic" about the grant, said Rabbi Bonnie Koppell of Temple Beth Sholom in Chandler. Koppell is also going to help administer the grant funding.
"I think it's a tremendously exciting opportunity for the whole community," said Koppell. Now there is money to bring in national level speakers or presenters for the entire community to learn from, she explains. Temple Beth Sholom was one of the sponsors of the conference that spurred the idea to apply for the grant.
Rabbi Peter Levi, rabbinic leader at Temple Chai, said bringing the community together to learn and experience things is "not only essential, it's imperative."
"When we team together in these ways, it also means we're able to pull our resources together," he said.
Levi will also aid Koppell in administering the grant funds.
A percentage of the funds from the grant will be used to send local rabbis and educators to Jewish Renewal rabbinical gatherings and conferences.
The Renewal rabbi said she hopes to get everyone together in the next month to discuss how the funds can best be used.
Eckelberg said Ruach Hamidbar has done some great programs in the past that have "drawn in a good audience, and I think we'll be able to continue that."
Ruach Hamidbar has received half of its $100,000 and is waiting for the last half, which should be delivered by the end of the month.
Call Ruach Hamidbar, 602-420-1700.
Contact the writer here
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