JEM Raises $1 Million in Less Than 24 Hours

The “JEM Leap Campaign” successfully reached its goal of raising $1 million in a 24-hour quadruple matching grant campaign that began at noon on Monday, March 16.

More than 2,400 gifts from online donors were matched by three “partner” donors. Rabbi Elkanah Shmotkin, executive director of JEM (Jewish Educational Media), which restores, curates and reproduces audio and video recordings of the Rebbe, thanked all who made the effort possible.

“The world is looking for answers and for leadership, and the Rebbe’s message—Torah’s message—continues to inspire and attract,” stated Shmotkin. “While the demand still far outpaces our capacity, today’s campaign will, G-d willing, enable us to take major steps to meeting it.”

He said the fundraising campaign represented a microcosm of the diverse audience that the Rebbe continues to inspire—Chabad representatives, students and people from communities across time zones and continents—and pointed out that “each individual took ownership and responsibility for the campaign’s success.”

Speaking before the campaign from a modern editing facility at the edge of the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., Shmotkin talked of the ever-widening circle of people who want to learn from the teachings of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.

“Interest in watching the Rebbe’s talks is growing steadily,” he said. “We project that our videos will be viewed more than 8.5 million times this coming year on Chabad.org, Facebook and YouTube alone. Between the DVDs, social media, mobile app and the web, we’re on track for more than 20 million views in the next 12 months.”

All that interest comes from a variety of circles. “There are the Chabad-Lubavitch shluchim [emissaries] and Chassidim,” he explains. “There are the hundreds of thousands who participate in formal learning of Chassidic philosophy, who would like to experience it in its original form, as the Rebbe delivered it.”

But the fastest-growing circle is a much wider audience, according to Shmotkin.

“An incredible number of Jews who consider themselves removed from Jewish institutional life—and even non-Jews––have come across the Rebbe’s teachings in a vast variety of ways, including discovering the videos directly on social media, and find that learning from the Rebbe directly on video has deep resonance for them,” he explains. “Think about it: The experience of studying directly from the Rebbe used to be limited only to the thousands present at the Rebbe’s synagogue. Today, anyone browsing the web on a smartphone can learn directly from the Rebbe himself.”

One such person is David Smith, who grew up in a traditional Jewish home in Long Island, N.Y., and now lives in nearby Brooklyn.

“I spent a lot of time with an interest in Buddhism,” he says. “And then came a very important moment, when I met a man named Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. I met him via the cell phone, using YouTube. I heard him speaking and singing, and I saw the unity and enthusiasm. The Rebbe was key to me becoming more interested in my Judaism again.

“It makes me feel proud,” continues Smith, “that I belong to something so great. I’m a Jew, and I have a direct connection to something that enhances my life.”

Mountains of Media

Smith is far from alone. During the past 20 years, JEM has gathered, cataloged, preserved, restored and organized thousands of hours of video and audio, and hundreds of thousands of photos that make up the recorded legacy of the Rebbe’s life and teachings, and has served them up for consumption.

The role played by the videos of the Rebbe and his teachings is undeniable: Walk into many Chabad-Lubavitch institutions around the world, and you’ll find the ubiquitous shelf of well-worn DVDs, which have been viewed over and over. “Living Torah”—the weekly “video magazine,” presently in its 13th year—is published in English, Hebrew, French, Spanish, Russian and Hungarian, and is available on mobile apps for both IOS and Android.

JEM has also subtitled and released many full-length farbrengens (informal Chassidic gatherings) led by the Rebbe, allowing people to experience the exhilaration online.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Shmotkin notes that the full-time staff of 30 archivists, researchers, producers and video editors is struggling to keep up with the surging interest.

In addition to delving into their own productions, JEM’s researchers have been serving an increasing number of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, academics, students and journalists, acting as a guiding hand to navigate the archival materials. The technical staff provides the professional production resources to edit and deliver the videos.

