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Marriage Of Three
Agencies likely to merge in coming years.
RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER
T
Studying
Cafeteria Style
Esther Nager and
Jana Wolock
learn from the
Chumash.
■
Partners In Torah provides a one-on-one approach to learning.
PHIL JACOBS EDITOR
B
y cafeteria standards, the sounds of con-
versation echoing off the tiled walls is
nothing unusual.
On Tuesday evenings at Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah in Southfield, it's the accompany-
ing clatter of utensils or tossing of brown bags
that is obviously missing. Instead, anywhere
from 15 to 30 adults and children gather with
an appetite for learning.
Called Partners In Torah, it's a national
program that matches students with "men-
tors" for an hour of learning of the students'
choice. Mentors are not necessarily rabbis,
though several are involved. Mentors are
housewives, attorneys, businessmen — even
other children.
"The goal is to allow people to learn Torah
one-on-one with someone who has more infor-
mation and practice," said Rabbi Moshe Licht-
enstein, the program's director. "This is done
in a no-pressure environment where no one is
being paid to teach. So what you have is an op-
portunity to explore Jewish history, Jewish
roots, Torah, prayer in a nonconfrontational,
nonjudgmental atmosphere."
Partners In Torah started in Detroit last
March. It was inspired by Torah Mesorah, a
New York-based umbrella organization for
Jewish education. For Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur learning, more than 100 similar
groups were being held.
Students and mentors learn in a chavrusah,
or one-on-one style. The Beth Yehudah cafe-
teria is lively with different discussions.
"When I first started teaching, my rosh
yeshivah said, 'You'll teach them, but they'll
teach you, too,' " said Motie Poss, an attorney
and Oak Park resident who serves as a men-
tor for Partners In Torah. "I learn from every-
one I learn with. I like the program because
I think there's more of a chance for personal
contact. You get to give over more of yourself."
Southfield resident Marge Burstyn,
also a mentor, said that because she teaches
she has to prepare, and therefore learn even
more.
"It's a nice feeling to know that someone
wants to learn from me," she said. "I think Part-
ners In Torah only has positive attributes. Also,
my family encourages me in the learning. No
one resents that I leave home in the evening
for this.
"And it's something to show your kids, that
you are still out learning. You walk in and you
hear the sounds of everyone learning. It's all
very positive. You step back and listen, and it's
really something."
Rabbi Lichtenstein said no basic skill level
is required, and that no one should feel em-
barrassed to ask for even the most simple lev-
els of Jewish knowledge.
Partners In Torah also serves to connect
Jews with the Jewish community.
"We had one student who was working for
Ford who called and said she had no Jewish
community," Rabbi Lichtenstein said. "She's
now coming here every week. It's opened up
a whole new world for her."
.Another-Ftudent heard about the program
STUDY page 10
he committee to restructure
Members of the Committee to
Jewish agencies in North Study the National Structure will
America is making progress to- investigate the cost benefits of merg-
ward changing the way of 21st- ing an unspecified number of staff
century fund-raising.
positions, closing offices and moving
The latest proposal from members personnel to fewer locations.
of the "Committee to Study the Na-
The name of this new organization
tional Structure,"
will be UJA "plus
led by Detroiter
something," Mr.
Joel Tauber, in-
Tauber says. "but
cludes combining
what that plus
three prominent
something will be,
Jewish agencies
we don't know yet."
into one umbrella
Members of his
group and impos-
committee claim
ing a three- to five-
that a single name
year floor on the
will prove less con-
amount of charita-
fusing to campaign
ble dollars sent to
contributors than
Israel each year. –
the alphabet soup of
"We're not just
Jewish agencies
shifting things
they've supported in
around for the sake
the past. They cite
of shifting. There is
a survey showing
a broader vision,"
that single fund-
Mr. Tauber says.
raising entities
The vision rec- Joel Tauber leads the restructuring
bring in more dol-
ognizes threats to committee.
lars than a number
Jewish survival
of different organi-
worldwide: ongoing anti-Semitism zations soliciting for the same cause.
in the former Soviet Union, Jews at
Changes to the national structure
risk in war-torn places like Bosnia, will not take place before represen-
as well as the Jewish identity crisis, tatives of local federations provide
marked by high rates of intermar- input. Regional meetings will begin
riage and declining rates of affilia- this November and last until Feb-
tion.
ruary.
It also takes into consideration im-
The 31-person national commit-
pending U.S. budget cuts to social- tee already has decided on a floor of
service programs, many of them run $200 million for Israel each year,
by Jewish organizations.
plus an additional $110 million set
"The committee's course of action aside for the Joint Distribution Com-
is a little aggressive, but I'm pushing mittee and UJA/UIA administrative
because some of the issues we're con- expenses.
fronting are urgent," Mr. Tauber
says.
A likely outcome of restructuring
will be the marriage of the United
Jewish Appeal (UJA), the United Is-
rael Appeal (UIA) and the Council of
Jewish Federations (CJF). Each of
—Joel Tauber
these organizations deals with the al-
location of money collected from
grassroots fund-raisers, like metro
The JDC or "Joint" spearheads
Detroit's Allied Jewish Campaign.
As things stand now, CJF repre- rescue efforts of Jews all pver the
sents 189 North American federa- world. Although its administrative
tions that give proceeds from their functions will merge with CJF, UJA
campaigns to UJA, which then dis- and UIA, this agency will remain in-
tributes the funds to the UIA in Is- dependent from the others, Mr.
rael and needy Jews internationally. Tauber says.
Changes to the national structure
Under one roof, CJF and UJA and
UIA will pool resources and save op- will take between three and five
erating expenses, Mr. Tauber says. years. The formula for determining
Currently, the three bodies work with how much individual federations
a combined 300 staff members and much pitch in to reach that $200 floor
is still under consideration, as is the
$38-million budget.
In 1994, local federations in con- formula for determining how much
junction with UJA raised $725 mil- money goes to Israel should monies
exceed that minimum. 1=1
lion.
"We're not just shifting
things around for the
sake of shifting."
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