Reflections on the Gladstein Fellowship and Masorti Olami Mission to Latin America聽
July 1, 2026
Dr. Marjorie Lehman, Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, discusses traveling with a cohort of Gladstein rabbinic fellows on a mission to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Santiago, Chile.
I have spent my career at JTS in the world of rabbinic texts. I have sat with students in our beit midrash and embraced those moments when an ancient page comes alive for them. I have outlined Talmudic passages, scribbled charts across blackboards, and read hundreds of assignments. I have listened to countless students as they interpret our complicated textual tradition. This is the most sacred work I know. This is my contribution to the development of Jews who love Torah, as I do. To have the opportunity to learn every day and contribute to the formation of rabbis, teachers, and Jewish leaders, is an incredible gift for which I am utterly grateful.
But recently, through the extraordinary generosity of Ned and Jane Gladstein, I was given the chance to step beyond the walls of the JTS classroom and join something far larger than myself. I traveled with a remarkable cohort of Gladstein rabbinic fellows on a mission to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Santiago, Chile. These are young rabbis, many of whom were my students, who had been selected in their very first year of rabbinical school and mentored by the Gladstein Fellowship with intention and care to develop the kind of rabbinic leadership skills needed to transform Jews.
We were also joined by inspirational lay and professional leaders, people whose devotion to the mission of building and sustaining聽Masorti聽Judaism across the globe is nothing short of incredible. Together, we immersed ourselves in the living reality of聽Masorti聽communities in South America. Together, we sat with rabbis, teachers, and lay leaders who have planted聽Masorti聽Judaism deeply into their communities, reaching Jews of every age and every background. There is something rare about traveling with a group of people who are bound together by a commitment to vibrant, serious, engaged Jewish life. That was the spirit of this mission, and it set the tone for everything that followed.聽聽
What moved me most profoundly was聽encountering聽the Gladstein Fellows, who were at various stages of their rabbinic careers. They shared their struggles and triumphs with boundless energy and hope. I could sense that they were working hard to shape the present moment, each trying to find the place where they could be the most contributive. To hear about their lives in the field enabled me to understand the role that the Gladstein聽Fellowship in Entrepreneurial Rabbinic Leadership plays in their rabbinic formation. They聽are聽living proof that when you invest in the right people, in the right way, at the right moment in their formation, something extraordinary becomes possible.聽聽
And then there were Ned and Jane Gladstein.
To travel alongside the very people whose generosity and vision made all of this possible was a privilege I did not take lightly. What struck me most was not simply their philanthropy, remarkable as it is. It was their presence. Their genuine curiosity about the communities we visited, their warmth toward the rabbis they have helped to form, their obvious joy in seeing the fruits of what they set in motion. They were true models for me of people who enter into a relationship with the individuals committed to the mission they support.
I have long admired the work of Masorti Olami from a distance. This mission brought me close enough to see it whole.聽We were able to visit聽Lamroth聽Hakol聽and聽Casa Malka/Amijai聽in聽Buenos聽Aires. We were also hosted by聽Nueva B’nai Israel and聽C铆rculo聽Israelita de Santiago聽in Santiago. There we were joined by rabbis, lay leaders, and members, each with a different story about their Jewish journey, each with different models of how to build energetic communities.聽What I聽witnessed聽was the remarkable power of integration and what becomes possible when excellent rabbinic leadership, utterly devoted lay leaders, and skilled, passionate professionals are working in genuine聽concert聽toward a shared vision. Each piece matters:聽The rabbi who can teach and inspire, the lay leader who gives their time, their resources, and their heart with devotion, the聽professional who holds the organizational threads together with competence and care. Remove any one of these, and the structure weakens. But together聽they create something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Thank you to all聽our hosts and those聽who shared this journey with me.聽I am honored to be working alongside you.聽聽
