Profit Motive

Tamar Snyder on business,philanthropy, education & careers

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Despite Much to Kvetch About, They’re Happy

Feb 19, 2010 12:33pm

My husband and I celebrated our first anniversary earlier this year. This occasion marked the end of our shana rishona, the yearlong “honeymoon” period that our rabbis warn us is anything but. It’s a time of solidifying the relationship, learning to compromise, and adjusting to a spouse’s idiosyncrasies. For Orthodox...

Touro College Founder Passes At 94

Feb 12, 2010 11:24am

Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, the visionary founder and president of Touro College, which he grew from 35 students to a global network of 29 schools educating 17,500 students in New York, California, Nevada, Florida, Israel, Russia, Germany and France, died Monday of congestive heart failure at a New York hospital....

Will Mobile Giving Take Off In The Jewish World?

Feb 5, 2010 11:39am

Over the course of the past year, a group of volunteers affiliated with The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s (JDC) Next Gen initiative has been looking into launching a mobile giving campaign. When an earthquake devastated Haiti last month, suddenly the race was on to get it up and running...

Michigan’s New Israel Investment

Dec 22, 2009 8:41am

At 1:45 a.m. on a recent weeknight, a group of 27 Jewish students gathered in the main auditorium at University of Michigan’s Hillel. Instead of breaking out the beer, they video-conferenced with Nir Elperin, vice president of Arba Finance, a venture capital firm in Tel Aviv. A split-screen projected on the...

A Philanthropist Crunches The Numbers

Nov 25, 2009 6:41am

Some philanthropists focus on Jewish continuity. Others devote themselves to promoting Jewish educational opportunities. Mandell (Bill) Berman, a Jewish philanthropist based in suburban Detroit, gives generously to both of the aforementioned causes. But what makes him unique among Jewish philanthropists is his love of data, particularly Jewish data. “I’m the only...

‘Green’ Groups Pulling In Green

Nov 17, 2009 6:28pm

This has been a good year for Jewish Farm School, an environmental education organization that aims to reconnect Jews with the joys of working the land and growing their own food. Last summer, JFS was one of two start-ups selected to join Bikkurim, the New York-based incubator that provides its resident...

Where The Heart Meets The Mind

Oct 22, 2009 1:00pm

Noted philanthropist Charles Bronfman and philanthropy expert Jeffrey Solomon have co-authored their first book together, titled “The Art of Giving: Where the Soul Meets a Business Plan” (Wiley), which will be released in early November. There, they argue that philanthropy must be strategic, intentional and — perhaps most importantly —...

Finally, Shul Web Sites Coming Of Age

Oct 14, 2009 11:36am

Gil Mann can’t recall what the old Beth El Synagogue Web site used to look like. “I don’t think it was heavily used,” he says. And it certainly wasn’t pretty. When Beth El, a 1,200-family synagogue located in St. Louis Park, Minn., began to think strategically about its future two years...

Touro’s New Doctor

Oct 14, 2009 11:35am

Bernard Lander’s successor has finally been named — and he’s not from within Touro College’s ranks. His name is Dr. Alan Kadish and he was recently appointed Touro’s senior provost and chief operating officer. Kadish, an Orthodox Jew who is a physician by training, most recently served as senior associate...

Kashering Iconic American Recipes

Oct 14, 2009 11:34am

For kosher consumers wondering whether they’re missing out by forgoing the delicacies at The Cheesecake Factory and never sinking their teeth into a bucket of fried chicken at KFC, take heart. “America’s Most Wanted Recipes,” a new book published by Simon and Schuster, reveals more than 200 secret recipes from 57...