It’s been almost four years since the last Jewish Week-sponsored annual retreat, leaving a void in serious communal dialogue. Just when we need it most.
I was part of the cohort who all decided to sit outside and tell jokes. I tell that story a lot. The Conversation was a life-changing event for me—spending two days talking about the Jewish community made me realize I wanted to reorient my life to have such conversations more often. Although part of that change meant leaving NYC, I came back for a few of the reunions, and I would again. As a participant I can confirm that I found it an amazing model. Thanks to Gary and the whole team for your years of work to keep it going.
The Conversation was ahead of its time and a model for what we need so desperately now in our community. As we become more and more polarized, how and when will we come together across political, religious and social differences? If Not Now, When?? I was honored to participate and learned so much from my peers who I was with!
"Jews don’t listen,” a keen observer once noted. “They wait.” -- I love it!
Two other comments: The pictures, if representative, show a gender imbalance. This should not have been...
Don't beat yourself up for the way things didn't go perfectly/needed tweaking in subsequent years. That's life. I attend an annual event, the 2nd of which was far different from the 1st, because the organizers learned a lot from that 1st experience. And the 2nd needed a mid-course adjustment in realtime as well. It has settled into a routine, but the organizers always solicit, and take seriously, comments on an eval. form every yr.
Thank you, Tammy, for sharing your kind and inspiring note, which I’ll share with the team.
All the best.
I was part of the cohort who all decided to sit outside and tell jokes. I tell that story a lot. The Conversation was a life-changing event for me—spending two days talking about the Jewish community made me realize I wanted to reorient my life to have such conversations more often. Although part of that change meant leaving NYC, I came back for a few of the reunions, and I would again. As a participant I can confirm that I found it an amazing model. Thanks to Gary and the whole team for your years of work to keep it going.
The Conversation was ahead of its time and a model for what we need so desperately now in our community. As we become more and more polarized, how and when will we come together across political, religious and social differences? If Not Now, When?? I was honored to participate and learned so much from my peers who I was with!
"Jews don’t listen,” a keen observer once noted. “They wait.” -- I love it!
Two other comments: The pictures, if representative, show a gender imbalance. This should not have been...
Don't beat yourself up for the way things didn't go perfectly/needed tweaking in subsequent years. That's life. I attend an annual event, the 2nd of which was far different from the 1st, because the organizers learned a lot from that 1st experience. And the 2nd needed a mid-course adjustment in realtime as well. It has settled into a routine, but the organizers always solicit, and take seriously, comments on an eval. form every yr.