kolot annual report 2000-2001

KOLOT:THE CENTERFOR JEWISHWOMEN’S

AND GENDER STUDIES

AN N U A L RE P O RT 2000 -2001

VOICESKOLOT VOTE S THUNDER

K O L O T: The Center for Jewish Women’s and Gender Studies illuminates the traditionsand texts of Judaism to provide new visions ofgender roles in Jewish life. Founded by theReconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1996,Kolot trains rabbinical students, advances scholarship, and develops and implements innovative programs.

Our national programs in 2001-2002 includeKolot’s Rosh Hodesh: It’s A Girl Thing! a programto build the self-esteem and Jewish identities of adolescent girls; Ritualwell.org, a websiteenriching Jewish life with innovative lifecycleand holiday rituals; and publication of our egalitarian Omer Counter, which marks the daysbetween Passover and Shavuot, and Shabbatbentcher, a prayer book for the Shabbat table.

K O L O T F U L F I L L S I T S M I S S I O N B Y :

❁ Training rabbinical students in scholarshipthat recovers the voices and experiences ofJewish women and men and incorporates the insights of gender theory, social history,psychology, and other disciplines into Jewishstudies;

❁ Creating, compiling, and making available liturgy, rituals, and educational materials that reconstruct traditional stereotypes andenrich contemporary Jewish life;

❁ Advancing scholarship in the fields of Jewishwomen’s and gender studies through teaching,publications, and conferences;

❁ Offering a graduate certificate in JewishWomen’s Studies, in conjunction with TempleUniversity;

❁ Collaborating with local and national organizations on innovative projects that give voice to the issues and concerns of contemporary Jews.

This year, with your help, Kolot has “expanded the tale” and enriched Judaism by: ❁ educating rabbis to consider gender perspectives in understanding Judaism and creating the Jewish future,❁ giving adolescent Jewish girls the gift of the Rosh Hodesh holiday, ❁ bringing contemporary Jewish ritual to women and men across the world with our new website, and ❁ delivering to Shabbat tables our egalitarian bentcher (prayerbook) with customs for celebrating Shabbat from

more than 40 friends.

We thank and praise you for your partnership and generosity. Toda raba, many thanks. At Kolot we are helping to create a Judaism that is pluralistic, inclusive, and embracing because it is our

obligation to engage with Torah — in the broad sense of the word — to meet the needs of contemporary Jewishwomen and men.

We hope that this report will give you a better understanding of Kolot’s work. We are grateful to you for participating with us in “expanding the tale” by making Torah for our generation.

Lori LefkovitzAcademic Director

Sally GottesmanChair

Deborah MeyerManaging Director

“THOSE WHO EXPAND THE TALESHOULD BE PRAISED.”

— Passover Haggada

Begun in 1996, Kolot: The Center for Jewish Women’sand Gender Studies has helped educate a new generation of rabbis to consider gender perspec-tives in understanding Judaismand creating the Jewish future.

Now, thanks to the generosity of the Gottesman family, Kolot’sfuture has been secured throughthe creation of the Kolot Chair in Gender and Judaism with apermanent endowment in honorof Sadie Gottesman and ArleneGottesman Reff, two womenremembered for their activism and love of learning.

“Sally Gottesman’s vision and

energy, her appreciation for thewomen in her family and inJewish history, and her commit-ment to gender inclusivity andmeaningful Jewish experiencehave provided the foundation forKolot’s success,” said Lori Lefkovitz

of Kolot’s Advisory Board Chair.“Everyone associated with Kolot isinspired by Sally, and we are grate-ful for her leadership and gratefulto the Gottesman family for thisextraordinary endowment gift.”

Sadie, born in 1900, was awoman whose primary interestswere the well-being of her familyand her work with Jewish andcommunity organizations. She wasthe mother of four children – Ed,Arlene, Jerry, and Harold.

Her granddaughter ArchieGottesman recalls, “Sadie had highstandards and strived for excel-lence, and she spoke her mind. Shewas a woman ahead of her time.

GOTTESMAN FAMILY ENDOWS

KOLOT CHAIR IN GENDER AND JUDAISMHONORING THE LEGACY OF SADIE GOTTESMAN

& ARLENE GOTTESMAN REFF

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S A D I E G O T T E S M A N A R L E N E G O T T E S M A N R E F F

Gottesman family members have generously endowed the Sadie

Gottesman and Arlene Gottesman Reff Kolot Chair in Gender and Judaism

to give continuing life to two women they honor as mother, sister,

grandmother, and aunt.

K O L O T A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 0 - 2 0 0 1

KOLOT ACADEMICDIRECTOR APPOINTED TO

NEWLY ENDOWEDCHAIR

She demanded a lot from herself,her family, and her community,and she gave back even more.”

