Submission #16252 by Ohev Shalom Men's Club - Maitland, FL (1316)

I have read the 2021 Torch Awards Program Guidelines.
Club Name
Ohev Shalom Men's Club - Maitland, FL (1316)
World Wide Wrap 2019
Club Representative
Person completing form
Steven
Herman
Club President at time of convention if known at this time
Steven
Herman
Club President Now
Steven
Herman
World Wide Wrap

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The Ohev Shalom Men's Club held our annual World Wide Wrap program in 2019, consisting of a Shacharit service, watching several videos to stimulate discussion, a large group discussion and a high-quality brunch. There was a musical presentation during the set-up and conclusion.
The 2019 Ohev Shalom Men's Club World Wide Wrap began with Sunday Morning Shacharit services, led by the Rabbi and Cantor. There were several extra sets of tephillin available for anyone who did not bring one, and the Rabbi, Cantor and other members assisted participants in wrapping the tephillin and saying the appropriate prayers. The goal of this year's program was to inspire people who who do not usually wear tephillin to do so, and thus the program was designed to be inclusive and somewhat provocative. After the service, the participants moved to the social hall, while a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_c6K1AnxAU) designed to attract and appeal to the younger participants played on a loop (it was noted that several children were dancing to the video). This was followed by two videos specifically chosen for their inclusive nature (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUsDP1PqVZw and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TX9_qghJJA), featuring Jews of color, both genders, and many different ages, including one presenter who self-identified as Reform Jewish, made numerous errors in wrapping his tephillin, yet did an excellent job of explaining why he wears them daily. This led to a large-group discussion of the topics raised and stimulated by the films, with topics such as "what does wearing tephillin mean to you?", "did you see your parents wrap tephillin?", "what would you like your children to gain by wrapping tephillin?", and even "what are the likely psychological and mental health benefits of wrapping tephillin?" While the group set up for brunch, the Cantor sang the "World Wide Wrap Rap." A nutritious and Kosher brunch followed, with the event organizers going from table to table to participate in small group discussions.The event ended with a Superbowl raffle to raise money for the synagogue and the Men's Club activities.
Attachments
Self Assessment
Participation in the 2019 World Wide Wrap was good, with approximately 70 people in attendance. Participants were men, women, children, young adults and older adults, as well as many Jews of color. This was the first year that the World Wide Wrap was specifically designed to promote inclusion and stimulate debate with potentially provocative materials. The Ohev Shalom Men's Club has been waning slightly in membership over the last several years, and this represented a specific effort to increase membership, interest and a sense of inclusion. The impact is estimated to have been positive, as the next several Men's Club activities had much larger participation than usual.
Although this program was designed to promote participation of all Jews in religious life, it was also designed to promote the Men's Club, and demonstrate that the Men's Club is an innovative leader in the Orlando Jewish community, by increasing the visibility and active participation of the Men's Club in the daily Jewish community and experience.
A thorough survey of the many videos on the internet regarding tephillin yielded many disappointing selections. Videos were usually of very poor quality, poor production, poor sound, extremely long, often quite boring, and more commonly slanted toward Ashkenazi males. Orlando is an extremely multicultural community and thus the need for a much more inclusive and diverse presentation was of paramount importance.

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An adaptation or enhancement of a previous Torch Award entry TAxx-xxxx|
11770
Previous Submission
Yes