Eitzah: Preserving Jewish Wisdom. Building the Jewish Future.
Eitzah is an emerging Jewish intergenerational storytelling and wisdom initiative founded by Rabbi Shlomo Elkan.
Through thoughtful, long-form filmed conversations with Jewish elders, educators, leaders, builders, artists, and culture-bearers, Eitzah will preserve lived experience and transmit it to future generations. The project will reflect the breadth and diversity of Jewish life, bringing forward voices, traditions, and perspectives that are too often left out of the larger Jewish story.
The first series, is currently in development, along with a companion book project that will further preserve and share the stories, insights, and wisdom of its participants.
A little taste of some Eitzah wisdom
George S. Blumenthal is a retired telecommunications executive, philanthropist, and collector dedicated to preserving and sharing Jewish history. He has helped digitize treasures including the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Aleppo Codex, Maimonides manuscripts, and Theodor Herzl’s diaries. The son of refugees from Nazi Germany, he works to make the Jewish people’s history and connection to the Land of Israel accessible to audiences worldwide.
Whose Wisdom Should We Hear?
Eitzah is being shaped with the help of the community. We invite you to recommend a yoatzim (advisors) whose experience, insight, or life story deserves to be heard and preserved.
They might be a teacher, community leader, artist, activist, professional, elder, or someone whose wisdom has had a meaningful impact without receiving public recognition. We welcome recommendations representing the full breadth and diversity of Jewish life.
Please tell us who they are, why you believe their voice belongs in Eitzah, and how we might contact them, if that information is available.