-By Daniel Slovis

I was lucky– six weeks is a long time for a first visit to the Jewish Holy Land, and it was just the right amount of time for me to have a completely life-changing experience.

I never expected to have such a fulfilling Israel trip. I know everyone talks about how it was “the best experience of their life” or “nothing could ever compare to the feeling you have when you land in Israel”, but I was skeptical at first. I had heard so many exciting things about so many different trips to Israel, but I didn’t want to believe anyone until I got to experience it for myself.

The thing is, everyone was exactly right! Nothing could compare to my trip to Israel. The Ramah Israel organization put together an incredible summer. No matter where I went or what I did, I felt at home.

The long and grueling plane ride everyone complains about really wasn’t so bad for me. When we landed and everyone started clapping, I felt a small rush of excitement and a big rush of nervousness. I didn’t know what to expect. I could barely speak Hebrew, and I knew absolutely no one on that plane. But the nerves and loneliness I felt walking through the giant Ben-Gurion airport didn’t last long. I got my bag and found the Ramah group, and just like that I was on my way to a once in a lifetime journey.

Finally, I found my camp friends, the people I’ve known for seven years. We’ve all been dreaming about taking this trip since just about the first days of camp seven years ago. Along with all of my old friends, I met new friends, people from all over the U.S. and Canada who went to other Ramah camps. Just getting to know everyone was an interesting experience, learning about their different camp cultures and customs and lingo. At school, anthropology is one of my favorite classes, so being able to watch and learn about all these new cultures in the backdrop of a new country was a fascinating experience for me.

Our trip started in the north of Israel and ended in the south. Unlike many of my friends, I had never been to Israel before, so no matter where we went, I was blown away. Climbing mountains, touring historic sites, and learning jerusalemso much about my own culture was just incredible. I think I learned more about Judaism in those six weeks than I had in my entire life! When we reached the heart of Jerusalem, our bus stopped at a small park that overlooks the entire city, and at first glance I was mesmerized. Our group all got together to say the shehechiyanu blessing, and I felt a rush of love and a feeling of being at home.

We did so much, I wish I could write about everything, but that could turn into a novel! So I will just briefly share two of my favorite experiences from the trip. The first was at the Western Wall. I had never in my life experienced anything like it. The instant feeling of knowing that everyone who surrounds me is a Jew just like me, and knowing that the place where I was standing is one of the holiest and most historically meaningful sites I will ever see— that made my head spin. The part that impressed me the most was that it felt like an affirmation of all of the stories I was told growing up, almost like proof that everything I had learned about actually happened. I was stunned by the beauty and antiquity of this holy place.

My other favorite experience was a program called Desert Survival. Desert Survival was a four day, three night journey wandering through the Negev, climbing up and down mountains and through rough terrains. The thing about Ramah is that when you go on camping trips at camp, you can tell they are very controlled environments and almost fake, but this was completely different. It was real, we were actually on a survival program in a real desert, and desert-tourismthat’s why I loved it so much. The best part of this journey in the Negev was when my group of 5 started walking down a very long dirt road to get to our second base camp. At one point, my group started to get on my nerves, so I started walking faster and soon enough I was finally by myself in front of them. While walking, I started thinking to myself. I thought about how difficult this actually is, surviving in the desert, and realizing that it is one of the most difficult things I have ever done. But then I thought about the future and how so many new things will be coming my way and many of them will be very difficult, but if I am able to get through this difficult experience, then I know I will be ready to conquer anything that comes my way in the future. That moment I had, realizing that I can take on whatever happens in the future, was the best feeling I could have had, and I’m so thankful for it.

Ultimately, my six week trip to Israel was the most incredible experience I have ever had in my life. I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to go on this trip, and I am so blessed that Memphis Jewish Federation helped me get there. I don’t know any other way to show my gratitude except a genuine thank you.

Daniel Slovis, the son of Amy Israel and Adam Slovis, is a senior at Lausanne School. Memphis Jewish Federation’s Lemsky Endowment Fund provided him with a Teen Israel Experience grant to help offset the costs of his Ramah Israel Seminar program in Israel. All rising juniors and seniors in the Memphis Jewish community are eligible for grants of up to $2500 to attend a recognized teen summer program in Israel. Teen Israel Experience applications for summer 2017 will be available in November at www.jcpmemphis.org/lemsky-endowment-fund.

