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You are here: Home / Education / The Kehilla is the Curriculum

The Kehilla is the Curriculum

October 16, 2013 By eJP

The Kehilla is the Curriculum:
Some Initial Thoughts on a New Approach to Congregational Education
by Rabbi Jim Rogozen

I’ve written before about the need for congregations to determine their mission and vision before making huge changes to their educational program. I’d like to suggest a few ideas that might bridge the gap between mission/vision and curriculum.

An article in The Atlantic (“Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?”) indicated that Facebook has actually increased the sense of loneliness and isolation among Americans. People are not connecting in deep ways with others. A recent clip by Shimi Cohen called The Innovation of Loneliness also posits that social networks do not create strong relationships or community; in fact, they lead to a sense of isolation by replacing “real” friendships with “friends.”

When critics say that Conservative congregations are losing ground because of theological irrelevance, I ask them: Do Conservative Jews really go to Chabad because of their 200-year old book of theology called the Tanya? No, they go for the community they aren’t finding elsewhere.

I don’t think the Conservative Movement’s response to affiliation challenges necessarily involves changes in our theology or our approach to halakha. Rather, we need to create strong, intentional, purposeful synagogue communities. As we set out to create these communities, our mission or vision statements must be powerful, intense, exciting; documents that point towards a “why” and a “way” of living that embodies real values and aspirations. The language must be clear, pointing toward something that everyone “gets” and can feel, breathe and see around them. Once the vision is in place, a synagogue’s mission is to create that community.

If all goes well, someone describing the “brand experience” of such a kehilla will use phrases such as “being part of a compelling community” or a “community of responsibility.” People in the kehilla will feel the need to be present for others; they will want to learn more in order to be a stronger member of their community; they will come to see that Jewish Tradition gives their lives meaning, because it is lived for and with others. In order to guide and sustain their community, the “why” of their commitments (in actions and investment of resources) will be clear to those with whom they interact.

In such an intentional community the theological and educational innovations that arise will represent the true beliefs and needs of that community; they will aim for ongoing coherence and relevance. This organic approach will reflect a natural evolution of that Jewish community’s values and practices. So too, the kehilla will encourage, honor and support each member’s (and family’s) spiritual journey, wherever that leads them.

Instilling a sense of responsibility for keeping a community strong begins at a young age. The goal is to manage a shift from “me” to “we”. This is where creativity, innovation and experimentation come in, building upon one pedagogical foundation: the kehilla (community) is the curriculum.

In moving from the mission of building community to an actual curriculum, the educational program serves the purpose of the kehilla; it provides the skills, context and meaning for the learners who are part of that community’s life. This can happen in many ways, but the basic “best practice” elements of such a curriculum might include: a “needs-based” approach to learning; compelling relevance of the material; passionate role models of curiosity, behavior, and care; the skills of living in, and sustaining, a community (e.g. how to work in a group, problem solving, peer mediation, communication, planning and evaluation, inclusivity skills, how to make a shiva call, how to lead a minyan, etc.). Educational programming (for all age groups) should include training in leadership skills and “community-ship”. In such a program, organizing principles and vocabulary would include: Empowerment, Vitality, Experience, Ownership, Relevance, and Connection.

An educational program that “grows” community will include various stakeholders in the process, beginning with the family. Rather than invite families to “one-off programs”, kehillot must involve them in ways that organically further the value and practice of community. When children see their parents, in natural ways, acting as responsible members of a kehilla, the “kehilla curriculum” comes alive.

This is clearly not the classic “Hebrew-Bible-Holidays” approach. Rather, it takes elements of earlier curricula and embeds them in the context of a dynamic, lived Judaism.

All of this will require new understandings for congregants, school parents and board members. It will also lead to new job descriptions (and training) for Rabbis and educators. In a re-visioned synagogue, in which the curriculum is about building and sustaining the kehilla, every member of the kehilla is an educator, and the motto is: “what is lived is learned.”

Rabbi Jim Rogozen is Chief Learning Officer at United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joyce Schriebman says

    October 16, 2013 at 5:15 pm

    Terrific article. I’m not a Jewish educator, but my inter-religious work follows the same strategy: focus on people, not ideas. The basis for personal and communal transformation is in relationships and community-ship [love it!] not one-off programs/presentations/projects.

  2. Lisa Colton says

    October 16, 2013 at 6:54 pm

    YES! Wow, what a pleasure to read this article. While this “kehillah is the curriculum” approach sounds somewhat obvious, it is anything but. In a new UJA-Federation of New York initiative with Darim Online, we are supporting 6 congregations through the process of becoming a “Connected Congregation”, exactly this kind of “relationship based, community as the foundation” synagogue. We’re learning that it requires re-alignment in so many areas, and it takes intentionality and persistence to retrain ourselves to work in these ways, from program and policy, to language, job descriptions and measurements of success.

    I particularly appreciated how you include social-emotional intelligence and skills in your description of what ‘could (should) be’. It makes me think of Dr. Rona Novick’s ELI Talk: http://elitalks.org/social-intelligence-foundation-jewish-living

  3. Elaine Suchow says

    October 17, 2013 at 1:54 am

    Your personal vision, passion and spot on thought leadership clearly sprung out from the page as I read this inspiring article. The greatest leaders and successful organizations are built on strong adherence to mission and vision supported by strategic goals. One by one, figuring out how to engage new followers is the ongoing work. The people who already feel part of the Kehillah are “bought in” and striving to make a difference with their dollars and leadership. The challenge ahead is to envision how to engage new c participants without barriers. Cost is a huge element in this equation – something Chabad has so successfully figured out.
    Along with these new ideas of change for community education, I think new models of financial sustainability and membership will need to go hand in hand.
    Thank you for starting the conversation.

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