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BY MICKEY CAIL
My dream is to sustain the growing needs of our community and to educate all students—from young adults to career professionals to lifelong learners, just like me. When I got back home, I was driven to learn about who I am. Until my trip I had been a secular Jew, serving my community even at a young age as president of B'nai Brith, president of Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly, and working for the Federation and the Anti-Defamation League. Although I went to synagogue, had been a bar mitzvah, and said kaddish for my parents, I didn't really understand who I was. I didn't know my own culture and the rich history of our people. I began to meet informally with Marsha Katz Slotnick, Director of Development and Capital Campaign, and Barry Mesch, the College's Provost, in the late 1980s. Hebrew College then put together adult learning classes, which almost 50 people attended regularly—these classes were the forerunner of Me'ah. When Me'ah officially started, it opened the door I was waiting for, and I rushed through to participate. Since I live in Florida during the winter, I took Me'ah in Palm Beach starting in 2000. Over the following two winters, I took classes in Palm Beach and Boca Raton—this winter I'll do the same and get my certificate—the first to do a "doubleheader" Me'ah. And I'll continue—I can't get enough! I finally understand where I fit in the big picture of Jewish culture, civilization and history. From learning about the challenges our people have faced—whether from 1,000 years ago, 400 years ago or today—I now reach out with a totally new perspective to help in whatever way I can. It is our historical responsibility to help. As Chair of the Board of Directors, I spend most of my time involved with Hebrew College. It's a labor of love. Even though we are three times larger than we were in Brookline, we've already run out of space. My dream now is the immediate expansion of Hebrew College to sustain the growing needs of our community and to educate all types of students—from young adults to career professionals to lifelong learners, just like me. Mickey Cail is Chair of the Hebrew College Board of Directors. |
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I was 60 years old when I suddenly realized I didn't know who I was as a Jew. I had spent my entire life involved in Jewish causes, but it wasn't until I traveled to the former Soviet Union in the mid-1980s that I felt something deep was missing. Along with a group from Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, I visited refuseniks in Moscow and Leningrad—outcasts even among fellow Soviet Jews. The experience left me so distressed that I knew I had to do something about it.