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In support of strengthening both Jewish campus life in Memphis and the greater Memphis Jewish community, an exclusive college scholarship opportunity is available for students participating in Jewish life in their communities who elect to attend Rhodes College.

The Jewish Community Fellowship created by Rhodes College has made available five $10,000 merit-based scholarships, each renewable for 3 years for a total of $40,000 per student.

Students must apply to Rhodes College as either Early Decision or Early Action applicants by November 15, or as Regular Decision Applicants by January 15. Students must then be offered admission for the Fall 2020 semester, and choose to enroll at Rhodes. The scholarship application requires a cover letter, resume, and 500-word essay.

An evaluation committee for the Rhodes scholarship, established by JCP, will review all applications and make recommendations to Rhodes based on the applicant’s participation in Jewish life, service in the community, and essay. The fellowship application can be found here.

Recommended students will be considered for admission and scholarship by Rhodes on a competitive basis. Fellowship awardees are expected to become active in Jewish life at Rhodes.

For additional information, contact Bluma Zuckerbrot-Finkelstein at 901-767-7100 or bzuckerbrot-finkelstein@jcpmemphis.org.

Rhodes College Jewish Community Fellowship-2020-2021

Fact Sheet

Deadline to apply for admission for Fall 2020 semester
Early Decision: November 1, 2019
Early Action: November 15, 2019
Regular Decision: January 15, 2020

Deadline to apply for Fellowship
For Early Decision and Early Action Applicants: November 15, 2019
For Regular Decision Applicants: January 15, 2020

Scholarship description and requirements

Rhodes College is pleased to make available five $10,000 merit scholarships to students who participate in Jewish life in their communities across the United States. Eligible students must apply for admission to Rhodes by January 15th for the Fall 2020 semester, be offered admission and choose to enroll at Rhodes. Fellowship applications will be reviewed by Jewish Community Partners (JCP) of Memphis and JCP will recommend applicants to Rhodes based on their participation in Jewish life and service and based on the responses to an essay prompt. A cover letter, a resume, and a 500-word essay will be required for the JCP recommendation. The essay prompt can be found below.

Recommended students will be considered for admission and scholarship to Rhodes on a competitive basis. Students winning scholarship recognition will receive a Jewish Community Fellowship from Rhodes of $10,000 renewable for up to three years.

Competitive students may receive academic scholarship in a larger amount; however, the scholarships may not be combined and the larger scholarship will be awarded with a letter of recognition for the recommendation from Jewish Community Partners.

Fellowship awardees are expected to become active in Jewish life at Rhodes and to fulfill the following requirements:

Attend a minimum of 10 Rhodes Hillel events/programs each school year;

Plan one Rhodes Hillel event/program per year;

Attend monthly leadership meetings with other Fellows and Rhodes Hillel Director;

Write an article about Jewish life at Rhodes for print and electronic distribution;

Make a presentation about Jewish life at Rhodes at a Memphis Jewish Federation board meeting;

Complete an annual Fellowship Recertification Form.

In addition, Fellows are strongly encouraged to consider an elected leadership position on the Rhodes Hillel Student Board.

Essay prompt

We live in an increasingly complicated world. How does your involvement in Jewish life influence the way you foresee accomplishing Rhodes’ vision of “graduating students with a life-long passion for learning, a compassion for others, and the ability to translate academic study and personal concern into effective leadership and action in their communities and the world?”

Please apply here: https://admission.rhodes.edu/register/jewishcommunityfellowship

Background on Hillels of Memphis

Hillels of Memphis serves Jewish students throughout the Memphis community, from all Memphis campuses. The Rhodes College chapter was launched in 2017, building on the previous work of the Jewish Student Union. Rhodes Hillel is operated by a student board in cooperation with Hillels of Memphis Director Sophie Bloch and a lay-led Advisory Council. Rhodes Hillel focuses on cultural, religious, educational, and social programming and is open to all students regardless of background. Rhodes Hillel is operated by Memphis Jewish Federation and endowed through the generosity of an anonymous donor.

