Guide to Hosting a Sapir Salon

• According to Spokoiny’s essay, there are 160 organizations claiming to combat antisemitism to the tune of approximately $600 million a year. How should the “success” of these efforts be measured?  

• Spokoiny argues that the “key question is not how much we spend, but how.” He suggests several areas where philanthropy has not focused enough attention, from K-12 education to strengthening allyship with other communities. In your own community, what specific actions can funders and leaders take that might yield the highest return on investment? 

• When combating antisemitism, what type of results do you think are reasonably achievable in the next 1-3 years? What about in the next 10-15 years? 

• How do we balance our desire and expectations for immediate results and the reality that cultural change may take years, if not decades?

Read Spokoiny’s article here.

• Diament argues that “Jewish day schools don’t have a pricing problem. They have an affordability problem.” What do you think he means and do you agree or disagree with the premise? 

• The essay explores the distinction between the notion of “strict separation” between government and religion, and the principle of government “neutrality” toward religion. How do you understand the difference? Of the two, which provides more benefit to Jewish communities and how?  

• Do you think that government funding for private schools strengthens democratic pluralism or undermines a shared civic foundation? Can it do both? 

• How might the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) help address the affordability crisis? Do you think it will adequately counter the rising Jewish day school tuition for families?  

• What are the potential consequences of expanded public funding for private education on the quality and sustainability of public schools?

Read Diament’s article here.

• Greenberg stresses that we need to recover the Torah’s vision of a Jewish identity based on service. In what way does volunteering or communal service shape your Jewish identity?  

• Should the ethos of service extend equally to all members of the community, regardless of personal resources? 

• Do you see a distinction between how our Jewish tradition views the concept of “service” with that of “giving,” “philanthropy,” or “charity”? 

• Do you agree with Greenberg’s argument that “service builds what dollars alone cannot: trust”? And if so, how have you seen that manifest in your own life?

Read Greenberg’s article here.

• Chizhik-Goldschmidt’s essay opens with a description of the biblical scene where the Israelites celebrate and worship the idol of a golden calf at the foot of Mt. Sinai. What are our golden calves in 21st-century America? 

• We live in the wealthiest period of American Jewish history, and yet too many “Jewish families partake in the public performance of materialism, while secretly suffering from the financial burden.” How does our culture inculcate such a sense of materialism regardless of financial status? What accounts for this unspoken expectation of material affluence? 

• Do you view material success and spiritual fulfillment as mutually exclusive or potentially complementary? If so, how? 

• Chizhik-Goldschmidt argues that we shouldn’t attempt to escape wealth but rather redirect our aspirations. What do you think she means? Where might you channel your energy in your own community?

Read Chizhik-Goldschmidt’s article here.