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Good Friday morning!

In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we dive deep into the recent donation to Chabad of a 16-story high-rise in Los Angeles, and spotlight a new “Torah Heatmap” made possible by a grant from Sinai and Synapses, connecting religion and technology. We feature an opinion piece by Cindy Greenberg in advance of a weekend of service projects in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and one by Julia Jassey about continuing to support Jewish life on campus even when protests and anti-Israel bias are no longer in the news cycle; plus, Rabbi Josh Joseph on fighting the fire of hate with a fire of our own. Also in this issue: Craig Newmark, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Adam “AJ” Edelman.

Ed. note: The next edition of Your Daily Phil will appear in your inbox on Tuesday, Jan. 20, after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Shabbat shalom!

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For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent eJewishPhilanthropy and Jewish Insider stories, including: Paulson Foundation makes additional donation to Hebrew University for STEM, bringing total to $46M; New Claims Conference grant helps Center for Jewish History solve Holocaust-era family mysteries; and Oct. 7 play lands at Kennedy Center during Trump-era overhaul. Print the latest edition here.

For nearly two years, Chabad of California had been looking for a building to purchase to significantly expand its operations in the Los Angeles area. In July, the organization thought it had found a place that fit the bill, and last week, an hour before Shabbat, they hung a mezuzah by the front door of the 16-floor corporate tower on a 1.3- acre lot in the heart of Los Angeles’ Pico-Robertson neighborhood.

Although the timeline was not dissimilar from that of a typical real estate deal, the circumstances were, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim. The property was donated by prominent Los Angeles real estate investor Alon Abady, best known for brokering luxury properties for celebrities, including Justin and Hailey Bieber. According to Chabad officials, the property was appraised last year at $103 million. 

Abady had purchased the then-vacant Pico-Robertson property for $35 million in 2023, in a deal that included an additional property swap, Rabbi Chaim Cunin, CEO of Chabad of California, told eJP. (The previous purchaser paid $94 million for the building in 2007.) In honor of his mother, Abady and his wife, Monique, transferred all of their equity in the building to Chabad, which will be required to pay for only the remaining debt — $16 million for a property worth several times more than that. 

The donation — notable for both its size and the unusual circumstance of a philanthropist gifting an entire high-rise — came as a surprise to Chabad, Cunin said. The 300,000-square-foot building, which will be dubbed the Chabad Campus for Jewish Life, will be among the largest Jewish centers in the world. “This is a lifelong dream that also allows me to honor my parents and my children,” Abady said in a statement. “When my family immigrated to Los Angeles in the 1970s [from Syria], Chabad was there for us. That was never forgotten.”

The center will also serve as a catch-all for Jewish life in Los Angeles, housing “a synagogue; Jewish life-cycle venues; youth and senior programming; educational facilities; support for thousands of Jewish students on college campuses; and infrastructure for large communal gatherings and international events,” according to a statement, as well as specialized programming for children with special needs, services for California’s growing aging population and a museum of “Jewish history, heritage and the story of the Land of Israel.”

While some floors will immediately be pressed into service, readying the rest of the building for use will be a lengthy undertaking, said Cunin. One step Chabad has already taken is affixing mezuzahs to the doorframes of the spaces that will be in immediate use. By the time the full building is operational, they will need many more, which Cunin said presents its own logistical challenges. 

“We already talked to our local mezuzah supplier, because it's quite a few,” he said. “We put [a mezuzah] on one of the floors where we have a makeshift setup. But there are hundreds, maybe thousands…actually, I don't know. But definitely hundreds of doors throughout the campus.”

Read the full report here.

After a “hot” Shabbat last week, when Jews around the world sit in synagogue this Saturday, they will hear a Torah reading, Parashat Va’era, that is comparatively lukewarm. At least that’s according to a “heatmap” of the Torah created by Rabbi Daniel Bogard that shows users which chapters of the Torah have the most commentary using a color-coded map. Last week’s Parashat Shemot — the first reading in the Book of Exodus and one of the top 10 most-commentaried parashot — was cornflower blue. This week’s is a pale sky blue. The start of the Book of Genesis, Parashat Bereishit, the most discussed parasha, is a deep azure. “I have always wanted, for a really long time, a quick way of seeing in a given Torah portion where the Jewish conversation has centered around,” Bogard told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher.

