The Program and its Goals
Kolot was established to address the vacuum of lay leaders in
"Great is the study which brings about action:" We place strong emphasis on the correlation between the study of Jewish sources and community activism. Kolot's Fellowship project enables potential lay leaders to study the sources of Jewish culture as a basis for generating cultural-social debate that is pluralistic, current, and relevant. Within its framework of conversation and connection, the program focuses on belief in the ability to revitalize and effect change, and in the strength and capability of each individual to influence from a perspective of Jewish knowledge.
General Syllabus
The principle aim of the program is to add an in-depth educational aspect to various cultural and social issues. To this end, study topics include: justice, the power of speech, the significance of power, tzedaka, attitudes toward minorities and other issues at the heart of the
Kolot Fellows
The Lay Leadership Program is characterized by its high-quality content and its prestigious participants. Fitting of a project that aims to create a major change on a nationwide level, Kolot fellows are prominent secular and religious Israelis from the fields of business, media and the arts. Nearly 200 lay leaders are currently studying at Kolot; 220 alumni have already completed the program.
The Experience
Some 70 percent of Kolot graduates state unequivocally that their communal activities have been prompted and enhanced by their Kolot experience. Kolot-trained leaders have become the main spokesmen in their communities on behalf of pluralistic Jewish education. Their unwavering identification with Judaism and their optimism for change is obvious in their activities in schools, in the workplace, in the media and in communications. Further indication of the program's success: 60 percent of our graduates choose to continue studying at Kolot for a third year, and 40 percent stay in the program for a fourth year.
What Fellows say about the Program
Karmi Gilon, Mayor of Mevaseret-Zion, former head of General Security Service, former Israeli Ambassador to
"As a Jew, I especially like learning about my roots through culture and literature. As an Israeli citizen, it is important for me to confront questions such as the Jewish attitude towards the stranger. Kolot’s greatest achievement is its openness to all individuals and opinions.
"My wife and I attended these lessons together, and this too was a special experience. In my previous job I had little time to spend with my family, and we made up for our lost years in this joint experience, which became almost a family value.”
Smadar Sheffi, art critic for the daily Ha'aretz newspaper:
"I felt that I had explored so many traiditions and cultures, but I was missing my own tradition, which is so rich and vital. I craved learning about the Jewish aspect of art and life. In
Steve Goldstein, SuperPharm franchise manager:
“When I focus on what happens at Kolot meetings, time loses its significance, and my daily world completely stops for a few hours. For hours after the meeting, I cannot fall asleep, thinking about how to put it all into practice within my family, with my colleagues and with my employees. I initially came to get answers, but quickly understood that only by implementing the studied values and material into everyday life, can one find the clarification and answers that one seeks.
“I always try very hard to take the studying to heart and respond to it not just intellectually but by acting upon what I’ve learned. As a result of my Kolot studies, I have additional interest in reinforcing my children’s Jewish studies and have become more involved in their school. I am now head of the school’s parents’ organization. I also helped establish a synagogue for Progressive Judaism in my neighborhood, and took a leading role in it, which had a great influence on my life.
“It is just the beginning of my journey. I am excited about the other changes that will come during the course of my studies and the “voices” I will hear – and, most importantly, their applications in my life.”
Dr. Yaakov Goldberger, VP of Development at Cute Systems Ltd.:
“I gained renewed understanding of the relevance of parts of the Jewish cultural heritage, and how these sources enrich current Israeli discourse about the society and state in which we live. The discussion in the study group, whose members represent a cross-section of influential people within Israeli society, is part of a larger process of introducing expressions, concepts, and ideas from Jewish Talmudic culture into contemporary Israeli thinking”.
