Most synagogues would celebrate if a dozen teenagers showed up at Shabbat services on a regular Friday night. How would it feel when 1000 attended? Awesome. Just awesome. by Rabbi Paul Kipnes At home, we sometimes used to struggle to feed balanced meals to our 3 teenagers. Imagine trying to feed 1000 as these Jewish teens sat together to for Shabbat dinner. And that was only the beginning. … [Read more...]
The Seventy Faces of a Congregation: Thoughts on Our Individual and Collective Role in 21st Century Organized Judaism by Barry Camson What does it take to be a member of or lead a 21st century Jewish congregation? I believe that this is different from what it took to be part of or lead a late 20th century congregation. 20th and 21st century Jewish congregations are different as are the needs of those who seek them out. This difference was discussed in an article by Shawn Landres in “Sh’ma, A Journal of Jewish Ideas.” He comments: "The past few years have witnessed a renaissance in Jewish religious life through the formation of new spiritual communities unbound by conventional expectations about the roles and parameters of a synagogue. These new groups - led mostly by Generation Xers … [Read more...]
by Isaac Shalev Recently I have been working with the World Zionist Organization to develop an Israel education and advocacy conference. The recent Gaza crisis requires us to think creatively and analytically in order to absorb the implications of the new events. Student activists and professional educators and advocates need time and space to learn and reflect, and need new tools to speak with others about these momentous events. It is both unsurprising and appropriate that the talented team the WZO assembled spent significant time developing brand new material to teach to and from this moment. … [Read more...]
How to Make the Synagogue a More Relevant Institution in Jewish Life: A Review Tomorrow’s Synagogue Today: Creating Vibrant Centers of Jewish Life by Rabbi Hayim Herring (The Alban Institute, 2012; $17) Can you imagine being so excited about a book that you could not wait to write the review and let other people know about it? Well, that’s exactly how I felt reading Tomorrow’s Synagogue Today by Rabbi Hayim Herring. This is a book that every synagogue rabbi and president should read and study, as well as anyone else who is connected to synagogue life in America and concerned about its future. Once they have become familiar with it the members of synagogue boards of directors should not only read it but also plan to have a board retreat to deal with the issues that Rabbi Herring raises and … [Read more...]
by Rabbi Aaron B. Bisno “There are too many congregations,” some lament; and we understand. After all, who but the most myopic can look around the Jewish community (writ national or local; I write from Pittsburgh) and fail to see how much duplication of effort there is and how many of our communities’ finite resources we collectively squander with so many congregations doing so many of the same things. Already it was more than a year ago that I first wrote of our community’s need for a “Courageous Conversation.” And in the intervening 12+ months, while we have acclimated to our present reality, the challenges inherent to congregational life only grow more pressing. In recent years, our communities have achieved a great deal. Rabbis and lay leaders, working hard, are rightly … [Read more...]
Synagogue 3000's Synagogue Studies Institute has released, Reform and Conservative Congregations: Different Strengths, Different Challenges. U.S. Jewish congregational life is showing signs of stagnation, with few young adults, many older members and more than adequate sanctuary space, according to a new survey of Jewish congregational life. The survey, which included responses from leaders in 1,215 synagogues, offers the most comprehensive view of Reform and Conservative movement congregations to date. Conducted by sociologist Steven M. Cohen for the Synagogue Studies Institute of Synagogue 3000, the survey is part of the larger Faith Communities Today (FACT), a national data set of American religious congregations. The survey shows the Conservative movement is struggling, with smaller … [Read more...]