Science at synagogue: A self-described geek since birth, Bogard, the rabbi at Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis, has long been drawn to technology — and to helping others with it. During the pandemic, he began holding Zoom tutorials for fellow rabbis and writing a free Guide to Live Streaming for the Perplexed. His work supporting other clergy drew attention from Rabbi Geoffrey Mitelman, the founding director of Sinai and Synapses, which is funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Mitelman invited him to apply for the organization’s “Deepening Jewish Education in the Digital Age” grant, allowing Bogard to dive deeper into his geekdom. And thus Torah Heatmap was born.

Read the full report here.

“Raised in the Little Haiti neighborhood [of Miami], Ruth Blanc, who is not Jewish, was looking for meaningful service opportunities in her region, eager to make an impact in the communities she called home. When she first discovered Repair the World and became a 2022 Corps Member, Ruth volunteered with a service partner that offered education and communication skills to incarcerated women,” writes Cindy Greenberg, president and CEO of Repair the World, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “Today, Ruth is one of our 225 Jewish Service Ambassadors leading service and teaching Jewish texts to Jewish and non-Jewish peers — another testament to the power of service as a bridge between Jews and non-Jews.” 

Beyond superficial contact: “Every year, Repair the World works with more than 300 non-Jewish service partners nationwide to make a tangible positive impact in their communities. … In our recent evaluation, 88% of participants in our bridge-building service cohorts reported they were more likely to speak out against antisemitism because of their experiences. This phenomenal percentage is promising and points to something deeper. When people serve together, they do more than complete a project; they see each other’s humanity.”

Read the full piece here.

“[I]n late 2023, when the Jewish community was shaken by the tragedies of Oct. 7, headlines swarmed with shocking accounts: Antisemitic harassment. Hostage posters torn down. Stars of David hidden and kippahs removed, people afraid of the repercussions of being visibly Jewish,” writes Julia Jassey, co-founder and CEO of Jewish on Campus, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. Her organization “went from receiving a record nine anti-Israel or antisemitic incident submissions in one day to averaging 25 every day.”

Steady means ready: “Now that campuses look calmer, this moment calls for a different kind of commitment. The best thing donors and communal leaders can do for Jewish students right now is to treat campus engagement as a core and continuous part of Jewish life, not an emergency response. The outpouring of energy and generosity after Oct. 7 showed how deeply our community cares about Jewish students. That level of support should be the rule, not the exception. … They need a community that treats their well-being and leadership as a daily priority. If we commit to that work now, long before the next headline, we will strengthen the foundation of Jewish life for the next generation.”

Read the full piece here.

“Fire holds a symbolic role in Judaism. It evokes the warmth of Shabbat candles and the ner tamid, the eternal light hanging in every synagogue; but it also brings up dark memories such as the auto de fé, book burnings and the fires of the crematoria,” writes Rabbi Josh Joseph, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Orthodox Union, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “This week, another horrific fire was etched into our national consciousness: the burning of Beth Israel Congregation, the only synagogue in Jackson, Miss., in what police are describing as a hate crime.”

Parsha connection: “In synagogues around the world, Jews recently read about one of our earliest symbolic fires, the burning bush. Shemot Rabbah (2:5) explains the fire as representing the fires of oppression at the hands of our enemies. … There is another meaning to the burning bush, made famous by Rashi. The bush, though engulfed in flames, was not consumed. This is a powerful metaphor for the resilience of the Jewish People, who go on persevering despite the challenges faced throughout the ages. … [The] greatest antidote to antisemitism will always be our most ancient gift: overwhelming the fires of hate with the fire of our Jewish flame.”

Read the full piece here.