Background on Memphis Jewish Community

 The Memphis Jewish community is a full-service, vibrant community with seven synagogues, Hillels on both the Rhodes and University of Memphis campuses, a beautiful and first-rate Jewish Community Center, engaging programming for youth and young adults, outstanding Jewish preschools, day schools and religious schools, an active Jewish Federation, kosher food options, award-winning residential nursing home and rehabilitation facility and more.  For more information about Jewish life in Memphis, please go to www.jcpmemphis.org

Questions/Additional information

At Rhodes College, please contact Ali Hamilton, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions: 901-843-3706/hamiltona@rhodes.edu

At Jewish Community Partners, please contact Sophie Bloch, Campus Director: 901-452-2453/sophiebloch@hillelsofmemphis.org

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Located on New York City’s Museum Mile, the Jewish Museum is a jewel-box of an art museum, and a distinctive hub for art and Jewish culture for people of all backgrounds.

umpOur Memphis ties to this treasure run deep. Longtime Memphis business leader and philanthropist Ira A. Lipman is a former board member and his son, Gustave K. Lipman, now represents the family on the board of directors.

This beautiful museum – a gift for all who visit – is now a gift to the Memphis Jewish community.

Through the Lipmans’ generosity, any member of the Memphis Jewish community can visit the museum free of charge. For your free tickets to the Jewish Museum, simply call our own Courtney Shemper at 901-767-7100 or send an email to cshemper@jcpmemphis.org. Tickets will be available until depleted, which won’t happen overnight, so make sure to check in with Courtney before your next visit to the city.

The Museum maintains a unique collection of nearly 30,000 works of fine art, Judaica, antiquities, folk art, ceremonial objects, and broadcast media which reflect the global Jewish experience over more than 4,000 years. Their distinguished exhibition history reveals a deep and rich exploration of Jewish culture and identity, and includes some of the most seminal exhibitions of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Museum also offers dynamic education programs – from talks and lectures, to performances, to hands-on art making and more – which serve a wide range of audiences, including families, students, educators, and art lovers.jewish-museum-new-banner

Two new temporary exhibits open in November, one exploring the architecture of Pierre Chareau, a French designer credited with building France’s first steel and glass house, the Maison de Verre, and another which will see an entry in the Museum’s long-running Using Walls, Floors, and Ceilings series, this time featuring a commissioned piece by Los Angeles artist Alex Israel.

In 1944, Frieda Schiff Warburg, widow of the prominent businessman and philanthropist Felix Warburg, who had been a Seminary trustee, donated the family mansion at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street to the Seminary for use as a museum. Located along New York City’s Museum Mile, and designed in the French Gothic chateau-style by architect Charles P.H. Gilbert, the original building was completed in 1908, and has been the home of the Museum since 1947.

Seasoned museum-goes know that wandering the galleries of any great museum builds up a mighty hunger and thirst. Luckily, a storied New York Jewish food purveyor can be found within the Jewish Museum.

After 102 years on the Lower East Side, Russ & Daughters, the landmark New York City appetizing shop on East Houston Street, has opened a new location inside the Museum — a kosher 70-seat, sit-down restaurant and a take-out appetizing counter on the Museum’s lower level.

Offering the highest quality smoked fish, bagels, and traditional baked goods, the Russ family for four generations has owned and operated Russ & Daughters since 1914. The restaurant offers a selection of classic appetizing foods drawn from the original Russ & Daughters shop as well as the Russ & Daughters Cafe, including: smoked fish platters, bagels and bialys, knishes, herring, salads, soups, egg creams, and classic desserts such as babka. The appetizing take-out counter offers traditional smoked fish and spreads by the pound, as well as bagel sandwiches.

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Eshet chayil mi yimtza v’rachok mip’ninim michrah– An accomplished woman, who can find? Her value is far beyond pearls- from the Eshet Chayil, a poem attributed to King Solomon that concludes the book of proverbs. lions-2

17,500 women strong, the Jewish Federation’s Lion of Judah cohort are fierce, a fundraising force to be reckoned with. Over the last 46 years, the Lions have worked toward changing the world, becoming an international emblem of empowerment and generosity as they’ve raised more than a billion dollars to benefit Jews in Israel, in nations across the world, and in our own communities.

Beginning this past Sunday, 1,200 Lions gathered in Washington, D.C. for the annual International Lion of Judah Conference, which ran through Tuesday. More than 100 speakers and scores of breakout sessions and forums offered the latest information on the critical issues facing the world today, giving the Lions much to sink their teeth into.

Marlene Tenenbaum Gerson was honored as this year’s Memphis recipient of the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award, which honors a group of women who are bold, innovative, empowered, and generous. They are role models in their communities and beyond, setting an aspirational standard for leadership and philanthropy. Marlene was awarded along with 74 of her peers, each representing a hometown Federation.