Arlene, born in 1934, isremembered by her brothers as adeeply caring and thoughtful person whose life was tragicallycut short by cancer in 1984. In addition to her own interestin art and learning, she was themother of Lisa and Jonathan.

“The Gottesman family missesthe kolot – voices – of these won-derful, dynamic women andendows the Kolot chair, uniquelydedicated to both scholarshipand activism, in their memories,”said Sally Gottesman, a memberof the Board of Governors of theReconstructionist RabbinicalCollege (RRC) and Chair ofKolot’s Advisory Board, in noti-fying RRC of the family’s gift.Gottesman was present at thecreation of Kolot and has beeninstrumental in nurturing itsgrowth and development.

“Creating only the thirdendowed chair in the RRC’s history, the Gottesman family’sgenerous gift of the Kolot professorship secures the futureof this important enterprise, its ongoing role in the trainingof Reconstructionist rabbis, and the continuing development of much needed programmaticresources for the broader Jewishcommunity,” said Dr. DavidTeutsch, RRC President. ❁

Dr. Lori Lefkovitz, AcademicDirector of Kolot, has been pro-moted to full professor andappointed to the newly endowedSadie Gottesman and ArleneGottesman Reff Kolot Chair ofGender and Judaism.

“Lori is a wonderful first choiceto hold the Chair in memory ofmy grandmother and aunt. She is a unique combination ofscholar, teacher, doer, and leader. We are delighted,” said SallyGottesman on behalf of her family.

Jerry Gottesman, Sadie’s sonand Arlene’s brother, echoed thesecomments, saying, “I studied theBook of Ruth with Lori. Of thehundreds of study sessions I have gone to, this was one ofthe best. She helped unfold thestory in a unique way and addeddepth and understanding that Idid not see before.”

Lefkovitz joined the RRC fac-ulty in 1996. A graduate ofBrandeis University, she receivedher M.A. and Ph.D. in Englishfrom Brown University, and wasrecipient of a Woodrow Wilsondissertation fellowship in women’sstudies and a Golda Meir post-

doctoral fellowship at HebrewUniversity. Before assuming thedirectorship of Kolot, Lefkovitzserved for ten years on the facultyof Kenyon College.

Lefkovitz is author of TheCharacter of Beauty in the VictorianNovel (UMI Research Press, 1987),and editor of Textual Bodies:Changing Boundaries of LiteraryRepresentation (SUNY Press,1997) and Shaping Losses: CulturalMemory and the Holocaust(with Julia Epstein, University of Illinois Press, 2001). She haswritten numerous articles andbook chapters on literature, criti-cal theory, and Jewish women’sstudies. ❁

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D R . L O R I L E F K O V I T Z

This past year Kolot launchedRosh Hodesh: It’s A Girl Thing!, aproject that promotes self-esteem,leadership skills, and satisfyingJewish identities for adolescentgirls by drawing on the traditionof Rosh Hodesh (newmoon) celebrations. TheHadassah Foundation pro-vided major support for thethree-year pilot project.

During the 2000-2001school year, four groups ofgirls met monthly in thePhiladelphia area to cele-brate the Rosh Hodeshfestival, talk, and learntogether under the guid-ance of an adult facilitator in a comfortable, non-congregational setting.

“It’s wonderful to watch thegirls enjoy learning Jewish textsand values in a uniquely relaxedsocial setting that encouragesthem to speak their minds,” said Mindy Shapiro, Kolot’s RoshHodesh Project director. “Each girl raises questions,

explores the tradition, and findsher own place.”

The groups are inspired byRosh Hodesh, an ancient Jewishobservance traditionally regardedas a special gift from God to

women and associated with prayersand rituals marking the new moonand the start of a new month.

“The Rosh Hodesh groups arestrengthening the girls’ sense ofself so that they are equipped toresist society’s negative images ofwomen and girls and can insteadform healthy attitudes towards

their bodies, sex, and relationships,”said Debra Solomon, KolotAdvisory Board member and oneof the project’s creators.

This fall Kolot added eightnew groups in Baltimore,

Chicago, New York, andPrinceton to help test the curriculum. The KolotRosh Hodesh Sourcebookwill be reviewed by a group of national experts, including among others Dr. Catherine Steiner Adair,with the Harvard Centerfor Eating Disorders;Penina Adelman, author of Miriam’s Well: Rituals for Jewish Women Aroundthe Year; Susan Berrin,

author of Celebrating the NewMoon: A Rosh Chodesh Anthology; Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, whose liturgical work includes Tears of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope; BluGreenberg, author of On Womenand Judaism: A View from Tradition;and Susan Weidman Schneider,editor of Lilith Magazine.

