Shalom is a senior educator with The iCenter, and serves on faculty for the Foundation for Jewish Camp. Prior, he served as the AVI CHAI Project Director for the training of staff returning to summer camps in North America, and Director of Education in the Shlichut and Israel Fellows unit for the Jewish Agency. He is a member of the International Education Committee of Taglit-Birthright, has served as a consultant for the Jim Joseph Foundation, JUF Ta’am Yisrael and the Jewish Peoplehood Committee and teaches a course in experiential education at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Shalom was the Central Shaliach for USY from 1992 -1995. He was also a scholar on the prestigious Jerusalem Fellows Program, following which he was the Executive Director for Jewish Renewal at the UJIA in England. Shalom is an acclaimed public speaker on contemporary Israel who brings extensive knowledge, humor and passion. He recently served as a month-long scholar for United Synagogue in Chicago and at the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York. He has published articles on Israel and Jewish education in The Times of Israel and eJewishPhilanthropy, and delivered an ELI Talk.
Shalom is still in awe of the fact that we can speak about the ‘State’ of the Jews! He is the son of a Holocaust survivor who grew up in the company of aunts and uncles of the closest type albeit not family. Their experiences, Yiddish banter, humor and optimism very much shaped who he is.
Tell us about your name:
I am named after my grandfather, Sholem, who was a sofer stam, a scribe who wrote Torah scrolls. I try in different ways to sustain that beautiful tradition of ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת ולמדה את בני ישראל שימה בפיהם למען תהיה לי השירה הזאת לעד בבני ישראל: “and now, write for yourselves this song, and teach it to the Children of Israel. Place it into their mouths, in order that this song will be for Me as a witness for the children of Israel.” (Devarim 31:19)
What’s In a Name? (Shavuot)
Shakespeare would claim that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Does the same hold true for names in Hebrew? In Kabbalah (mysticism), the letters of a name spell out a spiritual ...
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Receiving the Torah: Contemporary Resources for Shavuot
Shavuot is also known as Chag Matan Torah, the holiday of receiving the Torah. Traditionally, the Written Law and Oral Law were seen as one, but in the modern age, the prominence of the Oral ...
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