This summer we announced the launch of the JFN Book Club, in partnership with the Jewish Book Council. Our Book Club will give members a chance to engage in real depth with some of the most important voices and ideas in the Jewish and philanthropic world. We'll convene three times online, and once in person at the conference, to discuss each book and connect with one another as we integrate what we're learning into our philanthropic practice. There's no commitment necessary; join one discussion or join them all.
We're thrilled to announce the first four book selections and meeting dates. Authors will be joining our discussions, so be sure to mark your calendars!
You can RSVP below for the first two Club meetings, and please join us at the JFN conference in Palm Beach for the third.
We had so many amazing suggestions from members — see all the recommendations here — and we're looking forward to discussing these four extraordinary books together over the year as a Jewish philanthropic community.
And now: to the books!
Book 1: Changing the World from the Inside Out: A Jewish Approach to Personal & Social Change
By David Jaffe
Discussion, featuring the author (Online via Zoom): Tuesday, December 3, 2019, 12:00pm – 1:00pm EST
Please note: while everyone is encouraged to read the entire book, the discussion will focus chiefly on two chapters: Chapter 4 ("The Power of Choice") and Chapter 7 ("Creative Discomfort").
About the book: Winner, 2016 Jewish Book Council Award for Contemporary Jewish Life & Practice An inspiring and accessible guide, drawn from Jewish wisdom, for building the inner qualities necessary to work effectively for social justice. The world needs changing—and you’re just the person to do it! It’s a matter of cultivating the inner resources you already have. If you are serious about working for social justice and change, this book will help you bring your most compassionate, wise, and courageous self to the job. Bringing positive social change to any system takes deep self-awareness, caring, determination, and long-term commitment. But polarization, the slow pace of change, and internal conflicts among activists and organizations often leads to burnout and discouragement among the very people needed to make a difference. Changing the World from the Inside Out distills centuries of Jewish wisdom about cultivating and refining the inner life into an accessible program for building the qualities necessary to accomplish sustainable change. Through explorations of deep motivation, inner-drive, and traits like trust and anger, this book engages the reader in a journey of self-development and transformation, demonstrating that sustainable activism is indeed a spiritual practice. Jaffe offers accessible and meaningful guidance for this journey—with exercises, contemplations, and discussion points that can be used individually or in a group. About the author: David Jaffe is a rabbi, a social worker, and an educational consultant to many major Jewish institutions in North America. He's a nationally recognized leader in the field of Mussar and applied Jewish ethics, and he is a frequent speaker at synagogues and Jewish conferences around the country. He's spent twenty-five years teaching and working in various areas of social justice outreach, including homelessness and interfaith community organizing. |
Book 2: Ben Hecht: Fighting Words, Moving Pictures
By Adina Hoffman
Discussion, featuring the author (Online via Zoom): Wednesday, January 22, 2020, 12:00pm – 1:00pm EST
About the book: From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a vibrant portrait of one of the most accomplished and prolific American screenwriters, by an award-winning biographer and essayist He was, according to Pauline Kael, “the greatest American screenwriter.” Jean-Luc Godard called him “a genius” who “invented 80 percent of what is used in Hollywood movies today.” Besides tossing off dozens of now-classic scripts—including Scarface,Twentieth Century, and Notorious—Ben Hecht was known in his day as ace reporter, celebrated playwright, taboo-busting novelist, and the most quick-witted of provocateurs. During World War II, he also emerged as an outspoken crusader for the imperiled Jews of Europe, and later he became a fierce propagandist for pre-1948 Palestine’s Jewish terrorist underground. Whatever the outrage he stirred, this self-declared “child of the century” came to embody much that defined America—especially Jewish America—in his time. About the author: Adina Hoffman is an award-winning essayist and biographer. The author of four previous books, including Till We Have Built Jerusalem: Architects of a New City and My Happiness Bears No Relation to Happiness: A Poet’s Life in the Palestinian Century, she lives in Jerusalem and New Haven. |
Book 3: The Sacred Exchange: Creating a Jewish Money Ethic
Rabbi Mary L. Zamore (Editor)
Discussion featuring the editor will take place in person at the JFN 2020 International Conference (March 22-24, Palm Beach, Florida)
Conference registration is not yet open as of this writing. Click here to make sure you're signed up for conference updates.
About the book: The newest addition to the CCAR Press Challenge and Change series, this anthology creates a rich and varied discussion about the ethics of money. Our use of and relationship with money must reflect our religious values; this book aims to start a comprehensive conversation about how Judaism can guide us in this multi-faceted relationship. About the author: Rabbi Mary L. Zamore is the executive director of the Women’s Rabbinic Network. As part of her work supporting and advocating for Reform women rabbis, she is co-leading the Reform Pay Equity Initiative to narrow the wage gap for all female employees of the Reform Movement. She is also the editor of The Sacred Table: Creating a Jewish Food Ethic (CCAR Press, 2011), designated a finalist by the National Jewish Book Awards. She was ordained by Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 1997. |
Book 4: Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel
By Matti Friedman
Discussion (Online via Zoom): To be scheduled in May 2020
About the book: Award-winning writer Matti Friedman’s tale of Israel’s first spies has all the tropes of an espionage novel, including duplicity, betrayal, disguise, clandestine meetings, the bluff, and the double bluff—but it’s all true. About the author: Matti Friedman’s 2016 book Pumpkinflowers was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book and as one of Amazon’s 10 Best Books of the Year. It was selected as one of the year’s best by Booklist, Mother Jones, Foreign Affairs, the National Post, and the Globe and Mail. His first book, The Aleppo Codex, won the 2014 Sami Rohr Prize and the American Library Association’s Sophie Brody Medal. A contributor to the New York Times’ opinion page, Friedman has reported from Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Moscow, the Caucasus, and Washington, DC, and his writing has appeared in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, and the Washington Post. Friedman grew up in Toronto and now lives with his family in Jerusalem. |
Â
ShareRecommended:
![]() JFN Book Club: Member Suggestions |