ROSH HODESH PROJECT WINSFOUNDATION GRANTS AND GIRLS’ PRAISE

PILOT GROUPS NOW IN BALTIMORE, CHICAGO, NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, AND PRINCETON

“I really enjoy being with girls my age and talking about Jewish and feminist things that we don’t get to talk about anywhere else. It’s especially cool

because we’re growing up with Rosh Hodesh, unlike many of our moms, who didn’t get to be in Rosh Hodesh groups until they were adults.”

SOPHIA BERNSTEIN, a 7th-grade participant in Kolot’s Rosh Hodesh: It’s A Girl Thing!


Kolot is planning to take the program to girls in communi-ties across the U.S. “We're creating a program that adoles-cent girls and their advocatesacross the country will own andhelp develop, thereby experienc-ing Judaism’s commitment totheir growth and well being,”explains Lori Lefkovitz, KolotAcademic Director. “Kolot hopesto fundamentally improve theway Jewish communities serve adolescent girls.”

The potential for nationalimpact helped attract supportfrom The Hadassah Foundation,which selected Kolot and sevenother organizations in the U.S.and Israel out of nearly 200 appli-cants for funding. “Hadassah wasinspired by Kolot’s creativity indesigning this dynamic project,and we are pleased that Kolot iscreating a Sourcebook that willencourage easy replication of the program in communitiesthroughout the country,” said Linda Altshuler, Director of The Hadassah Foundation.

In addition to $105,000 fromThe Hadassah Foundation, theproject has received generous support from the Jewish Women’sFoundation of MetropolitanChicago, the Charles and LynnSchusterman Family Foundation,The Shefa Fund, and TheTuttleman Family Foundation. ❁

INNOVATIVE RITUALSAVAILABLE ON-LINE

For years Kolothas been answering questions like thesefor people luckyenough to be pointedin our direction.

“It becameincreasingly clear thatwe needed somethingbetter than respond-ing to each call as itcame in,” said SallyGottesman, Kolot Advisory BoardChair. “The web is the best wayto make our library of contempo-rary rituals available to every Jew,from the rabbi in New York to thenew parent in Oklahoma.”

In April 2001, Kolot launchedthe website RitualWell.org in part-nership with Ma’yan: The JewishWomen’s Project of the JCC ofManhattan, providing innovative,feminist lifecycle and holiday ritu-als to unaffiliated and affiliatedJews, across denominations.

“There has been a creative flour-ishing of new rituals and liturgy,”said Lori Perlow, Kolot Advisory

Board member and one of the project’s founders. “When Kolotand Ma’yan have been able torespond to these requests – andmany more – people have beendelighted and moved. And we’refulfilling our mission by expandingand enriching Jewish practices.”

Over the next two years wewill post rituals for each of theJewish holidays, baby namings, bar and bat mitzvah celebrations,egalitarian weddings and commit-ment unions, healing, mourning,and many more, with explana-tions and advice on how to createyour own ceremonies. ❁

❃ What is the Jewish prayer for when you see your grandchild for the first time?

❃ I am a therapist, and one of my Jewish clients miscarried. What are the Jewishprayers or rituals that might help her with this trauma?

❃ Can you help me create a commitment ceremony?

❃ My friend is going through a divorce. Do you have a ritual that our women’s group can use to support her through this difficult transition?

❃ I have heard of putting an orange on the Seder plate.What’s that all about?


RABBINICAL STUDENTS STUDIED

GENDER AND THE ARTS IN 2000-2001TURN TO MEN IN 2001-2002

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Kolot has played a critical role in helping to make our rabbinical school curriculum responsive to the needs of contemporary Jewish women and men.

Kolot’s students and faculty decided to focus this year on gender inclusivity, extending this educational effort to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Jews. These diverse voices that have been forced to be small generation after generation

increasingly will be heard and receive the kavod (respect) they are due.DAVID DUNN BAUER, Rabbinical student and Chair of the Kolot College Programming Committee

At the ReconstructionistRabbinical College, Kolotoffers courses, faculty education, certification in Jewish women’s studies,and pastoral education on such topics as domesticviolence and breast cancer’s impact on the Jewishcommunity. Kolot-trained rabbis bring innovations to synagogues, day schools, Hillels, and Jewish communal organizations nationwide.

In 2000-2001, Kolot complemented its trainingwith experiential programs on “Gender and theArts.” Guest artists led workshops on writing, per-

formance art, and painting.Poet Merle Feld taughtworkshops on Poetry

and Liturgy and Writing Spiritual Autobiography, andshe read and discussed her poetry at a Kolot-spon-sored public event.

In 2001-2002, Kolot will explore “GenderInclusivity and Jewish Men.” Speakers and workshopswill consider how Women’s and Gender Studies help create a more meaningful and inclusive Judaism.Students will examine concerns specific to men living active Jewish lives.


