February 19, 2019

Ohr Torah Stone’s Beren-Amiel and Straus-Amiel emissary training programs brought 42 of their North, Central and South American emissaries to Cancun to address ways to tackle critical issues affecting smaller Diaspora Jewish communities.

Among them was Palo Alto teacher, Rachel Hacohen, who teaches Jewish studies to first graders, and seventh and eighth-grade girls at the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School.

Other participants in the three-day conference included educators from Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Guatemala, Colombia, Panama, El Salvador and Ecuador. They all discussed both the communal and personal challenges they face in their daily work. Within the United States, participants traveled from Englewood, Sharon, Mass., Charleston, Palo Alto, Denver, Omaha, Detroit, and Miami and Aventura, Flor.

Throughout the conference, participants discussed that the most significant issues affecting smaller Jewish communities are conversion, rampant assimilation and how to educate a generation of Jews with virtually no connection to Judaism.

Hacohen led a lecture on how to reach a student’s soul.

“When you go bowling, ice skating, or have your students over for Shabbat, the relationship you build with them is significant and impactful,” Hacohen said. “You can see the difference in their eyes when you teach them Torah after these experiences together. Building a relationship with your students is critical in terms of affecting how they receive what you are teaching.”

Conference participants also attended sessions regarding Jewish assimilation, Torah studies, rabbinate politics and synagogue rules, among others.

“This is the best of times in that Jews are seeking spirituality, yet the worst of times because there is more assimilation in these communities than we have ever seen,” said Ohr Torah Stone President and Rosh HaYeshiva Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander. “The rabbis and rabbanits, teachers and educators in this room are on the front lines of the battle for Jewish souls. There is a new energy out in the field, and it is a direct result of the rabbis who’ve studied at our Straus-Amiel, and educators who’ve trained at our Beren-Amiel training programs.”

Founded in 1983, Ohr Torah Stone is a Modern Orthodox network of 27 institutions that aim to transform Jewish life worldwide.

The Straus-Amiel rabbinical emissary training program and the Beren-Amiel educational emissary training programs said in a statement that they’re committed to the spiritual continuity of the Jewish people everywhere. They train rabbis and educators to effectively strengthen the Jewish identity and existence in more than 160 communities across the Diaspora.

“The greatest challenge these men and women face is how to transmit Judaism to people with no connection. We work with these exceptional rabbis and educators to provide them with the training, development and support to be successful in their communities,” said Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum, director of the Straus-Amiel and Beren-Amiel programs. “But an equally important part of our job is to support these families so they can stay in their communities for longer periods of time and continue to make a difference in the lives of Jews everywhere. Many of these communities would not have Modern Orthodox synagogues and educators, were it not for our emissaries’ work.”