On the last day of the conference, after packed days of workshops, lectures, and brain-picking with one another, the Lions gathered in the International Ballroom of the Washington Hilton, where they made their pledges to the 2017 Annual Campaign. This year, their collective generosity broke records, beating last year’s total by 5.5%. Each Lion returned home with her share of the $30.5 million pledged that afternoon, something to make her proud when she returned to her pride.

lion-pride

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Thanks to the vision of Memphis artist, Zoe Nadel, Memphis Jewish Home and Rehab (MJHR) is now home to a new, rotating art gallery in the Gomez Auditorium.

Building on the success of the event founded by Joan and Arnold Weiss, Home is Where the Art Is, art chair Zoe Nadel saw the opportunity to establish a permanent gallery in the auditorium. Her mission was to enrich the lives of the patients, residents, their families, the staff, and the community and to offer local artists an opportunity to show and sell their work.

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An example of Nadel’s rich, textural work.

Zoe took her idea to Joel Ashner, Director of Philanthropy and Community Engagement for MJHR, who in turn took it to MJHR’s community development committee for approval.  Zoe and her husband Dr. Alan Nadel donated the art display system for the gallery to the Home.

“The new gallery will give shoppers more time to decide on a purchase whether for themselves or the Home, and help raise needed funds for the Home,” said Joel. “We’re also working on a way to involve each artist in our art therapy program.”

The gallery will feature two artists at a time for several months with a month set aside during the holiday season for residents and staff to showcase their art. Just like the event, Home is Where the Art Is, a portion of the sale of each piece will go to MJHR.

Zoe Nadel is the first participating artist. She has 50 years of experience in the arts with work in 14 corporate collections, including Delta Airlines and Embassy Suites. This past year, PBS, Tennessee Crossroads aired a story of her life as an artist and gardener. Check it out below.

Two of her mix media collages licensed by John Richard manufactures for reproduction sold successfully worldwide and on Amazon and Houzz. Recently her art appeared in At Home Memphis & Mid South. In July, pictureframes.com contacted Zoe to feature her art in all their publications and on their social media. Check out her vivid use of color and shape on her website.

 

In addition to the art sale, many pieces of art from MJHR’s permanent collection are still available for dedication in honor of a loved one for a donation of $250 or $500 depending on the size of the piece.  Or a donor can purchase a piece from the artist featured in the new gallery and donate it to MJHR for permanent display along with a dedication.

A contest will be held to name the gallery, which is open to the public.  For more information on the contest or the gallery, contact Joel Ashner at 756-3273 or jashner@memphisjewishhome.org.trowled

 

About Memphis Jewish Home & Rehab

Memphis Jewish Home & Rehab (MJHR) is a not-for-profit organization that provides quality care to people of all faiths who are seeking rehabilitation services and long-term care in the Mid-South. For 89 years, MJHR’s professionally trained staff has been dedicated to compassionately serving the needs of seniors in a warm and supportive environment. Located on 77 acres in Cordova, MJHR offers 145,000 square feet of inviting space in a park-like setting. For more information, please call (901) 758-0036 or visit their website.

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Every other year, The Jewish Federations of North America asks each community to nominate a woman for the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award. This award recognizes women who exemplify the spirit of the Lion of Judah by proven commitment to the Jewish community through leadership and philanthropic giving. This year, Memphis Jewish Federation is proud to announce Marlene Tenenbaum Gerson as the 2016 recipient of the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award.

Marlene, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, moved to Memphis in 1973 and has been a Jewish community leader as a volunteer and a professional for nearly five decades.

Marlene’s commitment began in her teens through B’nai B’rith Youth Organization and included serving as International B’nai B’rith Girls Vice President. When she moved to Memphis, she quickly engaged with Memphis Jewish marlene-in-conversationFederation. She was tapped to take on a professional role in the early 1990s as Director of the University of Memphis Hillel, and this position led to others.

She served in various professional capacities within the Federation, including Campaign Director and Interim Executive Director. Leadership positions included many years on the board of directors and chairmanships in Young Leadership and Women’s Division. She received Federation’s highest honor while serving as chair of Young Leadership, the Arie Becker Young Leadership Award.

