Ma’alot – To expand Wisdom Circles, a leadership program for Jewish adults, through the development of a new yearlong curriculum, establishment of new Circles, and facilitation training for participants.

How has the Wisdom Circles program already made an impact on your community?

Wisdom Circles hold a powerful container for deep connection and growth in Ma’alot’s community. Through monthly gatherings, participants engage in meaningful Jewish learning, personal reflection, and shared storytelling, fostering bonds that bring Judaism into their homes and their relationships. Circles help build the Jewish life we all want to be a part of–where diverse members step into leadership roles, support one another through life transitions, and find Jewish belonging.

What are you most looking forward to seeing emerge during this project, and beyond?

I am most excited to see how Wisdom Circles cultivate a culture of empowered Jewish leadership that questions the status quo and chart creative paths forward. As participants grow in confidence and skill around their Jewish learning, facilitation, and relationship skills, what Jewish life looks like in our city will organically enrich and expand. This ripple effect—where intimate learning and connection lead to broader cultural transformation—is at the heart of Ma’alot’s vision.

What piece of Jewish wisdom inspires you most?

One teaching that guides me comes from Pirkei Avot: Aseh lecha rav, u’kneh lecha chaver, “Make for yourself a teacher and acquire for yourself a friend.” Over the course of my life, the wisdom shared by my friends and the care I’ve received from my teachers and mentors have profoundly shaped me, and it is my deep desire to surround myself with both. Wisdom Circles place each person in the role of student and teacher of life, empowering everyone to share their own Torah, and through that sharing build relationships of mutual growth and care.