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Alumni Opportunities

There are many great opportunities in North America and Israel that Genesis alumni can take advantage of - this list is not comprehensive.

Opportunities for High School Students
Opportunities for College Students and beyond

For High School Students:

Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel
The Bronfman Youth Fellowships In Israel is an all expenses paid, 5 week fellowship to Israel.  BYFI educates and inspires exceptional young Jews from diverse backgrounds to become active participants in Jewish culture throughout their lives, and to contribute their talents and vision to the Jewish community and to the world at large.  Every year, twenty-six outstanding North American teenagers are selected for The Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel. The Fellows come from all over the United States and Canada, from the widest possible range of Jewish backgrounds, and are selected based on merit, and not financial need. In their five weeks together, the Fellows encounter the land and people of Israel, study Judaism and major issues in contemporary Jewish life, and learn about themselves and each other. The summer is the beginning of a long-term association for the Fellows, which continues through our extraordinarily active alumni network.

Havaya International
Havaya International, a program of New York's 92nd Street Y, is a 4-week life-changing experience that offers the opportunity to travel like a local in both Israel and across the United States, while making a positive difference in our global village. Fifteen American teens and fifteen Israeli teens (going into 10th-12th grade) spend two weeks traveling throughout Israel with local Israelis from the 92nd Street Y's sister city, Ramat Hasharon, and two weeks in the U.S. getting the opportunity to share their lives with their Israeli counterparts. As all-inclusive non-denominational organizations that embrace pluralism, both the Y and the Ramat Hasharon Community Center have a long history of serving a broad range of populations that address an expansive array of issues, including those based on Jewish culture and heritage. Havaya International is dedicated to creating life-long friendships and to changing the world for the better.

High School Apprenticeship Program at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
The High School Apprenticeship Program offers New York City public high school students a challenging program of work and study as they learn about Jewish heritage, the Holocaust, and what goes on "behind-the-scenes" at a museum.

Kivunim: New Directions
Israel-centered but not Israel exclusive, Kivunim: New Directions will provide you with a unique opportunity for international travel and study with a focus on understanding the history and contemporary life of Jewish communities in other parts of the world while building appreciation and understanding of the multi-cultural world in which we live. Therefore, while based and rooted in Israel, Kivunim is built around field trips every 6 weeks to the Jewish communities of Greece, Turkey, Spain, Morocco, India, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia.  This new "pre-college" program is primarily for graduates of North American Jewish High Schools and high school graduates who attended Jewish day schools through middle school.

Or Tzedek: Teen Summer Institute for Social Justice
The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs' Or Tzedek Institute offers a unique summer program for Jewish high-school students looking to address urban issues such as poverty, inadequate housing and access to health care through hands-on service and high level learning.  Participants in Or Tzedek will: work hands-on with community groups in Chicago's underserved neighborhoods; strengthen their college application profiles; explore Jewish approaches to social justice with rabbis and other knowledgeable instructors; examine critical issues facing Chicago residents and the institutions that serve them; and enjoy Chicago in the summer!

Summer JAM (Judaism, Activism and Mitzvah work)
Leadership training for teens passionate about politics, community service, and Judaism, JAM is a challenging and inspiring exploration of the connection between community service, activism, and Judaism. Based on the campus of the George Washington University in downtown D.C., JAM participants are a diverse group of Jewish high school students from across the country that participate in meaningful community service projects, study Jewish texts and values, and gain advocacy training from leading experts on domestic and international policy issues.

Young Judaea Year Course
Young Judaea's Year Course in Israel is a 9-month program for recent high school graduates who spend an unforgettable year living, volunteering, and studying in Israel. Year Course has a profound influence on the development of Jewish identity. Year Course shapes and enriches the lives of our youth as both American Jews and as human beings. Through volunteer work, study, and travel, Year Course participants both give and receive educational and spiritual sustenance. Speaking Hebrew on the streets and at work, interacting with new immigrants and multiple-generation Israelis, and traveling up and down the country, Jewish youth form binding relationships with the language, people and geography of Israel.

For College Students and beyond:

At Brandeis University:

KLAL: Brandeis Jewish Pluralism Dialogue Group
Klal is a weekly discussion group that delves into issues of Jewish pluralism from the Brandeis campus to the Jewish community at large. Discussion topics include holidays, kashrut, rituals, and Sherman cafeteria.

DeLeT Master of Arts in Teaching program
Enter the field of Jewish teaching with the DeLeT Master of Arts in teaching program at Brandeis University -- Rolling Admission is 
Underway - Apply Now! DeLeT@brandeis.edu, 781-736-2022

Full-tuition fellowships for all students, plus stipends for living expenses -- outstanding faculty -- preparation to teach Judaic and general subjects -- one-year, full-time program -- yearlong mentored internship in a local day school -- mid-career changers, beginning Jewish educators, and recent college grads encouraged to apply.  Brandeis also has an MAT concentration on teaching Bible for Jewish high schools. There is a sister DeLeT program at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles. 

Other:

American Hebrew Academy
The AHA Fellowship Program seeks enthusiastic recent college graduates from all Jewish backgrounds who want to further their knowledge and hands-on experience in Jewish or secular studies teaching Jewish life, Information Technology, Athletics, and/or School Administration by living and working with talented Jewish teens. Fellows receive room, board, a stipend and health benefits at the American Hebrew Academy, the first and only pluralistic Jewish boarding high school in America located in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is situated on a beautiful park-like, 100-acre wooded campus that boasts a small lake, Jerusalem stone lined buildings, unparalleled facilities, a cutting edge technological environment and an extraordinarily gifted and committed community of faculty, staff, administrators, and especially students. For more information, please contact Leslie Grossman at lgrossman@americanhebrewacademy.org

ADAMAH: The Jewish Environmental Fellowship
ADAMAH is a three month leadership training program for Jewish young adults — ages 20–29 —that integrates organic farming, sustainable living, Jewish learning, teaching, and contemplative spiritual practice. Fellows spend much of their time learning and practicing sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry on the four-acre ADAMAH farm and in small gardens throughout the retreat center. Fellows also participate in leadership training, community living, ecological and Jewish seminars with visiting faculty, and more.