This past year Lori Lefkovitz crisscrossed thecountry speaking and teaching about Torah, gender,and the work of Kolot. From the Association forJewish Studies in Chicago, where Lefkovitz chaired apanel on “Gender, Jewishness, and NationalDiscourses,” to the University of Delaware, where she taught a semester-long course, to the Miami JCC,where she delivered a keynote address, Lefkovitzchallenged and delighted those who came to learn.

Taking the example of the decimation of EuropeanJewry during the Nazi era, in her recently publishedbook, Shaping Losses (co-edited with Julia Epstein),Lefkovitz explores the effect of traumatic loss on identi-ty and confronts the problem of transforming traumainto cultural memory.

This eloquent volume examines how memoirs,films, photographs, art, and literature, as well as family conversations and personal remembrancesembody the impulse to preserve what is destroyed.The contributors — all distinguished women scholars, most of them survivors or daughters of sur-vivors — address ways in which children of survivorsof the Holocaust — and of other catastrophic traumas — struggle with inherited or vicarious memory, striving to come to terms with losses that

centrally define them although they experiencethem only indirectly.

KOLOT’S ACADEMIC DIRECTOR, LORI LEFKOVITZ, PUBLISHES NEW BOOK AND

REACHES OUT TO THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

SHAPING LOSSES:CULTURAL MEMORY AND THE HOLOCAUST

Published by the University of Illinois Press

Edited by Julia Epstein and Lori Hope Lefkovitz

264 pp. Cloth cover $49.95

Paper cover $21.95.


•

Preparation for Kolot’s April 1 benefit honoringJudith Stern Peck and Anita Diamant included publication of a Kolot tribute journal in the form ofan egalitarian bentcher (Shabbat table prayerbook),continuing the tradition begun last year with Kolot’segalitarian Omer Counter, which marks the daysbetween Passover and Shavuot.

Kolot Managing Director Deborah Meyer presentedthe Kolot Egalitarian Bentcher as “an example of theway we implement Kolot’s mission – to provide newvisions of gender roles in Jewish life.” She said,“When we use feminine prayer language, we expand theways in which we imagine God, making it more naturalto attribute authority to women as well as to men.”

KOLOT PUBLISHES EGALITARIANSHABBAT BENTCHER

•• •

HAVDALAHMIRIAM HANEVIYAH

Miriam hanevi’ah oz vezimrah beyadah.Miriam tirkod itanu lehagdil zimrat olam.Miriam tirkod itanu letaken et ha’olam.Bimherah veyameynu hi tevi’eynuEl mey hayeshuah.

This song, focusing on the Prophet Miriam, is a meaningful addition to thehavdalah service.

by Rabbi Leila Gal Berner

Miriam the prophet will dance withus at the waters of redemption.

From A Kolot Egalitarian Bentcher

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Shabbat Blessings and Customs

for Your Home

KOLOTEGALITARIAN

BENTCHER

A

Kolot’s April 1, 2001 lunch-eon at the City University of New York Graduate Center honored Judith Stern Peck, community leader and philanthro-pist, with the presentation of ourKol Isha “Women’s Voice Award,”created to celebrate a Jewishwoman whose voice has made asignificant difference in the publicsphere.

“Since the 1970s, Judy hasworked tirelessly as a committedlay leader, making sure that the voices of women are heard in some of our community’s mostestablished organizations,” said

Sally Gottesman, Kolot Chair.An experienced family thera-

pist and business consultant,Judith Stern Peck has held topleadership positions with manyJewish organizations, includingthe Israel Policy Forum, UJA-Federation of New York, the Board of Overseers of theRabbinical School at the JewishTheological Seminary, the Jewish Continuity Commission,Partnership 2000, the 92nd StreetY, the Jewish Community Centerof the Upper West Side, theJewish Education Service ofNorth America (JESNA), and

the United Jewish Communities. The afternoon event also

featured the presentation of theKolot Award to Anita Diamant,best-selling author of the novelThe Red Tent, an extended midrashon the biblical story of Dinahwhich The Forward suggests “may be the country’s most widelystudied Torah commentary.”

Diamant recounted her dream of creating “an inclusive, welcomingcommunity mikveh (ritual bath),kosher in every respect” in thegreater Boston area “as a place, asan idea, as a mitzva.”

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KOLOT HONORS JUDITH STERN PECKAND ANITA DIAMANT


Anita Diamant thanked Kolot “for giving me this honor– my first from the Jewish community and a shehehiyanumoment.”

“My interest in the role of womenas leaders in the Jewish commu-nity has been at the heart of all of the work I have done over theyears,” said Judy Stern Peck.

