torah fund - The Jewish Theological Seminary

mundane, the everyday, and making it sacred. The pomegranate imagery of this year’s
Torah Fund Pin exemplifies this point. Pomegranates, ruby-red and bursting with juicy
seeds, represent the bountiful fruits of the Land of Israel. The word pomegranate,
however, also describes the silver adornments (finials) used to decorate the wooden
rollers of each Torah Scroll—a reminder that “a little extra” can enhance our appreciation
of our Torah, our rituals, our land, and our mitzvot.
Just as we enhance our ritual practices, so can we enhance our Torah Fund support of
The Jewish Theological Seminary, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, Schechter Institute
of Jewish Studies, and the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano. Our mission is to give
everyone the opportunity to participate in preserving, promoting, and perpetuating
Conservative/Masorti Judaism. How much more precious is this support when the mitzvah
(in this case, tzedakah) is enhanced by ensuring that future leaders of the
Conservative/Masorti community—rabbis and cantors, educators, and lay leaders—will be
enriched and nourished by the finest educational opportunities available? How much more
meaningful is this support when it comes from each and every Torah Fund member,
expressing the deep commitment of so many women to our Jewish future?
To help you enhance your own mitzvah of participation in the Torah Fund Campaign and to
make sure that our members all have the opportunity to enhance their support of our
educational institutions, this Torah Fund Guide offers a wealth of helpful materials in the
form of letters, articles, speeches, programs, and ideas. You, our Torah Fund chairs, are
the link to each and every community, each and every sisterhood, and each and every
Jewish woman.
On behalf of the Torah Fund Cabinet and the professional staff, I thank you for your time
and efforts in support of Women’s League for Conservative Judaism’s Torah Fund
Campaign. By “adorning the mitzvah” of support for our Movement and its institutions, you
will have added layers of enhancement to the future of Jewish life for years to come.
Rita Wertlieb, Chancellor Arnold Eisen, Lauren Wishnew
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