Aleph Institute and the Shul of Bal Harbour, J.J. Greenberg Torah Lending Library, Miami
Targum Shlishi established this Torah lending program in memory of Jonathan Joseph (J.J.) Greenberg, executive director of the New York–based Jewish Life Network and the son of Rabbi Irving (Yitz) and Blu Greenberg. He was actively involved in Jewish community service and worked with several national programs. J.J. died in September 2002 of injuries sustained in a traffic accident in Israel. He was thirty-six years old.
Torahs are lent out on a short-term basis to groups that would not typically have access to a Sefer Torah but that want to conduct formal services. The program is administered by the Aleph Society and the Shul of Bal Harbour. The program, which is in its start-up phase, is currently lending out three Torahs. To date, Torahs have been lent to women’s tefillah groups, bat mitzvahs, hospitals, and prisons. The program administrators are developing a database of individuals and institutions nationwide willing to lend out Torahs and in this way will forge relationships with people and groups throughout the country.
The Jewish Museum, donation of Tobi Kahn’s sculpture Saphyr, New York City
Tobi Kahn is an internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor whose work has been shown in more than thirty solo and sixty group shows at museums and galleries. His work has been acquired by several museums and corporations including The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Houston Museum of Fine Arts, The Jewish Museum in New York, and others. Targum Shlishi and four others individual donors (Nick Bunzl, Marvin Haas, Daniel Sawicki, and Michael Sonnenfeldt) joined with The Jewish Museum to purchase Kahn’s Saphyr for the museum’s collection. The sculpture represents the counting of the Omer, a ritual performed for seven weeks following the second night of Passover.
Tobi Kahn has said that in his art, his objective is “to create work that seems unaffected by time, work that appears to have been here always. I am continually aware of time’s passing, of the possibility of loss, an abrupt reversal of safety. In the face of the world’s instability, I want to reveal those elements that are transcendent…”
The Jewish Week, Jewish in America: A Conversation, New York City
This unique project will gather prominent American Jews from a multitude
of professions and bring them together annually for a three-day event designed to facilitate learning, networking, socializing, and the exchange of ideas.
The goal of the project is to stimulate attendees to think about and discuss how being Jewish informs their work and/or their personal lives. The program will have sessions ranging from small discussions to workshops, seminars, and larger plenaries. The first conference is in the planning stages, and will be held in Fall 2004 or Spring 2005. Targum Shlishi is one of the sponsors of the event, which is organized by The Jewish Week and receives major support from The Covenant Foundation.