Oy, Canada!: In Newsweek, Jesse Brown warns that rising anti-Israel activity in Canada and Ottawa’s response to it are laying the groundwork for more attacks targeting the country's already vulnerable Jewish community. “Statistics confirm the extent of the crisis. Though Jews comprise less than 1 percent of Canada’s population, we are now the number one target of police-reported hate crimes targeting religion. A comparison of Statistics Canada data against FBI data shows that a Jew in Canada is significantly more likely to be the target of a police-reported hate crime than a Jew in America. The weak responses from Canadian leaders to antisemitism stand in stark contrast to their forceful condemnations of Israel. [Canadian Prime Minister Mark] Carney has even promised to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu should he ever set foot on Canadian soil. The protesters are emboldened by these high-level validations and have shifted their targets from elected officials to their Jewish neighbors.” [Newsweek]

Newmark’s Networks: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Ben Gose interviews Craigslist founder Craig Newmark about shifts in his philanthropic strategy. “Now he relies on established charities in his areas of focus to do some of the hard work for him — either by regranting funds to smaller nonprofits or by building networks that further Newmark’s own goals. … ‘Frankly I’m not certain I know what I’m doing, so I get a lot of help,’ Newmark says. ‘The success I’ve had in my past has been about building networks of networks. I don’t know how to lead from the top — I can just lead by example. So I find people who are really effective in enlisting large numbers of other people, and I work to tie them together.’ Newmark’s model is unusual, but it’s one that other donors and even some foundations might consider.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]

Balancing Act: In The Times of Israel, Orit Mizner, COO of Momentum, notes a trend of national Jewish organizations zeroing in on antisemitism response and advocacy as a focal point, possibly at the expense of their founding missions. “I am not suggesting reducing resources for antisemitism work. I suggest that we right-size it. A healthy ecosystem must hold two portfolios at once: protection and purpose, security and spirituality, advocacy and identity. That means investing in Jewish identity and community building as core infrastructure, shaping narratives around who we are, sustaining a dual philanthropic focus, and measuring belonging, learning, ritual engagement, and leadership growth alongside incident response.” [TOI]

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Random House announced the upcoming publication of Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s memoir, When We See You Again, about the effort to free her son, Hersh, from Hamas captivity; the book, which she said “recounts the first steps of a million-mile odyssey that will take the rest of my life to walk on shattered feet,” will hit stores on April 21…

President Donald Trump launched his Board of Peace, adding that names of the group’s members would soon be made public; Jared Kushner, who served in the first Trump administration and has been a key player in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, hailed the board’s creation as “a historic new beginning in the Middle East”...

Israel’s Defense Ministry reported a 40% increase in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder among soldiers since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, with more than half of soldiers being treated for war injuries having been diagnosed with PTSD…

The Associated Press spotlights the California Community Foundation and how it has been distributing the $100 million it raised after last year’s Los Angeles wildfires…

Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov interviews Adam “AJ” Edelman, the pilot of the Israeli bobsled team that will travel to Milan, Italy, for the Winter Olympics next month…

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced that Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was killed at a TPUSA event in September, will be posthumously honored at a conference in Jerusalem later this month…

Trump commuted the sentence of former New York City Councilmember Chaim Deutsch, who pleaded guilty to tax fraud in 2021 and was sentenced to 62 months in prison…

Gabi Harow, vice president for resource development and external affairs at Ariel University in the northern West Bank and former CEO of the Gush Etzion Foundation, died earlier this week at 42…

Sam Delug, a philanthropist who lived in Australia and Israel before settling in Los Angeles, where he often hosted fundraising events in his home, died last Monday at 83…

Burt Saltzman, CEO of the Cleveland-area Dave’s Markets grocery chain, who donated to the local Jewish community, died on Tuesday at 88…

Faith Brigham Leener has joined Atra as senior strategist for its Rabbinic Pipeline Initiative…

Lori Hoch Stiefel has been appointed director of strategic partnerships at MyZuzah…

Celia Livshin is returning to BBYO as its vice president, movement experiences, International Convention, after a nearly three-year stint at Repair the World…

Sharon Weiss-Greenberg has been hired as the next vice president of development at The Next Step, an Israeli nonprofit that supports people who have lost limbs or have limb disabilities…

Aram Goldberg has stepped down as senior vice president of public relations and media strategy at Jewish Federation Los Angeles…

Brianna Nadelberg has been named Hadassah’s deputy chief development officer…

CHAIM GOLDBERG/FLASH90

Members of the Iranian Jewish community in Israel protest today outside the U.S. Consulate in Tel Aviv in support of the Iranian people and call for the United States to intervene on their behalf. 

YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90

President of the Jerusalem-based Israel Democracy Institute, he was previously a member of the Knesset for the Kadima party, Yohanan Plesner turns 54 on Saturday… 

FRIDAY: Founder of Jones Apparel Group (including Jones New York, Stuart Weitzman and Nine West) and film producer, Sidney J. Kimmel turns 98… Author of 12 novels for young adults, sports journalist for The New York Times, ESPN, CBS and NBC, he served as the ombudsman for ESPN, Robert Lipsyte turns 88… Real estate developer, a superfan of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, he is known for sitting courtside at every home game, Alan "Sixth Man" Horwitz turns 82… Socially conservative talk radio host and relationship advisor since 1975, on Sirius XM Radio since 2011, author of over 20 books, Dr. Laura Schlessinger turns 79… Chef, food writer, culinary editor for the Modern Library, host of PBS' "Gourmet's Adventures With Ruth," recipient of six James Beard Awards, Ruth Reichl turns 78… Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel until mid-2024 and dean of Yeshivat Hazon Ovadia, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef turns 74… Uzbekistan-born Israeli entrepreneur and industrialist, Michael Cherney turns 74… Longtime VP for government affairs and director of the Washington office of Agudath Israel of America, Abba Cohen turns 70… CEO of Belfor Property Restoration with more than 14,000 employees spanning 34 countries, he appeared in an Emmy-nominated episode of CBS' “Undercover Boss,” Sheldon Yellen turns 68… Founder, chairman and CEO of RealNetworks which produces RealAudio, RealVideo and RealPlayer, Robert Denis "Rob" Glaser turns 64… First employee and subsequently first president of eBay, internet entrepreneur, philanthropist and movie producer, Jeffrey Skoll turns 61… Educational entrepreneur with a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology, she is the founder and CEO of Cognition Builders, Ilana Kukoff… Senior editorial producer at CNN, Debbie Berger Fox… Chair of the Cheviot Hills chapter of WIZO USA, The Women’s International Zionist Organization, Amy Graiwer turns 53… Former U.S. ambassador to Jordan, now VP for outreach at the Middle East Institute, Yael Lempert turns 52… San Francisco-based technology reporter for The New York Times, Sheera Frenkel… Assistant professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, he is a former speechwriter for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Rob Goodman… Canadian actor and singer, Jacob Lee "Jake" Epstein turns 39… Attorney working in South Florida real estate development, David Ptalis… Left wing for the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, he won the NHL's 2019 award for leadership based upon his philanthropic efforts, Jason Zucker turns 34… Israeli actress and singer, the eighth winner of “Kokhav Nolad,” the Israeli version of “Pop Idol,” Diana Golbi turns 34… Israeli professional Muay Thai and kickboxing fighter, Nili Block turns 31… Joseph Bornstein…

