VeNahafoch Hu: The Force of Creative Destruction

Purim is a celebration of reversals. The Book of Esther, which is traditionally read twice on the holiday, states in Chapter 9 verse 1: “Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have rule over them; whereas it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them.” This notion, of things being turned on their heads, called “venahafoch hu” in Hebrew, is at the core of this lively, raucous little holiday. The very purpose of our celebrating is intertwined with this overturning “from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a holiday” (Esther 9:22). As Rabbi Irving Greenberg puts it in... Continue Reading

Spinning

It’s that time of year again – the days are shorter and colder, and across cultures people huddle together with family members, and brighten the dark evenings with orbs of light. Chanukah is upon us. We eat latkes and jelly donuts to remember the oil that miraculously lasted in the ancient temple. We light candles each night, increasing light and holiness in the world. We remember the miraculous victory of the few against the many, and celebrate our religious and cultural freedom. And, of course, we play dreidel – and teach our young and tender to gamble. I have a vivid childhood memory of gathering with aunts, uncles, and cousins at my grandfather’s house for Chanukah. He had a jar full of coins, and each family member would line up in size order to take a turn dipping a hand into the... Continue Reading

Are Today’s Innovators “Leaders?”

Bob Goldfarb, in his recent piece Innovation, Management, and Leadership, raises an interesting question about the relationship between “innovation” and “leadership.” He writes: “From a structural perspective… [innovators] have simply added independent, entrepreneurial elements to Jewish communal life that complement the established, centralized bureaucracies.” But is that really all they have done? Goldfarb points out that leadership and management are two separate activities. He claims that “leaders [should] resist institutional inertia, challenge fashionable ideas, question the trends of the moment, articulate new visions, and rally a broad following so that true transformation is possible.” Leadership, then, is as an activity that draws attention to a community’s pressing hidden... Continue Reading

It’s Time to Get Off the Dance Floor

Gary Rosenblatt, in his article “The Push & Pull of Jewish Philanthropy” in this week’s Jewish Week, writes: “Start-ups look to federations and foundations for funding but don’t want to be associated with federations (too old school for them); federations may support the new start-ups as part of their effort to attract younger donors and be innovative, but resent that the start-ups keep their distance; and family foundations may play in both camps but are seen as unpredictable, and maybe too independent. Meanwhile, these three key groups are interdependent as well at times, relying on each other for funds, ideas and/or credibility. And the dance goes on.” This delicate dance between federations, family foundations, and start-ups reveals a distressing set of fraught relationships... Continue Reading

Sukkot Blog

Over the course of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, we engage in deep introspection, and strive to achieve personal transformation for the coming year. Sukkot, the holiday that follows Yom Kippur, reminds us that in order for us to achieve personal growth, we must also examine and renew the space that surrounds us. Over the course of this 8-day holiday, we “move” from our stable, familiar homes to new surroundings: the temporary dwelling of possibility, the Sukkah. Being in a new space creates the potential not only for continued personal transformation, but also for new communal, interpersonal interactions. The Sukkah is a place to play with the vision of our new selves, and imagine what that self might bring to the communal realm; it is, moreover, a place that begins to define new possibilities... Continue Reading

For They Will Not Believe Me – What We Can Learn from Moses about Making A Pitch

You are in good company if, as head of a start-up organization, you are wary about promoting your idea, and raising the money necessary to succeed. Whatever makes you nervous about the process – the economy, public speaking, grant writing, asking for money, the gnawing frustration that this is not how you had envisioned spending your time, and the unspoken worry that your words will not do justice to your cause – it is inevitable that fears arise when we are faced with the challenge of conveying our passion, and fighting for its life. “Making the pitch,” orally or on paper, to a Foundation or to an individual, to your mother or to a potential client, is among the most daunting tasks any organization, and especially a start-up, faces. You are not alone. Numerous figures in TaNaKh were... Continue Reading

Spelling Success Together

In his article “How PresenTense Defines Success for Ventures Launched,” Ariel Beery explains that when PresenTense claims that “11 out of the 27 ventures that PresenTense’s summer Institute launched in the first two years of existence are successes, we mean that 11 of those 27 ventures have received follow-on funding or merged into other organizations.” Rigorous methods to determine and measure desired impact is critical for the overall growth and ultimate health of the Jewish community. UpStart Bay Area, whose mission is to advance early stage non-profits that offer innovative Jewish engagement opportunities, applauds PresenTense’s work, and encourages the Jewish community at large to think more about the elements of success for our community’s innovative ventures. If we use our burgeoning... Continue Reading

A Case for Interruption

“Knock knock!” “Who’s there?” “Interrupting cow.” “Interrupting Cow wh…” “MOO!” I always get a kick out of that one. My sister’s preferred variation is “interrupting starfish,” which ends with an open palm smooshed into one’s face. In his June 29th post “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: Key Questions on Jewish Innovation, Interruption, and Sustainability,” Seth Cohen raises the question: “how do we ensure that…Jewish innovation isn’t interrupted?” But I wonder – what founder of an innovative nonprofit hasn’t looked up from her desk and been stopped in her tracks by an interruption, hand smooshed into face and all? Innovation, as defined by Felicia Herman, the Executive Director of the Natan Fund, in her recent article “Funding Innovation,” means... Continue Reading

Resetting – An Unprecedented Meeting of Philanthropists

by Maya Bernstein cross-posted at Huffington Post (Jumpstart) In a recent blog post, Marty Linsky, a leadership expert at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, asked, “Will you reset or hunker down?” Will we will treat today’s economic crisis as a “one-time thing,” and wait for it to blow over, or as a manifestation of a larger pattern, that should encourage us to re-think the way in which we interact and function? In the months since his first musings, he has applied the “reset” metaphor to partisan politics, culture, and the nonprofit sector. Here in San Francisco, we have been thinking about what it might mean to reset the Jewish community. On April 29th, UpStart Bay Area, a new nonprofit dedicated to supporting innovative Jewish social entrepreneurs,... Continue Reading

How to Create (Or Transform) an Organization: Top Ten List

Dr. Anita Friedman, Executive Director of Jewish Family and Children’s Services, the oldest charity west of the Mississippi, and one of the most innovative and successful Jewish organizations in the United States, was this month’s featured speaker at UpStart’s Executive Director Round Table series. Bringing her stellar leadership experience of over thirty years, her sense of humor, and her honesty to the table, she wowed participants with her Yoda-like wisdom -  “Your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness,” “I hated it so much that I decided to take it over,” “It’s the difference between a Sushi Restaurant and a Cold Dead Fish Restaurant” – and with her genuine passion and phenomenal knowledge about making organizations thrive. Here is her top-ten list of essentials... Continue Reading