Tag: Memphis Jews
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Jewish Community By My Side at Rhodes College
By Emma Figarsky There are currently five Jewish Community Fellows at Rhodes College. As part of their fellowship, they periodically share their experiences as Jewish college students with the larger community. More information about the Fellowship can be found on the JCP website. When I was growing up, change was…
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Celebrating Israel with 70 Faces Brings Jewish Memphis Together
By Melinda Lejman The opening night of the “70 Faces of Memphis and Shoham” exhibit was full of energy and excitement, not just for the subjects or the volunteer photojournalists who made it possible, but for the entire Memphis Jewish community. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the hard…
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An Israeli in Memphis: I Feel an Embrace
Tali Versano Eisman, resident of Memphis’s Israeli partner city Shoham and a member of the Memphis-Shoham project’s steering committee, visited Memphis in October to deepen ties between the two communities, and to speak at this year’s Israel Festival. In this piece, she reflects on her visit, the love for Israel…
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Bringing Hanukkah to Christian Brothers University
By Dr. Stan Eisen, Professor and Director of Preprofessonal Health Programs, Biology Department, Christian Brothers University Photos by Mary Nikkel Christian Brothers University prides itself as welcoming students and staff of all traditions and faiths. Even so, there has never been a Hanukkah Menorah lighting ceremony until now. On…
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Omri Casspi Celebrates Hanukkah with the Memphis Jewish Community
When all 6 feet and nine inches of Israeli basketballer Omri Casspi ducked under the door and into the MJCC’s Belz Theater, the crowd gathered for this one-of-a-kind Hanukkah celebration knew they were experiencing something special. Rabbis from every Memphis congregation and agencies like the MJCC and Hillels of Memphis…
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70 Faces Project Highlights Community’s Compelling Personal Narratives
Memphis Jewish Federation’s yearlong celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday will culminate with an exhibit highlighting individuals from the Memphis Jewish community as well as from Shoham, Memphis’s partner city in Israel, announced Laura Linder, President and CEO of Jewish Community Partners. The 70 Faces exhibit will launch on Monday, December…
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Lauren Luskey Taube: Driven by Community and Family Values
What values do you live by? How do you express your values in your work and personal life? What makes a value Jewish? How do these values shape who you are and who you want to become? At the first seminar of the Next Gen Jewish Federation Fellowship last May,…
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Memphis Jewish Federation Announces Need-Based Israel Travel Subsidies for First Timer Adults
MJF is thrilled to announce the creation of a new Lemsky Endowment Fund initiative providing travel subsidies for first-time Memphis Jewish adults participating in an organized Israel trip, who have demonstrated financial need. Any Jewish Memphian over age 32 (post Birthright) who joins a Memphis-based Federation, Synagogue or JCC trip…
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A Closer Connection to Israel: Teen Israel Experience
By David Mashinsky This past summer, I went to Israel on NCSY TJJ (The Jerusalem Journey). I had already been to Israel multiple times to visit family. I heard about the trip from a friend and thought I would go because my friends are going. I wasn’t expecting to…
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University of Tennessee Speaks Out Against Anti-Semitism
Earlier this month, violent anti-Semitic messages and imagery were twice spray-painted onto the Rock, a beloved centerpiece of the University of Tennessee Knoxville campus. When the UTK administration responded with a mild message of admonishment, Jews across the state of Tennessee were disappointed and confused by the University’s reluctance to…