SATURDAY: Former two-term member of Congress from Iowa, he is the father-in-law of Chelsea Clinton, Edward Mezvinsky turns 89… Host of television's tabloid talk show "Maury," now a podcaster, Maury Povich turns 87… Former reporter, columnist and editor covering religion, education and New York City neighborhoods for The New York Times, he is the author of four books, Joseph Berger turns 81… Retired president of the Supreme Court of Israel, now teaching at University of Haifa Law School, Asher Dan Grunis turns 81… Actor who has appeared in over 100 different television series and commercials, Todd Susman turns 79… Australia's chief scientist until 2020, he is an engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and former Chancellor of Monash University, Alan Finkel turns 73… Economist, professor, New York Times best-selling author and social entrepreneur, Paul Zane Pilzer turns 72… President and co-founder of Bluelight Strategies, Steve Rabinowitz turns 69… Journalist-in-residence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Joanne Kenen… Chair of zoology at the University of Wyoming, she was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 U.S. Senate election in Wyoming, Merav Ben-David turns 67… Majority owner of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans, Dan Gilbert turns 64… Professor of Law at Harvard University, Jesse M. Fried turns 63… Former first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama turns 62... Film and stage actor best known for his roles on “The West Wing” and “The Big Bang Theory,” Joshua Malina turns 60… Film director, television director, screenwriter and film producer, Bartholomew "Bart" Freundlich turns 56… Founder and CEO at New York City-based Rosewood Realty Group, Aaron Jungreis… Washington-based partner at PR firm FGS Global, Jeremy Pelofsky… Professional dancer who has competed in 17 seasons of Dancing with the Stars, Maksim Chmerkovskiy turns 46… Film and television actor, Scott Mechlowicz turns 45… Director of foundation relations at J Street, Becca Freedman… Executive director at SRE Network, promoting Safe, Respectful and Equitable Jewish workplaces and communal spaces, Rachel Gildiner… Legal director at Hillspire and lecturer at Columbia University, Perry Isaac Teicher… Film and television actor, Max Adler turns 40… Retired player for MLB's San Diego Padres, he also played for Team Israel in 2013 and 2017, now an on-air radio and television host, Cody Decker turns 39… Winner of the $1 million prize as the “Sole Survivor” on Season 26 of Survivor, he has since become a writer for three television shows, John Martin Cochran turns 39… Chief growth officer at Non-Profit Organization, Jason Freeman… SVP of communications at Better Medicare Alliance, Rebecca Berg Buck turns 36… Senior digital support strategist at ACLU, she was social media lead for VPOTUS-candidate Tim Walz during the 2024 presidential campaign, Alyssa Franke… Ohio Statehouse reporter for Cleveland's ABC News 5 WEWS, Morgan Rachel Trau turns 28…

SUNDAY: Rosh yeshiva of Ner Israel Rabbinical College, Rabbi Aharon Feldman turns 94… Israeli insurance and banking executive, he served as a member of the Knesset from 1978 until 1981, Shlomo Eliahu turns 90… Retired executive director of the Israel on Campus Coalition of Greater Washington, Judy Novenstein… Publisher of a weekly community newspaper in Boston founded in 2016, David Jacobs… Executive editor at The 74 Media, JoAnne Wasserman… Microbiologist and professor of biology at Wichita State University, Mark A. Schneegurt turns 64… Former commissioner of the Social Security Administration, governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore, Martin O'Malley turns 63… Executive chairman of Aspen Square Management, Jeremy Pava turns 63… Executive director of Ohr Yisroel, Rabbi Yitz Greenman… Journalist and author of two New York Times bestsellers on personal finance, Beth Kobliner turns 61… Stand-up comedian, actor and writer, he is best known as the host of an eponymous Comedy Central program, Dave Attell turns 61… Senior rabbi of Golders Green United Synagogue in London for 20 years until 2023, Rabbi Dr. Harvey Belovski turns 58… President of the World Mizrachi movement, dean of the Jerusalem College of Technology (Machon Lev), he is also the rabbi of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon turns 58… New York City real estate entrepreneur, Andrew Heiberger turns 58… VP of government and airport affairs at JetBlue, Jeffrey Goodell… Former MLB All-Star and Gold Glove catcher, now a real estate investor, Mike Lieberthal turns 54… VP for communications and government affairs at Princeton University, Gadi Dechter… Samara Yudof Jones… Actor and screenwriter, best known for his role in the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," Jason Jordan Segel turns 46… Baltimore-born basketball player, dubbed by Sports Illustrated as the "Jewish Jordan" in a 1999 feature, Tamir Goodman turns 44… Israeli-born comedian and actor, best known for his web series "Jake and Amir" (with Jake Hurwitz), Amir Shmuel Blumenfeld turns 43… Chief development officer at Cleveland-based The Centers, Stacey Rubenfeld… British actor, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd turns 38… Senior associate consultant at Evolve Giving Group, formerly deputy political director of the Midwest Region of AIPAC, Talia Alter Gevaryahu… Cellist and music professor, he has performed as a soloist with more than 30 symphonies, Julian Schwarz turns 35… Singer, songwriter, actress and dancer with more than 9.1 million followers on TikTok, Montana Tucker turns 33… All-Star pitcher with the New York Yankees, Max Fried turns 32… Linda Rubin...