100 Days to Go
Bright Spots in our Future

By Sherwin Pomerantz

100 days from now the United Nations General Assembly’s 2011 session in New York will open but tonight begins the holiday of Shavuot and I had to find something positive to write about to give all of us hope for the future, and I found it.

Last night at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies here in Jerusalem, on whose Board of Directors I proudly sit, I saw the future and it was good. I had the pleasure of participating in the commencement ceremonies of the Pardes Educators Program whose graduates, after three years of training here in Jerusalem and at the Hebrew College of Boston, receive a Master of Jewish Education Degree and a Certificate in Day School Education. Next year these young people will be teaching at 12 day schools in the US in Chicago, Greenwich (CT), Rockville (MD), Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Washington, Newton (MA), Hartsdale (NY), Irvine (CA) and, of course, New York City as well.

And who are these young people?

• New Yorker with a BA in Comparative Literature from Brown
• Connecticut native with a BA in Music from Brandeis
• Indiana native with a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis
• Connecticut native with a BA in Human Development and Family Studies from UConn
• Maryland native with a BA in Philosophy from Barnard College and a BA in tanakh from List College of the Jewish Theological Seminary
• Canadian with a BA in Religious Studies and Education from York U
• New Yorker with a BA in English Literature from Queens College and an MA in Linguistics from the University of New Hampshire
• New Yorker with a BA in History and Philosophy from Brandeis
• New Jersey native with a BA in Anthropology and another in Folklore and Ethnomusicology, both from Indiana U
• Maryland native with a BS in Biology from the University of Maryland
• New Yorker with a BA in History of Art and Spanish from Bryn Mawr College
• Canadian with a BFA in Painting, Digital Art and Video Art from York U
• Pennsylvania native with a BA in Sports Science/Athletic Training from the University of Kansas
• Georgia native with a BA in Near Eastern Languages and Literature from Indiana U as well as a JD from Temple U

These 14 Jewish young adults have all departed, if you will, from their chosen fields of study to spend three or more years here in Jerusalem immersed in Torah learning and will now commit at least the next few years of their lives (hopefully more) to imparting the joy they have discovered in Judaism to their students. How I wish I could be one of their students.

In the short homilies each of them gave last night you could see not only their love for learning, their commitment to teaching and their understanding of the texts, but more importantly their desire to share what they have experienced here in Israel during their time here.

UN vote in September or not, the world’s constant criticism of Israel or not, the existential threat we face each day by living here or not, I walked away from those exercises last night feeling that at least in this cohort of young people there is hope for the future and light at the end of the tunnel.

Let’s hope that as we enter the holiday of matan torah, celebrating the giving of the law at Sinai, that the study, reflection, prayer and holiday joy we will experience will renew our strength and prepare us emotionally for the difficult days ahead.

Chag sameach …Happy Holiday….to one and all!