Marlene has also been very involved with Memphis BBYO, Wings Cancer Foundation and her synagogue Beth Sholom. She and her husband, Herb, currently split their time between Memphis and Atlanta. They are parents of two daughters and a son, who along with their spouses, have given them six grandchildren.

kipnis-wilson-friedland-piano-womenOn Thursday, September 8 the Memphis Lions of Judah hosted an event honoring Marlene and past recipients of the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award including Sylvia Marks, Mary Lynn Perl, Diane Mendelson, and Louise Sklar. Laurie Cooper, who received the award in 2014, presented Marlene with a recognition certificate and gift from Federation. Laurie spoke about her personal experience working with Marlene on various projects with the Women’s Division including mission trips to Israel.

The Lion of Judah is a symbol of today’s Jewish woman’s strength, a symbol of her caring about the organized Jewish world and a symbol of her financial commitment of at least $5,000 to the community’s Annual Campaign.  Since 1972, the Lion of Judah program has brought together women of all ages and from many walks of life to play an essential role in creating social justice, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, preserving human dignity and building Jewish identity. In 1985 an amazing group of women established the Lion of Judah in Memphis. Today we have over 100 Lions of Judah in Memphis who proudly wear their Lion of Judah pins, representing sisterhood, connectedness, and empowerment.

The International Lion of Judah Conference (ILOJC) will be held in Washington, D.C., from Sunday, September 11 to Tuesday, September 13. The conference is held every two years and brings Lions of Judah together from around the world for three phenomenal days of learning, sharing and celebration. This year’s program headliners include Madeline Albright, the first female Secretary of State, and Tom Ridge, first Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Marlene Gerson will be honored at the conference as Memphis Jewish Federation’s Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award recipient.

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-by Noa Siskind

This past May, I went to Israel for the first time through March of the Living with the BBYO delegation. The trip was scheduled during the week of Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut.  Yom HaZikaron is Memorial Day in Israel, and it is a day of great sadness. I learned while I was there that every Israeli knows at least one person who has died while serving in the IDF. During Yom HaZikaron, it is traditional to stand in silence for two minutes as a siren goes off throughout the entire country. I was able to witness this moment of silence, but I witnessed it in the strangest of places. A lot of Jews think of Israel as our homeland, a land filled with milk and honey, a place where it is okay to be Jewish and to feel Jewish pride. I did feel that sense of pride during my time in Israel, but surprisingly enough, not during the two minute siren on Yom HaZikaron.

yom-hazikaronDuring the siren, I happened to be physically located on a street corner right outside of East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is known to be a primarily Arab neighborhood, and I really understood the implications of that during this siren. When you hear about the siren, you imagine everyone stopping their cars and standing on the street respectfully honoring the memory of the fallen men and women, but in East Jerusalem I saw the opposite. There were drivers honking, speeding, and giving middle fingers, while I along with a hundred other Jewish teens stood still for the siren. This was a wake-up call for me. I learned that Israel is not as perfect and cheery as it seems to the Jewish people in America. There is a lot of political tension and outright violence in certain areas, and that is scary. But although I didn’t feel my Israeli pride on a day that I should have, I did feel it less than 24 hours later on Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day.

noa-siskind

From the left: Julia Dick, Rachel Maltz, Noa Siskind, Cayla Kaplowitz, Sami Sloan, Brandon Rock, and Margaret Nevins feeling the love on Ben Yehuda Street on Yom HaAtzmaut.

After my experience in East Jerusalem on Yom HaZikaron, I was scared, anxious, and uncomfortable as I walked the streets of Jerusalem. I was nervous about leaving our kibbutz to go to Ben Yehuda Street for Yom HaAtzmaut. But as soon as I got off the bus to enter Ben Yehuda, something immediately changed. Every Israeli who had been grieving just one day earlier was now visibly filled with pride and love for Israel, and that instantly rubbed off on me when I walked down Ben Yehuda Street on Independence Day. I looked one way and I saw IDF soldiers dancing, I looked another way and I saw the Israeli flag draped over someone’s back, I turned around and saw a group of kids singing and dancing together. Everyone was so happy because Israel is still here and it’s still a Jewish state.

I came to the realization that Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut are back-to-back in the calendar because you must grieve before you can celebrate. On Yom HaZikaron, Israeli citizens reflect on the ultimate sacrifice made by their loved ones, and then on Yom HaAtzmaut, Israelis celebrate the reason for that sacrifice.

It was truly a beautiful and enlightening first experience in my homeland.

