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AVI CHAI Foundation LRP Framework
(http://avichai.org)
The AVI CHAI Foundation in North America seeks to ensure the continuity of the Jewish
people through what we affectionately term LRP:
1. Fostering high levels of Jewish Literacy
2. Deepening Religious Purposefulness
3. Promoting advocacy for Jewish Peoplehood and Israel
We believe Jewish commitment – the Foundation’s key mission in North America – depends
on these elements, because Judaism derives from a core set of texts and lives in ongoing
dialogue with those texts (literacy); because Judaism is lived and experienced in daily
practice and interactions guided by those texts (religious purposefulness); and because in
the 21st century Jews throughout the world should feel connected as one people with, and
feel a responsibility to, our national homeland in the modern State of Israel.
AVI CHAI’s goal in North America over our remaining ten sunset years is to advance and
sustain LRP education in Jewish day schools and summer camps for the purpose of creating
the foundation for an energizing nucleus of youth with the values, commitments,
motivation and skills to lead the Jewish People intellectually, spiritually, communally, and
politically in the 21st century.
1. Fostering high levels of Jewish Literacy
a. Building Jewish Literacy by Providing Content
Jewish literacy means familiarity with the basic texts and values of our tradition.
Judaism’s distinctiveness and great strength lie in the accumulated wisdom
contained in the Torah, from the Bible to the Mishnah and the Talmud, and then
through the wide genre of rabbinic and non-rabbinic literature. Much of the
literature, ancient and modern, is in Hebrew, and the acquisition of Hebrew
language skills is an important part of becoming a fully literate Jew. In promoting
Jewish literacy through day schools, AVI CHAI seeks to deepen the relationship
Jewish children have with their own Judaism.
b. Building Jewish Literacy by Preparing and Supporting Teachers
Jewish literacy means familiarity with the basic texts and values of our tradition.
Judaism’s distinctiveness and great strength lie in the accumulated wisdom
contained in the Torah, from the Bible to the Mishnah and the Talmud, and then
through the wide genre of rabbinic and non-rabbinic literature. Much of the
literature, ancient and modern, is in Hebrew, and the acquisition of Hebrew
language skills is an important part of becoming a fully literate Jew. In promoting
Jewish literacy through day schools, AVI CHAI seeks to deepen the relationship
Jewish children have with their own Judaism.
c. Building Jewish Literacy by Enriching and Developing Leadership
Jewish literacy means familiarity with the basic texts and values of our tradition.
Judaism’s distinctiveness and great strength lie in the accumulated wisdom
contained in the Torah, from the Bible to the Mishnah and the Talmud, and then
through the wide genre of rabbinic and non-rabbinic literature. Much of the
literature, ancient and modern, is in Hebrew, and the acquisition of Hebrew
language skills is an important part of becoming a fully literate Jew. In promoting
Jewish literacy through day schools, AVI CHAI seeks to deepen the relationship
Jewish children have with their own Judaism.
2. Deepening Religious Purposefulness
Jewish day schools serve as centers of religious socialization as well as academic
education. While schools are typically academic institutions, AVI CHAI believes that
Jewish day school programs should incorporate serious experiential education, since the
religious goals of the schools are affective and practice-oriented as well as cognitive.
Day schools therefore are encouraged to use techniques developed in experiential
education settings to generate physical and spiritual environments that will inspire
students to practice Judaism passionately.
3. Promoting Jewish Peoplehood and Israel
Judaism is more than a religion; it is a people with a purpose. Jews in our era have been
blessed by the realization of a dream expressed over millennia, the return of the Jewish
people to Israel. Diaspora Jewry should have a strong connection to each other and to
our homeland.
Israel studies and Israel advocacy have become centerpieces of AVI CHAI’s peoplehood
efforts in North America. All of the day schools receiving support from AVI CHAI have
agreed to include in their materials, as an expression of their own philosophy, the
following statement:
“The creation of the State of Israel is one of the seminal events in Jewish history.
Recognizing the significance of the State and its national institutions, we seek to instill in
our students an attachment to the State of Israel and its people as well as a sense of
responsibility for their welfare.