2021.masortiolami.orgMasorti Olami – World Council of Conservative / Masorti Synagogues

Donate Donate A Year In Review | 2021 Swipe Up Masorti Olami means Masorti/Conservative Judaism around the world. Read moreA Letter From Our Leaders Rabbi Philip Scheim President Rabbi Mauricio Balter Executive Director Yes, there is a miracle in progress worthy of recognition through which a tolerant traditionalism is penetrating Jewish religious life around the world. But not to be dependent upon miracles is a necessary counterweight to our celebration. Read their full letter Our Global Presence Support one of our communities 830 MASORTI/CONSERVATIVE COMMUNITIES WORLDWIDE Support one of our communities Explore the map by hovering over the pins USACANADA (USCJ) EUROPE FORMER SOVIET UNION ISRAEL (MASORTI ISRAEL) AFRICA AMLAT AUSTRALASIA Support one of our projects Our Global Projects International Day Of Peace International Day Of Peace To mark the International Day of Peace this year, Masorti and MERCAZ Olami created an interfaith Prayer for Peace video with religious leaders in the Holy Land, which was viewed by over 2,000 individuals from around the world. Representatives from Christianity, Islam and Judaism came together to send messages of peace and unity from their individual faiths showing that we have far more in common than that which divides us. Through this video, we hope to have shown that religion can be used to bring peace in the face of conflict and struggles. Read More Click to watch the video: English Spanish French The Masorti Olami Shmita Project The Masorti Olami Shmita Project In October, Masorti and MERCAZ Olami launched the Masorti Olami Shmita Project website, a hub for Masorti/Conservative resources for the Shmita year. This project includes monthly lectures from guest speakers such as Dr. Yizhar Hess, Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization on the topic of ‘Shmita and Zionism’ as he guided us through Shmita in the early days of the modern State of Israel; Rabbi David Golinkin, President of The Schechter Institutes, Inc. on the topic of Halachot related to Shmita and how it can be implemented in the land of Israel; Talia Schneider, author, lecturer and founder of Permaculture Israel on the topic of permaculture and its similarities to Shmita, and many more! Read More Click to watch the video: English Visit the website: www.masortiolamishmita.org Rabbi Reuven Hammer Institute for Masorti Jewish Learning Rabbi Reuven Hammer Institute for Masorti Jewish Learning In August, Masorti Olami launched the Rabbi Reuven Hammer Institute for Masorti Jewish Learning, in memory of Rabbi Reuven Hammer z”l. The Institute will support Masorti/Conservative conversions across the world, starting in Europe and the Former Soviet Union. The online launch event was attended by over two hundred people and we were honored to hear from the Hammer family on the life and legacy of Rabbi Hammer z”l. We also heard from Rabbi Mauricio Balter, Executive Director of Masorti and MERCAZ Olami on the background of Masorti Olami and conversions around the world, and from Rabbi Joel Roth, Rosh Yeshiva of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem on the story of conversion throughout Jewish history. The event was moderated and led by Rabbi Chaim Weiner, Director and Av Beit Din of Masorti Europe, together with Tehila Reuben, Deputy Director of Masorti and MERCAZ Olami. Read More Click to watch the video: English Spanish French Hebrew Help us fund more leadership courses Our Leadership Courses This year Masorti Olami, MERCAZ Olami and NOAM Olami ran a number of leadership courses, focusing on training both Masorti/Conservative professionals and lay leaders from around the world to boldly face today’s challenges. Help us fund more leadership courses UDESA Leadership Development Program in Latin America The UDESA Leadership Development Program The UDESA Leadership Development Program is run in conjunction with the Center for Social Innovation at the University of San Andres in Argentina. It aims to equip lay leaders of Masorti/Conservative communities in Latin America with tools to strengthen institutional leadership in the region, with a focus on economic sustainability and community marketing. This year, twenty-four participants took part in the program, engaging with sessions on ethics and the responsibility of the leader, Masorti/Conservative ideology, as well as economic sustainability of organizations and leadership models from Jewish sources. Participants were also mentored in small groups, putting the theory learned into practice. Read More MERCAZ Olami Leadership Seminar MERCAZ Olami Leadership Seminar For the first time ever, MERCAZ Olami organized a leadership seminar in collaboration with Marom and NOAM Olami with over seventy Shnat (9 month training program in Israel for madrichim) participants from Latin America taking part. The seminar aimed to enrich and inspire the participants to think about issues that concern them in regard to Israel-Diaspora relations, Zionist-Masorti/Conservative Identity, and to give them tools to bring their ideas to life. They met with and heard from representatives from across the Masorti/Conservative and Zionist movements and learned how to use social media as a tool to motivate and engage people as well as how to build and present a compelling argument. Read More ZOOM Skills for Masorti/Conservative Community Leaders ZOOM Skills for Masorti/Conservative Community Leaders Together with Coriphery, Masorti Olami offered our community leaders and volunteers around the world the chance to learn and develop their online management skills for our new virtual world. Over the course of three sessions, participants looked at the theory, practice and presentation of new tools and platforms that are being used to collaborate virtually, especially as a result of the global pandemic. Through looking at different ways to engage audiences and improve interactions online, community leaders and directors were empowered to make the most out of online experiences and our current reality. Read More Our Regions Click on a region to explore the map Former Soviet Union (FSU) EUROPE AFRICA AUSTRALASIA Latin America (AmLat) Our Youth: NOAM Olami NOAM Olami is the global network of Masorti/Conservative youth groups with the common goal of developing Jewish identity and increasing knowledge among Masorti/Conservative youth based on the values of NOAM: Masorti/Conservative Judaism, Zionism, Community Life, Democracy and Tikkun Olam. NOAM Olami currently has thirty-four snifim (branches) in fifteen countries and this year, opened two new snifim in Barranquilla, Colombia and in El Salvador. Facebook-f Instagram NOAM Olami International Seminar NOAM Olami International Seminar As many activities adapted to the online format during the pandemic, so did the NOAM Olami International Seminar. For the first time, the seminar was a virtual one. Around fifty representatives from all over the NOAM Olami network in thirteen countries got together in May to tour Haifa with Pardes – A Center of Education for Values, to talk about Parshat Hashavua and Yom Yerushalayim with Executive Director, Rabbi Mauricio Balter and learn tools to maintain positive mental health with NOAM Madrid coordinator Malena Wais. They also had the chance to get to know the NOAM Olami Network and discuss relevant topics with NOAM Olami’s representative on Masorti Olami’s board, Neomi Yehudai, as well as engage in meaningful conversations about contemporary Zionism and politics with KKL Vice Chair Emily Levy-Shochat and the MERCAZ Olami team. The seminar focused on the importance of remembering the power and responsibility we have to make positive change in the world around us using education and empowering young people. Read More NOAM Olami Camps NOAM Olami Camps Various NOAM Olami snifim around the world were able to hold in-person winter and summer camps this year, despite the lockdowns. Our snifim in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Ukraine, and the UK all organized...