After studying texts about Biblical heroines and tambourines, the almost 300 people at Kolot’s benefitdecorated Miriam’s timbrels, a recently recovered ritual object.

Kolot gratefully acknowledges the commitment of the individual and institutional funders who supported our work during our fiscal year September 2000-August 2001. Your gifts, from $18 to $180,000, have helped Kolotenrich Jewish experience through new understandings of gender and Judaism.

I N D I V I D U A L

S U P P O R T E R S

AnonymousRachelle AbrahamiMona & David AbramsonRosina Abramson & Jeffrey GlenDrs. Martha Ackelsberg

& Judith PlaskowSusan & Kenneth AdlerMeg & Seth AkabasDavida Alperin &

Rabbi Sharon B. Stiefel E. Miriam & Barry AlperinBarbara & Philip AltheimBarbara AltmanRita AltmanAnn H. Appelbaum

& Rabbi Neal I. BorovitzMadeleine & David ArnowCarol B. AuerbachMarcy & Daniel BacineCindy & Michael BakermanSusan Bandler & Joel KornCeil & Bernie BandmanHelen & Harris BarerHelaine & Victor BarnettJennifer & Craig BarnettSharon & Mitchell BaronMarie BarrPat Barr & Rolf SternbergRabbi Aviva Bass

& Daniel VarsalonaDavid Dunn BauerDr. Nancy BauerVirginia BayerJoan Bayliss

Dr. Dorothy BeckerLonnie & Michael BeerGiti & Jack BendheimMiriam Benson & Jon-Jay TilsenEdna & David BergBarbra Berley-Mellits Aviva BernatPenny & Sheldon BernickPamela & George BernsteinSerafina BierMiriam & Isaac BlechMargo Bloom & Mark SealPepi & Joel BloomCharlotte BloombergRuth Blumenstein

& Robi BlumensteinMarion & George BlumenthalRita & Ernest BogenLila & Newlin BoothGwen Borowsky & David CampAmy Brenner & Marc UknisBeth BrenzelRabbi Deborah J. BrinLeona Brochin Roberta & Alvin BrodlieCharles Bronfman Joan BronkShifra Bronznick & J.J. GoldbergCarole Caplan BrownEllen Brown & Robert A. Schwartz Fredda H. Brown Nina BruderLisa BuksbaumSusan Asher CalechmanClive ChajetRenee Cherow-O’LearyMindy ChriquiAlan CohenBetsy Z. & Edward Cohen

Dr. D. Walter CohenJenine Cohen & Elliott MillerJoy CohenLisa & Barry CohenMerle & Larry CohenSusan Cohen & Barry BergSuzanne & Norman Cohn Brenda CooperRabbi Rachel CowanSusan & Larry CutlerPenelope DannenbergJudith Dean & James CrawfordBarbara & Eric DobkinAnny Dobrejcer

& Rabbi Michael PaleyBarbara & Daniel DrenchKathy DrewLori & Monte DubeElizabeth DubmanElaine & Lee DushoffFran & Dan DvorkinJudith EdelsteinAnne & Joel EhrenkranzSusan EisenBetty E. EislerSeena ElbaumMarilyn & Tom EliasTracie Elliot & Mark GigliettiAlfred EngelbergCathy EnglandWendy Epstein & James Steiker Terry S. FagenCharlotte FalkSusan & Edward FalkJanet R. FalonVictoria & Ben FederHarriet FeinerBetty Ann & Allan FellnerLisa Fernandez & Richard Remnick

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FUNDERS


Byrgen & Paul FinkelmanCheri FoxCheryl & Jon FrankAllison FreedmanMeryl FreedmanGigi & Sam FriedMatt FriedMadalyn & Stephen FriedbergBarbara & Stephen FriedmanBetsy & Hillel FriedmanRabbi Dayle A. Friedman

& David FerlegerMuffin Friedman & Jeffrey DekroRabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer

& Dr. Seth KreimerJoan & Josef GartnerEllen GasnickShulamit GehlfussJane & Larry GellmanJudith & Gary GersteinIrene B. GlickmanBillie & Martin GoldSandra & Arnold GoldMarilyn & Simon GoldenDeborah GoldfarbDorian Goldman & Marvin IsraelowHarriet & David GoldmanDr. Janice & Arthur GoldmanKatja Goldman

& Michael Sonnenfeldt Phyllis & Alvin GoldmanSharna GoldsekerRuth & Robert GoldstonJoyce GoodmanNina Gordon & Louis Walinsky Ronya GordonAbbie Gottesman

& Moshe GreenbergArchie Gottesman & Gary DeBodeJane GottesmanPaula & Jerome GottesmanSally GottesmanTrudy & Robert GottesmanEllen Graff & Martin FoxRoger GrassMarcy & Bennett GrauCynthia Green & Joshua Jablons Ronald GreenStephanie Green