“This is the first time in history that the life of a Jewish leader has been captured in audio and video,” says Shmotkin. “Coupled with the technological tools to disseminate these materials, our generation is uniquely poised to make the Rebbe’s teaching and inspiration available to ever-wider audiences in ever-more-meaningful ways—easily, quickly and on-the-go.”

Step Up the Scope

While the existing research, production and preservation work seems to keeps the operations humming at full capacity, the JEM staff is also in the process of adding a slew of initiatives to meet the growing demand. The new Department of Research and Collaboration will be devoted to leveraging JEM’s expert staff and extensive archives to assist content producers through the process of research, licensing and production.

A major upgrade of design and functionality for the popular “Living Torah App” is expected to be launched within three months. It will enable a smoother viewing experience, easier sharing, quicker loading of short videos, automatic playing of next video” and a host of other improvements.

The app—as well as the more than 2,500 searchable video clips which it features—is also expected to be fully available in Hebrew, Russian and French.

To help fund these new projects as well as its ongoing operations––a budget projected to reach $3.2 million this year, only 30 percent of which is covered by sales—a core group of supporters have challenged the organization to step up the scope of its fundraising efforts.

George Rohr, a philanthropist who provided funding for several of JEM’s major preservation and production initiatives, serves as one of three “challenging donors” for a one-day, $1 million fundraiser to be held on Monday, March 16.

Asked why he feels the preservation and production of the video treasures is so important, Rohr said: “I know from personal experience how the Rebbe’s leadership, scholarship, vision—and his very presence—profoundly impacted those who met him. Twenty years after his passing, I find that the videos of his talks and interactions, in a way, ‘recreate’ that experience.”

To Rohr, the videos serve as much more than a nostalgic escape to times past. “The fact is, these distilled teachings are now being experienced by a whole new generation of Jews,” he notes. “They’re also inspiring a new generation ofLubavitch leaders.”

For more information and to donate, visit JEMleap.com.

During the past 20 years, JEM has gathered, catalogued, preserved, restored and organized thousands of hours of video and audio, in addition to hundreds of thousands of photos that make up the recorded legacy of the Rebbe’s life and teachings.
During the past 20 years, JEM has gathered, catalogued, preserved, restored and organized thousands of hours of video and audio, in addition to hundreds of thousands of photos that make up the recorded legacy of the Rebbe’s life and teachings.
A full-time staff of 30 archivists, researchers, producers and video editors works hard to keep up with the surging interest in the Rebbe's teachings.
A full-time staff of 30 archivists, researchers, producers and video editors works hard to keep up with the surging interest in the Rebbe’s teachings.
Restoring, archiving and digitizing historic materials from many different, and often outdated, media is a painstaking, expensive endeavor.
Restoring, archiving and digitizing historic materials from many different, and often outdated, media is a painstaking, expensive endeavor.
JEM’s researchers have been serving an increasing number of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, academics, students and journalists, acting as a guiding hand to navigate the archival materials.
JEM’s researchers have been serving an increasing number of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, academics, students and journalists, acting as a guiding hand to navigate the archival materials.
Videos of the Rebbe will be viewed more than 8.5 million times this coming year on Chabad.org, Facebook and YouTube alone.
Videos of the Rebbe will be viewed more than 8.5 million times this coming year on Chabad.org, Facebook and YouTube alone.
Indexing videos for easier viewing is a major undertaking.
Indexing videos for easier viewing is a major undertaking.
“This is the first time in history that the life of a Jewish leader has been captured in audio and video,” says Shmotkin. “Coupled with the technological tools to disseminate these materials, our generation is uniquely poised to make the Rebbe’s teaching and inspiration available to ever-wider audiences in ever-more-meaningful ways—easily, quickly and on-the-go.”
“This is the first time in history that the life of a Jewish leader has been captured in audio and video,” says Shmotkin. “Coupled with the technological tools to disseminate these materials, our generation is uniquely poised to make the Rebbe’s teaching and inspiration available to ever-wider audiences in ever-more-meaningful ways—easily, quickly and on-the-go.”

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