Home Archives for #jnets

A Preliminary Theology of Social Networks

Posted on January 3, 2013 Written by
Communications and_Social_Network_

by Rabbi Hayim Herring One of my findings from interviews with rabbis that I conducted for my book, Tomorrow’s Synagogue Today, was their lack of specific, intentional connections between their personal theology and their congregation’s organizational structure. I asked them how their personal theology influenced their congregational governance, how they worked with volunteers and similar types of issues that are often labeled as the “business” or “administrative” side of congregational life. This lack of conscious connection really didn’t surprise me because structural issues and theology don’t naturally mix. They require a leader to constantly work at making those connections and creating patterns of organizational behaviors that are infused both with spirituality and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Blog Tagged: ,

Reflecting on the Launch of the Limmud North America Community of Educators

Posted on August 27, 2012 Written by

by David Wolkin An interesting experiment in professional development for Jewish educators will take place in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend. Within the context of Limmud Atlanta + Southeast’s annual LimmudFest at Ramah Darom, we’ll be bringing together a cohort of Jewish educators from across the institutional and denominational spectrum for the launch of the Limmud North America Community of Educators. Over the weekend, this group will spend time engaging in learning with master educators, networking with each other and the conference at large, and pairing their experience with the “volunticipation” and Torah Lishmah that lives at every Limmud event. I’m delighted to say that this group won’t be the last of its kind. With the support of the Covenant Foundation, similar cohorts … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, The Limmud Experience Tagged: , ,

Meditating On The Margins

Posted on June 20, 2012 Written by

by Helen Chernikoff Most Wednesday nights find Jonathan Matz not only in the same place, but in the same position: his legs tucked under a simple wood bench, his back straight, his chest rising and falling as he struggles to return his focus from his thoughts to his breath. Matz, 32, is a regular at the Jewish Meditation Center of Brooklyn, which he calls his source of Jewish community. He’s an attendee at most of the “Wednesday sits” it holds in the evenings at a Jewish day school in Carroll Gardens: 40 minutes of silent meditation framed by discussion of the weekly Torah portion. But Matz’s Jewish community is in peril. On his bench, Matz sat in a circle of other meditators, most on round cushions, some on chairs, the school’s podium festooned with Jewish “prayer flags,” … [Read more...]

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#12NTCJews Talk Networks and Nonprofits

Posted on April 15, 2012 Written by
network weaving highlights

by Deborah Fishman I must admit that I don’t go to very many conferences that aren’t “Jewish.” But [in the days just prior to Passover] I was excited to attend the Nonprofit Technology Conference of NTEN (#12NTC). I went to speak at a session in collaboration with the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation, Jim Joseph Foundation, and Darim Online, on networks, technology, and their application to non-profits – and yes, we were speaking about it particularly in a Jewish context. The truth is, with the attendance of over 70 non-profit professionals who are Jewish and/or working for Jewish nonprofits, this session and the social hour that followed had as much as or even more of the usual dose of Jewish geography, schmoozing/networking, and certainly the spirit of Jewish pride. Why … [Read more...]

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The Jewish New Media Innovation Fund: One Year Later

Posted on March 29, 2012 Written by
JNMIF use for thumbnail

by Rachel Levin, Josh Miller and Adam Simon Back in 2010, when Facebook had but a meager 300 million users and the concepts of Google Plus and Pinterest were not yet on the horizon, there was a desire bubbling up within the Jewish community to capitalize on the new media and technological innovations happening across so many facets of our lives. How could we channel all of these new platforms to strengthen innovation within the Jewish community? How could these tools enable Jewish communities spread all over the world to reach, teach, learn, create and affiliate in unprecedented ways? With these questions in mind, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, Jim Joseph Foundation and Righteous Persons Foundation joined together to design and unveil the Jewish New Media Innovation … [Read more...]

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Networks and the Future of Jewish Philanthropy

Posted on March 26, 2012 Written by

[eJP note: During last week's Jewish Funders Network Conference in Tel Aviv, Andres Spokoiny, the organizations' president and CEO, laid out his vision for the future of Jewish Philanthropy and the Jewish Funders Network. Following, with minor omissions, are his remarks; his call to action.] A person is walking in the street and passes by a dance hall. The windows of the dance hall are very thick and soundproof, so he can’t hear the music. He only sees people making all sort of strange movements. He walks away, thinking he just saw a bunch of totally crazy people, maybe a mental asylum of some sort. If somebody would walk by our conference, she would probably also think that we are crazy. Here, we have 400 people spending three days trying to see how to give money away! If we were discussing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Building and Weaving, Jewish Philanthropy, The Blog Tagged: ,