Brandeis Collegiate Institute (BCI)
Think deeply. Express creatively. Live fully. Come to the Brandeis Collegiate Institute this summer and connect to Judaism on your own terms.

Through artistic expression, dynamic trans-denominational learning, spiritual reflection, and outdoor exploration, BCI provides you with a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the diversity of Jewish culture, to envision your own Jewish life, and to connect to community. Sing, dance, sculpt, write, act, and *express yourself through the arts* with our gifted professional artists-in-residence as they guide you through a creative process of spiritual and artistic discovery. *Plant and harvest in our organic garden*, preserve trees and trails, go horseback riding, hike new trails and camp out under the stars. Immerse yourself in discussions about Jewish texts, philosophy, history, culture, and issues of identity, ethics, and community with some of *the leading thinkers in the Jewish world*. Join other Jewish adults (ages 18-26) from around the world for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. *Dates*: June 24-July 19, 2009. For more information, contact Preston at pneal@ajula.edu.

Jewish Organizing Initiative Fellowship Program
JOI recruits young Jewish adults (generally 22-30) from all over the world for a year of leadership training in Boston, MA that includes: working for social and economic justice, Jewish learning, training in grass roots community organizing skills, and Jewish community building. The fellowship year involves work in social justice community or labor organizations, generally in low-income community organizations, (sometimes in the Jewish community) and weekly learning and reflection about organizing for justice, Judaism and community building.

Museum of Jewish Heritage Internship
Learn, Teach, and Inspire: As a Lipper intern you will come to the Museum in New York City for ten days to learn the moving story of 20th century Jewish life and the Holocaust. Upon returning to your college campus for the semester, you will teach students in local classrooms and lead them on trips to the Museum. Through the Lipper Internship, college undergraduate and graduate participants of all ages and backgrounds will inspire students across the Northeast with universal messages of memory, justice, and hope.

Machon Kaplan
Machon Kaplan is a unique summer work/study internship program for undergraduate students from college campuses across North America interested in Judaism and social justice. Based in Washington, D.C. at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, it provides students with a meaningful internship dealing with social justice issues; the opportunity to engage in academic study that relates to their internships; and, a community of like-minded students to share the experience together in a group living atmosphere. Students learn, through study and action, the interrelationship of Judaism and American democratic ideals, as well as the political interaction of the organized American Jewish community and the U.S. government, while gaining a foundation of Jewish knowledge to help ground the political issues on which the Center works.

Pardes: Institute of Jewish Studies
Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies is a coed, non-denominational center for Jewish learning in Jerusalem. Pardes offers a unique combination of intellectual openness, rigorous textual analysis, and opportunities for spiritual growth. Through hevrutah study (partner learning) under the guidance of dynamic teachers, Pardes aims to provide skills for in-depth Jewish learning, encourages students to grapple with the relevance of ancient texts and the modern world, and increases students’ knowledge of their Jewish heritage. Learning is centered around the beit midrash (hall of study). Morning studies are focused on Hebrew Bible and Talmud with a variety of electives offered in the afternoon. Classes are augmented by non-mandatory Shabbat celebration, tours of Israel, and volunteering opportunities, to create a wonderfully rich experience.

Taglit-birthright israel
Taglit-birthright israel provides the gift of first time, peer group, educational trips to Israel for Jewish young adults ages 18 to 26. Taglit-birthright israel's founders created this program to send thousands of young Jewish adults from all over the world to Israel as a gift in order to diminish the growing division between Israel and Jewish communities around the world; to strengthen the sense of solidarity among world Jewry; and to strengthen participants' personal Jewish identity and connection to the Jewish people.

Urban Mitzvah Corps
The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs’ Urban Mitzvah Corps program gives college students the opportunity to spend winter break doing hands-on social justice work in Chicago. Students will learn about Jewish approaches to social justice and social action on campus, while exploring Chicago with new friends.

The WUJS Institute in Arad
The WUJS Institute is an independent organization dedicated to educating Jewish adults from all over the world in an open pluralistic environment. Taken over by Hadassah WUJS Arad in 2006, WUJS Arad is part of YJ Impact, the university Zionist movement of Hadassah. The Institute offers one of the best Ulpan (intensive Hebrew) programs in Israel, as well as extensive courses in Israel and Jewish learning. All of the classes cater to a range of Hebrew and Jewish knowledge. Participants have the opportunity to get better acquainted with Israel and Judaism through the non-classroom components of the program as well: nature hikes, weekly field seminars, Shabbat and holiday programming, "adopting" families and social activities. WUJS Arad enable young Jewish graduates and professionals to experience Israel in the most creative and exciting manner possible.

Yeshivat Hadar: Transformative Summer and Year-Round Experiences

Apply to Yeshivat Hadar, a transformative summer or year-round experience in New York City. The summer program offers 36 men and women an intensive 8-week experience (June 14; August 8, 2009) that combines traditional text study, egalitarian prayer and social action with a special focus on personal religious growth. Next fall, Yeshivat Hadar will launch the first full-year, full-time egalitarian yeshiva in North America.  The program will offer 15-20 fellows an intensive program in New York City, anchored around empowerment, community and the search for meaning and purpose in Jewish life. *Fellows receive generous stipends.* Deadline to apply is February 1, 2009. For more information and to apply, please visit www.yeshivathadar.org.