A Message from Marc

Marc's Message

Marc Baker headshot
CJP's President and CEO, Rabbi Marc Baker, writes and teaches about leadership, community, and civic life, bringing the voice of Jewish tradition to contemporary issues.

 

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From Generation to Generation

Shalom Chaverim,

Earlier this week, CJP hosted a Jewish Federations of North America Senior Advisory Council meeting with professionals from across the country who work with endowments, planned giving, and donor advised funds. It was the largest gathering to date of this group, who spent tw…

Our Next Generation Speaks

Shalom Chaverim, 

Over the past couple of weeks, as summer has been winding down, I have had the privilege of seeing the next generation in action. 

I attended the “Welcome Home” celebration of the Lappin Foundation’s Youth-to-Israel (Y2I) program, which sent more than 100 teenager…

From the Heart: Reflections on Rising Antisemitism

Shalom Chaverim,

One of the themes that has emerged as a pressing issue for CJP, our community, and society more broadly is the resurgence of antisemitic speech and acts, from historic tropes and slurs knowingly or unknowingly repeated by politicians to horrific acts of violence.

Throughou…

Jewish Genealogy and the Search for Identity

Shalom Chaverim,
 
Earlier this summer I met with the two presidents of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston (JGSGB). The Society is an organization run entirely by volunteers with hundreds of members and is associated with more than 70 other Jewish genealogical societies wor…

"Matterness" and Leadership

Shalom Chaverim,
 
One of the books I am reading this summer, or in this case re-reading, is Matterness by Allison Fine. Subtitled “Fearless Leadership for a Social World,” the book explores the nature of our highly networked, interconnected society and the implications this has for c…