Welcome to NewCAJE!

CAJE was founded in 1976 and over the next 32 years changed the landscape of Jewish education in the United States and beyond.

It brought together over 30,000 people over the years to share ideas, learn from each other, and grow as teachers. Everyone one of those people went back home and taught others what they’d learned at the annual CAJE conference. Do the math. In those 32 years, conservatively speaking over 600,000 children and adults were enriched by the fact that their teacher had been to CAJE.

CAJE defined teacher as anyone involved in the transmission of Jewish education and culture. That meant that classroom teachers, principals, rabbis, cantors, camp directors, youth workers, academicians, writers, artists, storytellers, parents, communal service professionals—all are teachers in our eyes. CAJE believed in pluralism and brought Jews together from every part of the denominational spectrum to learn together and even to celebrate Shabbat as one people.

CAJE celebrated Judaism and Jewish learning and Jewish culture. It strengthened us and made us proud to be doing the holy work of linking one generation to the next. It inspired us, broadened our perspective and lifted our spirits. We in turn did the same for our students.

But CAJE is no more and many of us realized that that wasn’t a positive development for the Jewish community. We had always been volunteers in our own professional organization. We chaired every conference, sat on every board, wrote every article and curriculum for CAJE, and presented at every conference without compensation. We did it because we knew how important CAJE was. We did it out of love for the Jewish people.

Now we are prepared to bring the spirit CAJE back as NewCAJE--The New Conference on Alternatives in Jewish Education. We are prepared to volunteer again, donate some more, teach and learn and gather because we care about Jewish education and the people we teach.

NewCAJE will not be the same as CAJE. It is a NEW century and there are NEW and different demands on Jewish educators. There are NEW technologies and NEW approaches and NEW students and a NEW generation of educators. We will explore all of these alternatives with an open heart. The experienced generation will mentor the new one. We will inspire each other and learn from each other. NewCAJE is a NEW beginning for Jewish education. NewCAJE will ask NEW questions and find NEW solutions to the problems old and NEW facing us. That is what the New in NewCAJE stands for.

So here’s what’s next.

We are waiting for your leadership and your new ideas. Bring them to NewCAJE and find a national stage on which to share them. We welcome you to become a founding member and an active participant in the process of designing a new public face and a new strong voice for Jewish education.

For further information: Read the NewCAJE letter by clicking HERE.