Susan GreenNancy GreenblattLouise & James GreilsheimerMichelle & Paul GrobmanRachel GrossToni & Stephen GussMarvin HaasRaphaelle & Richard HaimowitzRabbi Judith HaLevyLynne & Harold HandlerMaurice HarrisPatti HaskellMichal Heifitz-Golden

& Craig GoldenHelaine HellerDrs. Kathryn Hellerstein

& David SternLee HendlerLisa & Matthew HermannMindy Hersh & Jacob Solomon Linda Herskowitz & Jake KrigerShari Herzberg & Eric Robbins Sonia Herzenberg-Kleinman

& Paul KleinmanSusan HesterCindy & Matthew HirschNancy & Joel HirschtrittBarbara & Charlie HirshDebra C. HirshmanEllen & Mark HoffmanRabbi Aileen & Irwin HollanderRabbi Linda HoltzmanRuth HorowitzAndrew IngallDeborah IsraelPhyllis JacobsJonathan JacobyMaidy & Maurice JegerCarol M. JosephLinda C. JumJudith KahnMary & Howard KahnJune KaneRobert KanterJoan KaplanLynda Kaplan

& Richard Rabinowitz Marion KaplanRita J. & Stanley H. Kaplan

Amy & Joseph KatzConnie & Sam KatzRabbis Joanna Katz

& Jeffrey M. Roth Judith Katz & Dean SolomonKatherine Danser KelserEllen KenemoreIsabel KesslerSusie Kessler & Peter Geffen Yohanna Kinberg

& Seth GoldsteinBeth KlarmanEdith KlausnerAmy & Michael KleinEvie Klein & Bob OwensJacqueline KleinRachel Kobrin & Richard BrodySusanna Kochan-Lorch

& Steven LorchLynne & Caleb KoeppelDr. Susan KraemerElizabeth Leiman KraiemLaura & Jay KramerDeborah & Herbert KrasnowCheryl Kritz & Richard GoldLynn Korda Kroll & Jules Kroll Herbert KronishHillary KuninsRuth & Peter LaibsonMarie-Jeanne Lambert

& Sandra Rubenstein Eve LandauBryna & Joshua LandesBetsy & Donald LandisRachel LandsbergBill LaneRita Perlow LangueDorothy LebachJoan LebachLola & Rudolf LefkovitzDr. Lori Lefkovitz

& Rabbi Leonard GordonMarcy Lefkovitz

& Steven SaltzmanSally LeiferIrene K. LeiwantBea & Norman LeopoldCarol & Jerry LevinNancy F. Levin


Sybil & Leon LevineRabbis Joy Levitt

& Michael StrassfeldBeena & Steven LevyRabbi Sheryl Lewart

& Robert AuerbachAbigail LindenbaumBelda & Marcel LindenbaumJean & Armand LindenbaumMichael LindenbaumRay LindenbaumRebecca & Bennett LindenbaumRuth LindenbaumShari & Nathan LindenbaumAnnabel & Philip LindyJudy & Mark LittSara & Andrew LittDiane & Stephen LovellLynn & Carl LyssTami & Fredrick MackTalia Malka & Rabbi Shawn I. ZevitFlorence MansonLori Lowenthal MarcusJimena Martinez

& Michael HirschhornMarciene MattlemanJudith & Paul MayMarlene & Joseph McCarthyPeter McQuillan & Adam RoseBenjamin W. MehlmanSusan MelchnerEvan MendelsonSue & Eugene MercyRuth MessingerRabbis Sarah Messinger

& Jeffrey EisenstatDeborah Meyer

& Dr. Lonnie GoldenNaomi MeyerRebecca Meyer

& Dr. Kevin BernsteinThelma & Barry MeyerBeryl Michaels & John BachRabbi Goldie MilgramCindy MillerLiz & Ian MillerNina MillerValerie Mnuchin-Rozen

& Michael Rozen

Margot Morrison & Martin ChaninLani MossHyman MussRuth NathansonJeanette Lerman-Neubauer

& Joseph Neubauer Iris NewmanStephen NislickJoyce & Carl NordenBrenda PaceLee S. ParkerMargie Patlak & Frank ChudnowKate & Bradford PeckJudith Stern Peck & Stephen Peck Rabbi Barbara R. Penzner

& Brian P. RosmanKathleen Peratis & Richard FrankLori PerlowRona PietrzakRebecca PinskerLetty Cotton PogrebinSharon Pollak & Fred Baurer Merle B. Potchinsky

