What Gives? The Jewish Philanthropy Podcast Jewish Funders Network

Episode 46 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Explore the vital role of philanthropy in Israel's current challenges and opportunities for growth. JFN Israel Executive Director Sigal Yaniv Feller highlights the transition from nation-building to society-building, underscoring the importance of strategic philanthropic efforts in shaping Israel's resilient future.

After the unthinkable events of October 7th and the subsequent crises in Israel, we made the decision to suspend the podcast so that we could better focus on Israel’s recovery. Now, we are resuming our work on What Gives, sharing with you expert knowledge in the field of Jewish philanthropy.
Episode 45 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. We felt it appropriate to transition back into the show by sharing some of the powerful messages presented at the 2024 JFN International Conference, which we held recently in Israel. Beginning with the keynote address from JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny at the opening night of the conference, Andres looked to address our collective grief, and to challenge us to look towards the future with hope and determination.

Episode 44 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Dr. Mijal Bitton, Rosh Kehilla and co-founder of the Downtown Minyan, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about being a translator for the stories of Sephardi, Mizrahi, and other non-Ashkenazi Jewish communities. Andres and Mijal talk about what the trajectory of those communities has been in the United States, and the misunderstandings that the larger American Jewish community has about the recent waves of immigrant Jews, politically and culturally. Mijal also gives insight into being a woman leader in an orthodox religious community, and witnessing the transcendence of god through parenthood.

Episode 43 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Rabbi Leon Morris, President of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about his essay in Sources, "In Defense of Surrender in Liberal Jewish Life." Morris argues that a Jewish response to individual agency having eclipsed every other important value is necessary, and can be done through a sense of surrender (of our defenses, our time, and our notion of isolated individualism) to community, rather than submission to authority. Leon talks about what he finds exciting about pluralistic spaces, how thoroughly modern Jews are having trouble finding places for Jewishness in their lives, the enormous relevance that traditional texts still have for our modern time, and what gives him hope for the Jewish future.
Works referenced in this episode:
In Defense of Surrender in a Liberal Jewish Life
Kaddish, Leon Wieseltier (1998)
Judaism in a Digital Age, Danny Schiff (2023)

Episode 42 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Yotam Polizer, CEO of IsraAID, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about how IsraAid is able to deploy to places where Israel doesn't have diplomatic relations, and the knock on effects of sending aid from Israel to unfriendly territories. Yotam spoke about how a humanitarian organization fundraises at times when there isn’t a disaster in the news, and about the steps that he and his team take to ensure that they stay mentally and emotionally happy in the face of this difficult work.

Episode 41 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network. Casper ter Kuile, CEO of the Nearness, talks to JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny about Casper’s work in seeking to create a new structure of community experience that uses the ease and accessibility of the internet while also building local connections that become deep friendships. Casper and Andres dive into what the spiritual leadership of the post-COVID world looks like, which models of community we can learn from in creating spiritual belonging, and the importance of the Jewish community asking itself the hard, uncomfortable questions about where it’s going, like what the boundaries of Judaism should be.