Lee I. Sherman

President/CEO

For the past several years, I have participated in a study group under the auspices of the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies (ICJS). This spring we had a session on intermarriage between Christians and Jews and the differences and similarities in attitudes and perspectives of the various religious denominations. A Catholic Priest and a Conservative Rabbi facilitated the discussion. The Priest, who worked for many years on a local college campus, explained that he was comfortable in officiating at an interfaith marriage, both personally and as a representative of the church. The Rabbi told the group that she was not permitted by the Conservative movement to perform an interfaith marriage. Participants in our study session offered their own wide ranging views on the subject.

But, to me, the most amazing comment came from Chris Leighton, Executive Director of ICJS and a Presbyterian minister. Although interfaith marriages may be performed by others of his faith, Chris refuses to officiate at a marriage between a Christian and a Jew. He told us he has too much respect for the Jewish people, and knowing that the statistics of interfaith marriages show that couples stray from their faiths in significant numbers, he is concerned that the already small number of Jews in the world would become even smaller. And, he believes that all faiths benefit by having a vibrant Jewish community.

In this week's parashah, Balak, we read the sometimes humorous tale of Balaam and his blessing of the Jewish people. Balaam had been convinced by Balak, king of the Moabites, to curse the Israelites, who were a threatening presence as they approached the Promised Land. However, each time that Balaam opens his mouth to curse the Jews; his words become a blessing under the influence of God. Over the ages, there has been much discussion of Balaam and whether he is a "Prophet or Sorcerer?" (as discussed by Nehama Leibowitz), or perhaps a "Saint or Sinner?" (as discussed by Rabbi Jacob Milgrom, one of my childhood rabbis). One thing cannot be disputed. Whatever you may think of Balaam, the words that come out of his mouth are beautiful poetry and praise of the Israelites, including words that are incorporated into our daily prayers: "How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel." 24:5.

As different as Balaam and Chris Leighton are as people, their message to us as Jews is similar. There is much to value in the Jewish people and much to admire. The world would not be the same without the Jews, not nearly as rich for everyone. Thankfully, we have non-Jews to sometimes remind us of this.

Shabbat Shalom

In August 2010, 34 of our member agencies signed on to participate in AJFCA's institution-wide subscription to the Foundation Center's Foundation Directory Online Professional Plan. Each participating agency paid a significantly-reduced subscription fee of $390 for one year's access to the online directory of more than 100,000 foundations, corporate donors and grant making public charities. Users are able to build custom searches through nine comprehensive databases. In the first ten months of our subscription, AJFCA agencies created 5,614 searches, or an average of 165 searches per agency. According to the Foundation Center, AJFCA has created about 2,000 more searches than similarly sized group users over the same period of time. In other words, our agencies saw real value in this tool and have made excellent use of it!

The first subscription year will come to a close in mid-August. All users will have to renew if they would like another year of access. Member agencies who are interested in joining for the second year (whether or not you participated in year one) will have that opportunity. Assuming we have approximately 30 members join, the cost again will be approximately $400 per agency. If you are interested in participating, please email Megan Myers no later than August 1, 2011.