p.tOrials ................................ 4A
Ed ..................................... 5A
Calendar ................................. 6A
Synagogue Directory ............... 7A
B'nai Mitzvah .......................... 8A
Scene Around ......................... 9A
Classified ................................ 2B
J
A group from Wilderness Torah's
the California Redwoods in 2013.
"B'naiture" program,
which infuses
the bar~bat mitzvah
Wilderness Torah
experience with nature, in
By Jacob Kamaras
JNS.org
More than five months after the Pew
Research Center's "A Portrait of Jewish
Americans" survey drew widespread
pessimism over rising intermarriage and
assimilation, as well as declining connec-
tion with synagogues and other institu-
tions, proponents of a newly released
study believe they may have the antidote
for what ails the Jewish community.
On March 10, the Jewish nonprofit
Hazon and six funders released "Seeds
of Opportunity: A National Study of Im-
mersive Jewish Outdoor, Food, and En-
vironmental Education (JOFEE),"whose
findings drew from a mixture of focus-
group data, a survey of 800 people age 18
and older, and review forms submitted
by 41 programs. All programs examined
were what the study called "immersive"
experiences of four days or longer that
fall under the umbrella of"JOFEE." The
acronym, although coined specifically
for the purpose of the study, is lingo that
the report's supporters hope will grow to
define a movement and become part of
the Jewish vernacular.
The study identified a total of 2,405
people who participated in 41 different
JOFEE programs in 2012, up from 197
participants across six JOFEE programs
in 2000. Programs included Jewish holi-
day retreats, conferences, outdoor/food
adventures, camp (for counselors and
staff), fellowships and apprenticeships,
and others. For survey respondents who
reported that they felt disconnected from
Jewish life at some point but subsequently
found a way to reconnect, 32 percent said
a JOFEE experience was the top reason
they reconnected--the most popular
JOFEE on page 15A
Following the message of
Psalm 133, verse 1--"Hineh
mah tov u'mah na'im, shevet
achim gain yachad" (Behold
how good and pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together
in unity), Congregation Beth
Am in Longwood will host an
Interfaith Shabbat Experience
on Friday, March 28, at 7:30
pro. Rabbi Rick Sherwin will
share the Beth Am bima with
local pastors and ministers
and their congregants will sit
side-by-side with those from
the Central Florida Jewish
Community who are welcome
to attend this unique and
uplifting evening.
Rabbi Rick, as he prefers
to be known, brought this
Kabbalat Shabbat together.
He stated, "The very first
chapter in the Hebrew Bible
reflects the universal value of
human dignity: "God created
the 'Adam' in the Divine Im-
age, male and female together.
Since every human being is a
descendant of the first'Adam,'
we correctly conclude that we
must treat every individual
as a reflection of the Divine
Image regardless of gender,
race, religion, ethnic origin,
physical abilities, mental ca-
pabilities, political affiliation,
socio-economic status, or
sexual orientation. In fulfill-
ment of this, it is appropriate
that Jews and Christians in
our community develop a
better understanding of each
other so that we can fulfill the
dream of Dr. Martin Luther
Rabbi Rick Sherwin
King and walk the earth like
brothers. A first step can be to
expose our Christian neigh-
bors to a traditional Shabbat
experience and explain the
rituals and the philosophy of
Shabbat."
The Kabbalat Shabbat
service will feature participa-
tion of the invited Interfaith
community along with mu-
sical enhancement by the
Beth Am choir. The invited
Christian clergy will contrib-
ute their commentary. This
service will kick-off a series
of study sessions at Beth Am
and in local churches titled
"Jewish Responses to Chris-
tian Questions." Rabbi Rick
has asked church leaders to
submit questions for this
educational series. Many have
Beth Am on page 14A
9
The Jewish Heritage Fes-
tival expresses the heart and
soul of Jewish Florida. It in-
7.
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tertwines the sounds, sights,
and spirit of Jewish culture
and brings together every
facet of the Jewish commu-
nity-young and old, singles
and families, regardless of
their religious and cultural
background. This year's fes-
tival will take place Sunday,
April 6, at the News-Journal
Center, 221 North Beach
Street, Daytona Beach, from
11 a.m.-5 p.m. The event is
free and open to the public.
Festival-goerswill enjoy na-
tionally acclaimed entertain-
ment such as the Goldovitz
Klezmer Group, Tampa's Mike
Eisenstadt Band and head-
liner Cantor Bruce Benson;
kosher, Israeli and Jewish-
style food; Israeli and Judaica
artists and vendors; and Jew-
ish organization booths.
Children's entertainmentwill
be available throughout the
day including a rock climb-
ing wall, matzoh baking,
Festival on page 14A
By Donna Williams
Prize-winning author of
15 books and Emmy Award-
winner Simon Schamabrings
to life Jewish history and
experience in a new five-part
documentary series, "The
Story of the Jews With Simon
Schama," premiering Tues-
day, March 25, from 8 to 10
p.m. EST (episodes 1 and 2)
and April 1, from 8 to 11 p.m.
EST (episodes 3, 4 and 5) on
PBS. (Check local listings).
The five-hour series follows
Schama--who has written
and presented 50 documenta-
ries on art, literature and his-
tory and is a contributing edi-
tor of the Financial Times--as
he travels from Russiaand the
Ukraine to Egypt, Israel and
Spain, exploring the imprint
that Jewish culture has made
on the world and the drama
of suffering, resilience and
rebirth that has gone with it.
The series is at the same
time a personal journey for
Schama, who has been im-
mersed in Jewish history
since his post-war childhood;
a meditation on its dramatic
trajectory; and a macrohis-
tory of a people whose mark
on the world has been out of
Wikipedia
Simon Schama
all proportion to its modest
numbers.
"If you were to remove
from our collective history,"
Schama says, "the contribu-
tion Jews have made to human
culture, our world would be
almost unrecognizable. There
would be no monotheism, no
PBS on page 14A
t
