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Lee I. Sherman
President/CEO
Successful organizations understand how to accept and embrace change. This week's parashah, Hukkat, teaches a valuable leadership lesson, in how leaders respond to their constituencies and either change or face replacement.
After Miriam's death is reported, the Israelites find themselves without sufficient water. This causes them to complain to Moses, echoing the now familiar lament that they should have never left Egypt. Having wandered in the wilderness for now almost forty years, many of those doing the complaining were never actually in Egypt, but this is a refrain they certainly heard from their parents. Moses once again relays the peoples' complaint to God, and God instructs him to get water from the rock. Clearly angry with the constant kvetching (and perhaps reflecting a simmering grudge from Korah's rebellion in last week's parashah), Moses addresses the people: "Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?" B'midbar 20:10.
Moses does indeed get water from the rock. He strikes it twice and "copius" water flows. And, although the people now have what they wanted, the results for Moses and Aaron are not so good. God tells them that the striking of the rock will result in their deaths (for Aaron, almost immediately) prior to entry into the Promised Land. Although Moses later pleads with God to relent on this punishment, the edict remains and Moses will die without ever having set foot in Eretz Yisroel, a severe punishment for striking the rock.
Moses is one of the great leaders in history. He assumes a mantle of leadership that was thrust upon him and he convinces a controlling despot to free a nation of slaves. He leads those hundreds of thousands on a spiritual, political, and physical journey that lays the foundation for a people and a nation that survives today. But, the incident with the rock demonstrates that even a great leader can have a failure of leadership. At the time of the events in Hukkat, Moses remembers that he had previous success with striking a rock to release water (Exodus 17:6). However, just because something was successful in the past does not mean that it is the correct course of action for the current dilemma. Each situation in time is unique. Moses has a new constituency complaining to him now. These are the Israelites who grew up in the desert, as the generation of the Exodus has perished. Are they truly "rebels," or has there been a failure of their parents and teachers to properly convey their lessons? They require different leadership for the concluding act of the journey.
May all of us find that, like Moses, 120 years of age is a good time to transition to new leadership.
Shabbat Shalom |
Strategic Planning
The first in our series of meetings to gather information for AJFCA's strategic planning process was held yesterday, June 30th, by conference call. We had 12 participants on the call from 11 different agencies ranging in size from A to D and in locations from New York to California. Our conversation addressed the topics of networking among agencies, communications and information disseminated from AJFCA to our member agencies, our advocacy efforts, financial benefits and the Jewish connection among agencies. It was a lively and informative forum and we are grateful for the time and effort of those who participated. Several of you have signed up already to participate in the call scheduled for August 10th at 2pm EDT. In the interest of involving as many of our agencies as possible, we are announcing an additional conference call date - Thursday, July 28th at 1pm EDT. Please email Barbara Tapper if you would like to sign up for the July 28th or August 10th conference calls. |
Member Forums are Here
AJFCA's new member forums are set up and operational. The specific forum groups are as follow:
All Agency CEO's, A/B Agency CEO's, D/E Agency CEO's, Canadian Agency Executive Directors, AJFCA Board of Directors, Agency Presidents/Board Chairs, Agency CFO's, Development Professionals, Volunteer Coordinators, Senior Managers, Human Resource Professionals, Elderly Service Professionals, and Marketing/Communications Professionals.
You may access the forums through the Member page on AJFCA's website. All CEO's and the entire AJFCA Board of Directors have been entered into the system and should have received an email with their username. In addition, we have partially loaded the professional affinity groups with the names and email addresses of those professionals whose information we had. Those who have been entered should have received an email with their username and password this morning.
If you would like to join a forum, please email Barbara Tapper your name, your agency and the name of the forum(s) you would like to join. Barbara will email you your username and password once you have been entered.
Once you have logged in, you will be able to reset your username and/or password, and also control the frequency of email notifications of activity on the forum. The system is user-friendly, so please explore its capabilities and do not hesitate to call or email Megan if you have questions.
Thank you for your patience during this process. We look forward to the return of vibrant discussions and the exchange of information that will benefit the work of all of our member agencies. |
Project Heart
Holocaust Era Asset Restitution T askforce
If you or your family owned movable, immovable, or intangible property that was confiscated, looted or forcibly sold in countries governed or occupied by the Nazi forces or Axis powers during the Holocaust era and you or your relatives received no restitution for that property after the Holocaust era, you may be eligible to participate in the Holocaust Era Asset Restitution Taskforce Project (Project Heart).
Project Heart is a non-profit initiative of the Jewish Agency for Israel, funded by and in cooperation with the government of Israel.
For More Information or to download the questionnaire, visit http://www.heartwebsite.org or call toll free 800-584-1559, or direct line 414-967-2581 between 9am-6pm EST, Sunday-Thursday (except Jewish holidays) and the questionnaire will be mailed to you. |
Purchasing Point
Employee Discounts on Cell Phones and Celluar Services
Did you know that some Purchasing Point vendors offer discounts to your organization's employees? If you are an existing Sprint or Nextel customer, save 20% by renewing your contract. Call Sprint Customer Service Solutions, 866-853-4931. Press 1. Reference Corporate ID: HCHPG_ZZZ and ask for your account to be converted to the HPG Employee discount program pricing. If you are a new customer, visit https://healthtrust.sprnext.com.
Is your agency signed up for their discounted pricing? Sign up for Purchasing Point and begin accessing its benefits right away! Find these and other popular vendors on your Portal, and enter invitation code: AJFCA620. |
Jewish Community Services of Baltimore's Prevention Education ifIknew.org website is being considered for
the Darrell D. Friedman Institute's Challenge of Innovation Award. ifIknew.org is a multi-media project dedicated to raising awareness about risky behaviors that can profoundly impact lives. Their innovative website uses videos and blogs to engage youth, increase knowledge and help them to make healthy life decisions.Your help is needed to decide on the most ground-breaking initiatives - the one that reaches key segments of the population and shows the power of advanced thinking in the community. Please take a moment to click on the survey link and show your support of the www.ifIknew.org submission. |
AJFCA's Website
We hope you have had the opportunity to check out the new AJFCA website. If you are unable to access the member portion of the website please email Megan and she will send you your logins. If you would like to change your username or password please email Megan so she can make the change(s) for you. |
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