 

Noa Siskind, the daughter of Audrey and Greg Siskind, is a junior at Lausanne School. Memphis Jewish Federation’s Lemsky Endowment Fund provided her with a Teen Israel Experience grant to help offset the costs of her BBYO March of the Living program in Poland and Israel. All rising juniors and seniors in the Memphis Jewish community are eligible for grants of up to $2500 to attend a recognized teen summer program in Israel. Teen Israel Experience applications for summer 2017 will be available in November at www.jcpmemphis.org/lemsky-endowment-fund.

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June 30, 2016 – (Memphis, TENNESSEE) – In partnership with our friends and colleagues at Rhodes College, Jewish Community Partners is proud to announce the formation of a Hillel at Rhodes College, which will launch with the fall 2016 semester.

Around 70 Jewish students are enrolled at Rhodes, and while a Jewish Student Organization has had an established presence on campus for years, their ability to reach and engage students has been limited by an absence of dedicated staff and a shortage of resources.

Jewish Community Partners/Memphis Jewish Federation funding, along with some money directed from student activity fees, will provide for a Hillel director and robust programming, overseen by an advisory board of leaders from the Memphis Jewish community.

“We are honored to partner with Rhodes College to enhance the Jewish presence on campus,” said Laura Linder, JCP’s president and CEO. “JCP will bring all of the resources of the broader Memphis Jewish community to the partnership, enabling students to connect with Jewish life on campus and with our close knit Jewish community.”

“For a long time I have felt that since there’s a growing number of Jewish students at Rhodes College that we’re underserving them,” said Sherry Weinblatt, director of the Morris S. Fogelman Jewish Student Center at Hillel of

Rhodes College president Dr. William E. Troutt announced the formation of the Rhodes Hillel at our Annual Meeting earlier this year.

Rhodes College president Dr. William E. Troutt announced the formation of the Rhodes Hillel at our Annual Meeting earlier this year.

Memphis, on the University of Memphis campus. “There’s been a JSO there for a long time, but putting the name Hillel on it will be a very positive move in attracting more Jewish students. We feel that it is definitely a positive situation.”

Attracting young Jewish people to Memphis, and perhaps particularly to an undergraduate experience at Rhodes, has the potential to make a significant impact on Memphis’ Jewish community. At JCP’s recent Annual Meeting, Rhodes College president Dr. William Troutt was invited to the podium to announce the new Hillel. He also told the audience that 90% of his college’s students come from outside the Mid-South, and that 40% remain here after graduation.

The large number that stays here after college is no accident. Two years in a row, Rhodes was named America’s #1 Service-Oriented College by Newsweek magazine, a direct outcome of the college’s programmatic efforts to engage its student body in grassroots, community-focused activism and initiatives. Not surprisingly, the students build emotional and intellectual attachments to these causes, and a strong bond to the city is formed.

“We are very excited about the formation of the Hillel at Rhodes and are grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with Jewish Community Partners,” said Dr. Troutt. “Hillel will provide additional campus support for our current students and enhance our efforts to bring extremely talented students from across the country to Rhodes.”
Rhodes College, which sits on 100 acres in midtown Memphis, has been named to the Princeton Review’s inaugural lists of “Colleges That Create Futures” and “Colleges That Pay You Back.” The college also regularly garners accolades from U.S. News and World Report, Forbes and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges and is profiled in the prestigious book Colleges That Change Lives.
There’s an interesting Jewish history at Rhodes, as well. Abe Fortas, a prominent Jewish Memphian and who became a member of The Supreme Court in 1965, graduated from the college in 1930, when it was known as Southwestern.

“It is definitely important to me to have a place to be Jewish on my college campus,” said Zoë Feder, a young woman from Austin, Texas who will begin her freshman year at Rhodes in the fall. “Throughout high school, I was very involved in my youth group and I think it’s an important part of my Jewish faith to have some time to spend with other Jewish people. I think whenever a rhodes16person is looking to move to a new place it’s important for them to find a way to feel at home in the new location. Finding a religious organization can be a crucial part of that.”

Memphis is an attractive city for Jews and Jewish families. Last year, more than 40 Jewish individuals and families chose to relocate to our city, drawn by the many beautiful and dynamic synagogues, and one of North America’s finest Jewish community centers. The growing Jewish community is close-knit and civically involved in Memphis in many ways, and its many amenities will become a part of each Jewish student’s experience while at Rhodes.

Sweetening the pot, Rhodes has recently established a scholarship program for Jewish students, making it even easier for students to find a rich college experience in Memphis. Chances are, they’ll fall in love with our charms and stay a while.

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