The Follies of Zest

Category Archives: Reflections

Steve Jobs

Published on 5 October 2011, filed under Reflections and tagged Apple, Revolution, Steve Jobs, Technology

Steve Jobs revolutionized industries and changed the way we think about technology and the world around us. I can think of no better way to memorialize him then with his moving commencement address.

Jews, Cigars and Mojitos

Published on 4 October 2011, filed under Reflections, Travel and tagged Capitalism, Communism, Cuba, Culture, JDC, Jewish, Politics, Religion, The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee

Gotta love ‘em

I love the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Joint, JDC. Why? Because they’re awesome. I don’t mean awesome as in what a surfer dude might say. I mean that the JDC fills me with awe. Jaw-dropping awe.

The JDC is responsible for millions of dollars worth of Tikkun Olam every year — providing aid to Jews and non-Jews in need, in more than 70 countries.

Ethiopian Airlines Time Machine

Published on 21 April 2011, filed under Reflections and tagged American Joint Distribution Committee, Beta Israel, Ethiopia, Falash Mura, Israel, JAFI, JDC, Jewish Agency for Israel, Jewish Federations of North America, JFNA, Passover

For the past three months I have been volunteering twice a week with the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades at Dkalim School in the Valley of the Springs. I work with the kids on conversational English; if they were speaking in English, I didn’t much care what the topic of conversation was. It was a lot of fun for me, and maybe it’s because I took them out of their regular class, but the kids seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. I even have a few thank you cards to prove it.

My Ideal Leadership Conference

Published on 28 March 2011, filed under Random Thoughts, Reflections and tagged conference, Judiasm, leadership, Masa

Over 400 “young leaders” from Jewish communities around the globe attended Masa’s Building Future Leadership (BFL) conference. Masa did a brilliant job in their first attempt at a week-long leadership conference, and my hat goes off to them. One thing that struck me during the conference: I really wasn’t the target demographic. So for the heck of it, I’ve decided to dream up what BFL could have been, if it had been designed with me in mind.