by Robert I. Evans and Avrum D. Lapin Three different but important conferences took place late last month and have served to connect and engage Jewish development professionals as well as donors and other committed individuals in interesting ways. One gathering reached out to Reform synagogue development professionals only, another involved Jewish foundation representatives and leaders, and the third served to engage primarily nonprofit professionals working to organize their efforts across the State of Israel. Each conference resulted in positive outcomes but took different approaches and each received different levels of visibility in the media. Consider each of the meetings: At the Jewish Funders Network (JFN) in Tel Aviv, 400 Jewish funders from across the globe gathered to address … Continue Reading
The Campaign for Youth Engagement: A Call to Action
by Rabbi Jonah Pesner There have been several articles recently about the issue of engaging teens in Jewish life. Many claim to have found the golden ticket - the one program that can solve this problem. As it should be, this issue of engaging teens is at the top of the list for many in the Jewish community and we in the Reform Movement share both the concern and the excitement about how to engage the next generation. This problem will require numerous solutions, including expanding beyond the walls of our synagogues and indeed, outside our own Movement. Our Jewish organizations are full of dedicated and creative lay people and professionals who successfully connect with youth, but still the facts are grim. Research tells us that if current trends continue, approximately 80% of the children … Continue Reading
View from the Inside: Building Today’s URJ
by Barbara Saidel and Donna Stein We read Rabbi Deborah Bravo's recent opinion piece in eJewishPhilanthropy with interest, as did our colleagues at the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ). Indeed, we in leadership at the URJ are aware of the gender divide in senior management and have been addressing this issue ever since Rabbi Rick Jacobs took over running the URJ on January 1. That was a little over six weeks ago. As Rabbi Jacobs said recently to the Forward, "This is not a commitment that someone has to point out to me." But to address this issue with the concern that it deserves, we must take a holistic view that by no means dismisses or diminishes the importance of gender parity among our leadership. This issue is no less important here than it is in our congregations, or than it has been in … Continue Reading
Liberals Are That Way Too?
by Rabbi Deborah K. Bravo Rick, Danny, Jonah, Mark and Brad. One might think this is a list of possible names for you new baby boy. No, this is the list of the top ranking individuals in the newly re-organized Reform Jewish movement. And no, this is not a page from our history - this is 2012. The proud announcement arrived in the inboxes of congregational leaders a few days ago, boasting of the accomplishments in the first month of our new regime. This email comes not one week after the Forward published an editorial entitled Where Are the Women, reflecting on a recent article in The New York Times discussing gender issues in Israel and paralleling our own lack of women in public Jewish life in America. So it begs to ask the question - where are the women? The answer one might receive from … Continue Reading
On the Influence of Camp
by Ramie Arian “That felt a lot like camp!” said the woman next to me at the conclusion of the Friday evening service during the recent Biennial of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ). Judging from her tone, she approved. Indeed, it had felt “a lot like camp,” I thought, though on first reflection, it was not quite clear why. Tefillah (worship) at camp is generally a relatively casual affair: with worshippers dressed in shorts or jeans, prayers offered by leaders - probably campers and counselors - who are lacking in formal skills, leading a congregation of up to a few hundred participants, mostly children. The music of the service is guided by songleaders who make up in enthusiasm for what they lack in training and polish. Often, the tefillah takes place in an outdoor setting of … Continue Reading
End the Polemics and Restore Dialogue to the Jewish Community
by Avi Herring Over the past several decades, two of the pillars of American Jewish communal consensus - fighting anti-Semitism and supporting Israel unconditionally - have crumbled. But instead of exploring why our consensus has fallen apart and working together to find new areas of agreement, we often hurl offensive polemics against one another. What little structured Jewish communal conversation that exists is descending into dysfunction. There are many reasons why the communal consensus has broken down. First, most American Jews do not experience anti-Semitism or, if they do, it is an insignificant part of their lives. Second, Israel’s presence in the West Bank and the increasingly anti-liberal laws coming out of its parliament are alienating some American Jews, who have built their … Continue Reading
Was 2011 the Tipping Point for “Public Space Judaism”?
by Rabbi Kerry Olitzky Ten years ago, the Jewish Outreach Institute (JOI) released a landmark survey of participants in engagement programs, which clarified many of the best practices that are still of paramount relevancy today to any Jewish communal professional interested in reaching less-engaged Jews and unaffiliated intermarried households. One of those findings now seems obvious, but was not at the time: that Jewish programs held in secular venues attract a less-affiliated crowd than the same programs held inside the four walls of Jewish institutions. We believe this past year was a tipping point for the key outreach method of taking Jewish life out to where people are rather than waiting for them to come to us. In that 2001 study, JOI coined the term “Public Space Judaism” to … Continue Reading
Framing the Training for Our Emerging Jewish Experiential Educators
by Mark S. Young As we begin 2012, I predict that experiential education in the Jewish world will continue to be a hot topic. Last month, I attended the Union for Reform Judaism’s Biennial where Jon Woocher, Chief Ideas Officer at JESNA (I love his title), continued to press the importance of creating “immersive and meaningful experiences” within Jewish education to be successful in transmitting Jewish knowledge and engaging the next generation in Jewish life. Given this, we must not only address the question of what makes for excellent Jewish experiential education. Perhaps more important, how do we know a great Jewish experiential educator when we see one and how do we train these future educators for success? To substantiate definitive answers is a daunting task, primarily since the … Continue Reading
Bucking the Trends: Teens Call for Collaboration and a Place at the Table
by Jacob Sorrells For those of us who are deeply involved in the Jewish community, it seems at times that the issues and challenges we face are insurmountable. We make it our business to study the trends of engagement in Jewish life, and we commit ourselves to doing whatever it takes to continue building a bright future for the Jewish people. For me, the most striking and potentially threatening of all such trends is the fact that over 80% of Jewish teens have no relationship with a synagogue by the 12th grade and boys are disengaging at an even more alarming rate. But last month, when I attended the Union for Reform Judaism’s Biennial in Washington, DC, I found it hard to focus on any negative statistics. I was sitting in a room surrounded by 5,000 fellow Jewish leaders from around the world … Continue Reading
“Takeaways” from WRJ’s Assembly and URJ’s Biennial: Women and Youth Lead the Way
by Robert I. Evans and Avrum D. Lapin In our recent posting about the just concluded 2011 Biennial of the Reform Movement, we lovingly chided the Union for Reform Judaism’s successful conference for focusing inadequately on preparing its leaders and constituents for the challenges of not just understanding philanthropy, but doing it. That is not to say that charitable giving is not happening, but philanthropy should be happening more and be more central to the ongoing functioning and vision for the Movement and its components. Amidst a dynamic conference where “batteries were recharged” and Jewish spiritual energy renewed and replenished, we note two national efforts which, we are certain, are the harbingers of the future. We witnessed the first at the exciting Assembly of the Women … Continue Reading
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