& Rabbi Jeremy SchwartzAbby PozefskySharon & Charles PresserSuzanne & Norman PriebatschJill Prosky & James PosnerMarlene ProvisorNaomi PruskyPamela RandelDebra RappaportJoyce & Michael RappeportHelene Reich & Aric GitomerMary Lou & Pace ReichStephanie ReinRosemary ReissArlene & Sanford RemzDidi & Rabbi Steven Carr ReubenRabbi Yael B. Ridberg

& Mark S. LaskaMarcia RiklisElaine Stein Roberts

& Bernard RobertsSelma & Martin RoffmanKaren RoodBeth RosenbaumNancy & Philip RosenblattGeorge M. Ross

Marilyn RosskamMark B. RubinYvette RudnitzkyJoan & Alan SacksHarriet Saltzman & Robert MeyersRuth & Ira SalzmanSheri SandlerSuki & Herman SandlerRabbis Sandy Sasso

& Dennis C. SassoRochelle SauberNigel SavagePam SchaflerDeborah & Jeffrey ScheinElizabeth Scheuer & Peter JosephLaura ScheuerMimi & Alan SchneirovAnne & Ernest SchneselCarol & Harvey SchulweisSharon Schumack

& Rabbi Michael LuckensSara Lee SchupfLynn & Charles Schusterman *Diane Schwartz

& Michael DribanJanet & Steven SchwartzJoan Betty Schwarz

& Arthur Tessler Jodi Schwartz & Steven RichmanLisa SchwartzVictoria Schwartz-Mided

& Donald MidedPatricia & Stephen SegalBarbara & Paul SeidenbergArlene & Donald ShapiroBarbara Ginsburg ShapiroMarion ShapiroMindy S. ShapiroCarol & Larry ShatoffFelice ShaysBetsy & Richard SheerrCarol & Stephen ShoreMarion & William ShulevitzRachel & Albert ShulmanBetsy & Richard ShusterJudith SiegelDorothy & Martin SilvermanLorin SilvermanSharon Silverstein


Bliss Siman & Bert Linder Mary Ann & Arthur SiskindAlan B. SlifkaJanis Smith

& Shimon Waldfogel Barbara & Eric SmolenSanford SolenderAudrey & Jeffrey SolomonCarole SolomonDebra & Dr. David SolomonEstelle SolomonEmily & Jerry SpiegelJuliet Spitzer & Philip WachsIlse StammRonna Stamm & Paul A. LehmanRabbi Jacob StaubRabbis Margot Stein

& Myriam KlotzRobyn SteinKathryn SteinbergLeah & Dr. William SteinbergAnita SteinerJo & Robert SteinhartAllison & Leonard SternCecile SternElizabeth & Emanuel SternElsie SternSusan & Jeffrey SternWalter P. SternZelda SternEllen & Emanuel SteuermanMarla StoneSharon StrassfeldJoan StrausbergElga StulmanCatherine Sull & Jacalyn ShaferLori & Craig SumbergSandra SussmanJane SussweinLois & Cy SwartzPhyllis & Richard TaylorNancy & Arn TellemJudy Tenney Dr. Savina J. TeubalBetsy TeutschSarah Tisch & Ken HermanRachel TivenDr. Jan TuttlemanJill Vexler

Fran S. VorembergJudith & David WachsLori & Martin WachsRachel Ann WachsDeborah WaldmanDebra WassermanRabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg

& Maynard SeiderAbby & David WeinerSerafina & Melvyn WeinerWendy WeingartenLynn & Jerry WeinsteinRachelle WeisbergerJane WeitzmanMarcia & Herbert WellerDr. Henrietta Wenkart Joan & Barry WinogradIlene & George WolffValerie & Dr. Paul WolpeLillian & Donald WortzelGeanne & Hyman ZelkowitzLawrence ZicklinMarjorie & Aaron ZiegelmanElizabeth & Stanley ZietzKatie & Robert ZimringJanet ZolotBarbara & Roy ZuckerbergMyra & Matthew Zuckerbraun

*Of Blessed Memory

I N S T I T U T I O N A L

S U P P O R T

ATID Consulting Group Ltd.Adat Shalom Reconstructionist

CongregationAlbin Family Foundation, Inc.Dave & Mary Alper JCC, Inc.Beth Am IsraelB’nai KeshetCongregation Beth-El ZedeckCongregation B’nai JeshurunGermantown Jewish CentreThe Hadassah FoundationICW Consulting Group

Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland

Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest

Jewish Women’s Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago

The Mrs. Estee Lauder Philanthropic Fund

Henry Lindenbaum Memorial Foundation Inc.

