Who We Are:

We are a group of former CAJE members who, upon hearing that the annual CAJE conference was cancelled, got together in an online social network group to talk about what CAJE meant to us and what we might do in the absence of CAJE. Some of us knew each other from our CAJE experiences, and some of us are new friends. We are Jewish educators from diverse backgrounds, but we are united in the mission to elevate our knowledge of Judaism and expand our educational practices, in order that we may create the most inspiring Jewish educational settings we can.

A strong consensus emerged in our discussions that our CAJE experiences are essential to our continued professional growth. We concluded that we could not afford to miss an opportunity to meet, and thus was born the idea to plan a ‘mini’ conference for the summer of 2009. A phone call was made to the Pearlstone Conference and Retreat Center in suburban Baltimore, MD to inquire about availability – it was beshert! – they could take us in August.

Our online group agreed to go forward with a conference, and a new online group was formed for the planning: The Mid-Atlantic Conference Group. Our group’s membership has been steadily growing and reaching out to former CAJE members from all over the country and Israel, as well as more immediate communities in driving distance of Pearlstone: MD, DC, DE, VA, WV, PA, NJ, and NY.

We are energized by each other’s willingness to commit valuable time and effort toward this mini-conference, especially at such an uncertain time in the wake of the closure of national CAJE. Nevertheless, our spirit and our resolve is focused on the future; on what we must continue to do to nurture ourselves while also finding ways to encourage and enable the next generation of Jewish educators.

MAZKIRUT CONFERENCE PLANNING COMMITTEE