Wisdom is meant to be shared
We spend a great deal of time recording what people accomplished. We keep resumes, institutions, awards, milestones, and public achievements.
But some of the most valuable parts of a life are harder to capture.
What did someone learn along the way?
What changed their mind?
What did failure teach them?
What do they understand about family, faith, leadership, responsibility, aging, or purpose that they did not understand twenty or thirty years earlier?
Eitzah exists to preserve
Through thoughtful, long-form conversations, Eitzah creates space for people to reflect on the wisdom that comes from a lifetime of living, building, questioning, succeeding, struggling, and growing.
The goal is simple: to capture wisdom before it disappears, and to make it available to those who come next.
Why Eitzah? The name comes from a teaching in Pirkei Avot:
Eitzah means counsel or advice.
The teaching suggests that experience has value of its own. With time comes perspective. We begin to see patterns, consequences, mistakes, relationships, and choices differently.
Eitzah is built around that idea.
Not because every older person has all the answers, but because a life honestly examined can hold something deeply useful for someone else.
More About Eitzah
How Eitzah Began
Almost ten years ago, one of my daughters asked if she could see my Omi’s (grandmother) testimony for the Shoah Foundation. I ordered a copy, and when it arrived I sat down to watch it before showing it to her.
I wasn’t prepared for how it would feel.
It didn’t feel like watching an archive. It felt like sitting with my grandmother again, having a cup of coffee, listening to her tell me about her life. I could hear her voice, her humor, her perspective, and the wisdom that came from everything she had lived through.
And I remember thinking: we have to find a way to hold onto this.
Not only the stories. The lessons. The things people come to understand after a lifetime of living.
That experience stayed with me, and in many ways, it became the beginning of Eitzah.
Who is a Yoetz(et)
In Eitzah, a Yoetz or Yoetzet is someone whose life experience has produced wisdom worth passing on.
They may be a leader, educator, entrepreneur, artist, scholar, communal builder, philanthropist, parent, activist, or someone whose influence has been quieter and less public.
We are interested in people who have lived deeply, learned from both success and failure, wrestled with meaningful questions, and have something worth sharing with the next generation.
Fame is not a requirement. Wisdom is.
About the Founder
Eitzah was created by Shlomo Elkan, a Jewish educator and communal leader with nearly two decades of experience building communities, teaching, mentoring, and creating spaces for meaningful Jewish conversation.
After years of working with students, families, educators, leaders, and communities, Shlomo became increasingly interested in a question that sits at the heart of Eitzah:
How do we make sure that the wisdom people accumulate over a lifetime does not disappear with them?
Eitzah is one attempt to answer that question.
Preserving wisdom. Connecting generations.
Explore more of Shlomo’s writing, teaching, and current work can be found at ShlomoElkan.com