Nash Family Foundation Inc.Perlow Family Charitable FundCharles & Lynn Schusterman

Family FoundationThe Shefa FundSyms CorporationTides FoundationUnited Jewish Federation

of Greater PittsburghWachoviaWest End SynagogueWolfensohn Family Foundation


ASSETSOperating and Restricted

Cash and Equivalents, including Restricted Funds1 $197,628Pledges Receivable2 864,350Investments - Endowment Funds3 739,949

Total Assets $1,801,927

LIABILITIES AND FUND BALANCESLiabilities $0Fund Balances

Operating and Restricted Funds 209,978Endowment Funds 1,591,949

Total Liabilities and Fund Balances $1,801,927

14

STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION(UNAUDITED) AS OF AUGUST 31, 2001


NOTES

1. The Pat Barr Restricted Fund was established in 2000 with $180,000 to support Kolot’s national programs.

2. Includes $848,000 in pledges to Kolot’s endowment funds.

3. Kolot is grateful to those who established the following endowment funds:

❁ The Marie Barr Fund promotes student-led Kolot activities at RRC.

❁ The Kolot Operating Endowment supports Kolot programming.

❁ The Sadie Gottesman and Arlene Gottesman Reff Kolot Chair in Gender and Judaism funds the

Professorship and Academic Directorship of Kolot.

15

KOLOT’S FINANCIAL PICTURE


0

$450

$500

400

350

300

Fiscal Year 2000

22% Training RabbinicalStudents

Fiscal Year 2001

250

200

150

100

50

0

$1,800

$2,000

1,600

1,400

1,200

Fiscal Year 2000 Fiscal Year 2001

1,000

800

600

400

200

E N D O W M E N T G R O W T H

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Tho

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Tota

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In 2000-2001 Kolot raised a total of $979,332 in operating and endowment funds. The first two charts belowshow Kolot’s growth in the past year, and the second chart shows how Kolot dedicated its $494,187 operatingfunds in 2000-2001.

••

Rosh Hodesh Project 29% ••

Ritualwell.org 17% ••

9% InstitutionalSupport ••

6% Administration and Management ••

17% Other EducationalProgramming ••

P R O G R A M G R O W T H

O P E R AT I N G E X P E N D I T U R E S 2 0 0 0 - 2 0 0 1

OUR NEW STAFF


KOLOT CREATES POSITION OF MANAGING DIRECTOR

Having enjoyed remarkable success in its early phase of growth, Kolot this year created the position ofManaging Director to professionalize all aspects of our program.

“Kolot had reached a new stage in its organizational development, and it was essential to have a skilled professional serve as co-director and help make our vision a reality,” said Kolot’s Chair, Sally Gottesman.

Deborah Meyer came to Kolot in September 2000 with more than 20 years of experience in management,development, and public relations, primarily in the non-profit world of women’s and Jewish organizations.Meyer received a B.A. from Connecticut College in 1980, and an M.A. in Communication from EmersonCollege in 1983.

ROSH HODESH PROJECT DIRECTOR

Our project for adolescent girls, Kolot’s Rosh Hodesh: It’s A Girl Thing!, took off with the hiring in August2000 of Mindy Shapiro as Project Director. A seasoned leader in Jewish programming, Shapiro also works as apapercut artist and is the Judaic editor for First Cut, a Guild of American Papercutters’ publication. Shereceived a B.A. from the University of Maryland in 1982, and an M.A. in Women’s Studies and Public Policyfrom George Washington University in 1986.

KOLOT ASSISTANT

We were also pleased this year to welcome Kolot Assistant Stephanie Nachum, who brings with her years of office management experience. Nachum has written legal abstracts and trained abstractors, supervised a production staff of 32, administered databases, performed cost analyses, and managed the books for a group ofstores. She received her B.S. in Secondary Education and English from Penn State University in 1973.

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D E B O R A H M E Y E R

K O L O T A D V I S O R Y B O A R D

Sally Gottesman, ChairDavid Dunn BauerBarbara DobkinDr. Janice GoldmanJoyce Goodman Linda HerskowitzRabbi Linda HoltzmanLori PerlowDebra SolomonRabbi Jacob StaubRabbi Margot Stein

K O L O T S T A F F

Lori Lefkovitz, Ph.D.Academic Director

Deborah MeyerManaging Director

Mindy ShapiroRosh Hodesh Project Director

Stephanie NachumKolot Assistant

S P E C I A L T H A N K S T O

Dr. David Teutsch, President,and Don Shapiro, Chair, of theReconstructionist RabbinicalCollege, and to the College’sBoard, administration, staff, and faculty for sustaining Kolot’s vision and work.

For more information, please contact Kolot [email protected] or (215) 576-0800 x152.

PRST. STD

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPhiladelphia, PA

Permit No. 3461

THUNDERVOICESKOLOT VOTE S

Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

1299 Church Road, Wyncote, PA 19095(215) 576-0800 x 152

[email protected]

KOLOT:THE CENTERFOR JEWISHWOMEN’S

AND GENDER STUDIES

kolot annual report 2000-2001

Documents