Program Updates: April to September 2026

Below is a comprehensive list from April to September showing how your support has been put into program action across Ammud’s three core pillars:

Community Centered Torah Learning 

562 attendances across Ammud’s in-person programs nationwide

  • Shavuot Ice Cream and Drinks in D.C. in partnership with Edlavitch DCJCC on May 17th with Rabbi Kelly 

  •  Ice Cream and Sweet Learning with Rabbi Baruch in Denver on May 17th 

  •  Pre-Tikkun Ice Cream and Torah in Boston with Rav Tiferet on May 21st

  • Ammud tabled at the Boulder Jewish Festival on June 7th with people engaging in Ammud activities and connecting with Rabbi Baruch, our Ammud Denver Ambassador. 

  • Juneteenth Learning and Dialogue: Black and Jewish America in partnership with  Edlavitch DC JCC and JCRC of D.C on June 18th 

  • Drinks and Torah Learning Discussion about American Girl Doll Play in NYC in collaboration with The Lunar Collective on June 13th 

  • JOC Affinity Space Summer Picnic in partnership with Edlavitch DC JCC with Rabbi Kelly on Sunday July 26th in D.C.

  • Rabbi Heather spoke to Bronfman Fellow Teens in NYC about Ammud on July 23rd

  • Yesod Young Adult Leadership Planning Group with Rabbi Kelly in D.C. on August 23rd 

  • Torah a La Tambora: An evening of Columbian Dance and Torah Study with Jewtina in Denver on September 2nd 

  • Tashlich at Lollipop Lake with Rabbi Baruch on September 13th 

  • Go Out at Midnight: The Hyperlocal Nature of Jewish Practice, a Yom Kippur Learning with Maetal Gerson in collaboration with IKAR in Los Angeles on September 21st

  • JOC Joy in the Sukkah with Rav Tiferet  in Boston on September 27th 

  • JOC Sukkot Celebration in D.C. in partnership with Edlavitch DCJCC on September 27th 

  • JOC Sukkot Celebration in Denver on October 3rd

272  attendances across Ammud’s online programs 

  • Pathways of Transformation: Insights on The Counting of The Omer with Rabbi Rebeca Carrillo on April 5th

  • Anaf Etz Avot- A Braided Branch: Embodied Healing at the Site of Interwoven Oppression, three sessions, three hours each partnership with the The Mitsui Institute for Jewish Embodiment

  • A new partnership with the Institute of Jewish Spirituality where Rabbi Sass Brown, Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife, with special guests lead meditation for JOCs with classes on July 1st, August 12th, and September 1st

  • Kara Vo: Ammud’s Intro to Hebrew Reading Class for JOCs taught by Rabbi Sass Brown (10 classes from April through June)

  • Receiving Wholeness from Multiple Sources: A Global New Moon Circle for Sivan in partnership with At The Well on May 14th

  • When do we Pray? Exploring Talmudic Prayer Times with a Crip Lens with Ari Fernandez on July 19th

  • Songs for the Soul: An affinity space for JOCs to explore ancestral lineage through song creation with Rabbi Koach and Marques Hollie in partnerships with Let My People Sing on July 14th, July 21st, and July 28th 

  •  How Fast is Forgiveness with Rabbi Sass on August 16th

  • Yonah Wants the Punitive G-d taught by Rabbi Sass on September 16th

  • 50 Parasha study sessions with Rabbi Sass and Rabbi Heather 

Wraparound Services within Community Centered Torah Learning Pillar

Ammud’s wraparound service model  is a core offering in our Community-Centered Torah Learning Pillar reshaping Jewish life across the country.  We provide, spiritual care for members facing grief and illness, lifecycle rituals, and other big transitions in life, personalized text study and rabbinic support for members seeking Torah for spiritual resilience, advice on raising JOC kids, supportive introductions for our members exploring Jewish organizations and communities both locally and nationally, and so much more. 

Ammud’s wraparound service model had  47 touch points with members from April to September. 

A sampling of the touch points: 

  • Rabbi Sass met with an Ammud member going to the mikveh before a major medical treatment. They worked on texts to use at the mikveh, and other questions related to the experience.

  • Rabbi Sass met with an Ammud member starting rabbinical school in the fall to discuss what support they may need. They made a plan to meet again to learn Mishnah during the summer.

  • Rabbi Sass connected with an Ammud member for ongoing spiritual support, and they studied rituals that this member can use at home for spiritual calm.

  • Rabbi Sass introduced an Ammud member who recently moved to Oakland to a few Ammud members in the area and spoke with members about kashering their new kitchen after the move.

JOC Educator Support

  • We held our Kaniti Retreat at Pearlstone Retreat Center in Maryland with 10 Kaniti Fellows, July 6th to 8th with monthly Kaniti follow-up fellowship sessions scheduled from August through January. 6 additional  Ammud members local to the retreat center  joined us at Pearlstone for a parallel retreat experience.

  • We held our Yidaber Chachmot JOC Women Clergy Retreat in South Orange, NJ on August 5th and 6th with 3 JOC Women clergy.  The pilot year of Yidaber Chachmot supported by the Jewish Women's Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago supports JOC women clergy  in moving toward their professional and personal aspirations through focused marketing and communications support, while also helping them grow their public profiles, build community with one another, and strengthen their personal storytelling. 

  • Ammud has sponsored 9 executive coaching sessions for JOC clergy since April.  Our successful executive coaching program for JOC clergy, entails Ammud providing  JOC clergy in need access to high quality and high touch professional executive coaching that support them in job transitions and career development. 

Amplification of Jewish Wisdom