Five innovative pilot programs and organizations are the first-ever beneficiaries of Bikkurim - An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas, a new, joint program of United Jewish Communities (UJC), the Jewish Education Service of North America and the Kaminer Family Foundation. The five organizations and programs, selected through a competitive application process, aim to advance Jewish learning, involvement, community building, social action and spiritual life.

Selected organizations and programs will receive a wide range of services from UJC and JESNA, including complimentary office space, telecommunications services and mentoring with Jewish communal specialists, business professionals and lay leaders who will help to develop and grow the new entities.

"Bikkurim is a groundbreaking experiment – one we believe will help emerging Jewish leaders grow the projects and organizations that will ultimately be part of the Jewish community," said Jonathan Woocher, Vice President of the UJC Jewish Renaissance & Renewal Pillar. "I'm looking forward to Bikkurim directly benefiting the Incubator residents as well as the host organizations through hands-on leadership training and the establishment of new, functional, well-organized Jewish organizations."

"The selected programs promise to be high points on the Jewish communal landscape," said Stephen D. Solender, UJC President and Chief Executive Officer. "By nurturing them, UJC and JESNA are also enriching themselves, and helping to guarantee the continued vibrancy of the Jewish community."

Among the selection criterion was the innovative qualities of each project, the overall need for it, and the potential of Bikkurim to be of service. Selected programs and organizations are expected, during a tenancy of up to 24 months, to grow their projects successfully according to their missions. Participants in Bikkurim began their residencies in Fall 2000.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT PROJECTS

THE NEW SHUL is a new, progressive, non-denominational Jewish congregation in Greenwich Village. The dream is to create a downtown shul with a downtown flavor that is inclusive and egalitarian, life-affirming and spirit moving. A place where adults can open new doors to their spirituality through learning that excites the mind and ignites the spirit. A religious school where families learn together and parents are partners with teachers in passing Judaism to their children. A community where heart and hand are united, where people rise to face the challenges of trying to heal a broken world.

2001 UPDATE:

Already in its second year, THE NEW SHUL's after-school Hebrew program, Rishonim, has an enrollment of 75 children with a 90% attendance rate. The students, ranging from grades 1 to 8, are enthusiastic, engaged in their classes and are quickly creating their own sense of community.

THE NEW SHUL's membership has blossomed to 111 families, and community support continues to develop. Many innovative and exciting events have been planned, including several in conjunction with other Bikkurim projects. THE NEW SHUL has been the subject of three articles in The New York Times over the past two years. The Jewish Week has also featured THE NEW SHUL and its community events in a number of issues over the past year. Also, representatives were invited by the STAR conference to present THE NEW SHUL as an exciting new synagogue model for today's Jewish communities.

THE JEWISH DEAF RESOURCE CENTER, INC. was co-founded by a deaf and a hearing professional team, Marla Berkowitz and Naomi Brunnlehrman. It focuses primarily on Jewish Deaf education and access, as well as nurturing Jewish Deaf leadership, ASL Interpreter training in Jewish settings, and consulting to Jewish organizations on issues of access for the deaf.

2001 UPDATE:

JDRC, in partnership with two other organizations, sponsored a workshop entitled "Jewish Liturgy Hevrutah in ASL (American Sign Language)". Hearing and Deaf professionals, from all over the Northeast, participated in the program. Evaluations indicated that more of this kind of program be facilitated on a monthly basis.

MATAN is a non-profit consulting firm that aims to provide a gift of Jewish learning to every child. The organization's underlying educational philosophy is that children learn differently and may need additional support in order to be successful in their learning environments. Matan is directed by Meredith Englander, Lori Strouch and Stacy Wasserman, each of whom has a degree in Special Education, Social Work, Jewish Education or Psychology. Whether they are enrolled in dual curriculum or supplemental Jewish education programs, children face the demands of learning a second language, managing frequent transitions, organizing materials for many classes and coping with an extended day. By providing additional support to children, teachers and families, Matan aims to address challenges, one child at a time.

2001 UPDATE:

As a direct result of networking contacts made since joining Bikkurim, a highly committed board of directors is now being formed. Proposals have been submitted to two congregational schools, detailing how MATAN can work with them to create special needs programs in their communities. The organizational strides made this year will enable MATAN to provide direct services to schools at the start of the upcoming academic year. MATAN is pleased to announce that one of its founders has been awarded a Joshua Venture fellowship.

MACH"AR's mission is to develop Jewish high school service programs that combine sustained service with in-depth study of Jewish sources and contemporary social analysis. The brainchild of Rabbi Jonathan Spira-Savett, MACH"AR is an institution that offers quality service programs (eventually on a national scale), trains people to staff them locally in day and supplementary schools, and raises the profile of tzedakah, chesed, and tikkun olam in the world of Jewish high school. MACH"AR's first project, KEREN MACH"AR is a student-managed project to help poor people become self-sufficient with micro-loans to support the development of their own small businesses. Students who participate in KEREN MACH"AR commit to a program of special days of study, involvement in fundraising, and volunteer work on their own time.

2001 UPDATE:

In Long Island, students in KEREN MACH"AR are meeting and working with three entrepreneurs who will make use of the fund to launch their businesses. Other students are involved in a local collaborative, providing access to and training on computers for underserved communities. The students volunteer at the labs, raise money for them, and will issue a report on the "digital divide." All the student participants in the microlending and fundraising programs meet regularly for study sessions on topics ranging from government to Maimonides. Next year KEREN MACH"AR will expand to several other schools, including at least one day school.

STORAHTELLING is a hybrid of two cultural institutions: The Torah of the synagogue and the Storytelling of the theater. STORAHTELLING revives the ancient Jewish tradition in which the Torah is read out loud, translated and interpreted in synagogues. Twenty successful Storahtelling Ritual-Performances have been presented in U.S. congregations since 1998; the organization hopes to train people in local communities to incorporate Storahtelling into their tefillah.

2001 UPDATE:

In December 2000 STORAHTELLING was presented at the LIMMUD conference in the United Kingdom through two "How to Become a Storahteller" study and training workshops. Subsequently, two London based congregations (one Reform and one Orthodox) have undertaken the inclusion of a simultaneous Torah translation as part of their Shabbat services. Members of the congregations are currently engaged in ‘long distance' training with our New York office. These experiments constitute one pilot training model of the STORAHTELLING technique.

The STORAHTELLING Project was awarded a STAR Grant in conjunction with the Village Temple in NYC, providing the necessary funds for an additional year of STORAHTELLING presentations.

STORAHTELLING is planning events with The New Shul, following the successful "Jewish Rain Dance," "Tu BShevat - Feast of the Mystics," and Purim Night Events.

The next round of applications will be available in January 2002 for residency in September 2002. For more information, contact the .