Shalom everyone! As next Monday is Shavuot, here is a Friday Morning Message!
We hope you will join us for Shavuot services throughout the weekend and our Shavuot Community Night of Study (and Cheescake) ! Click here for more information as we explore some of the ways in which we can access the joy, meaning, and wisdom of Torah in our 21st century lives.
For those who are interested in learning more about the laws and customs of the holiday of Shavuot, please click on the ” About Shavuot” section of the RA website.
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The following is an except from a very interesting blog post that I read on facebook this week. This article asks us to think differently about the work of synagogues, and offers us suggestions for engaging young and unaffiliated Jews in new and different ways. If you have time, I encourage you to read the entire article as well as the survey that is referenced from Synagogue 3000.
Rabbi Aaron Spiegel, CEO of Synagogue 3000.
Synagogue 3000 just released a report entitled “Reform and Conservative Congregations: Different Strengths, Different Challenges.” The report could just as easily been entitled something like “Synagogues are Fading Into Obscurity,” but that would be a little too provocative. The data is clear; the institution best positioned to provide the full richness of Jewish life is becoming irrelevant for most American Jews. More disturbing is that our research shows some 70% of young Jewish adults, those between the ages of 23 and 39, have no connection to the established Jewish community (synagogues, Federation, JCC’s, etc.). While many in the Jewish world talk about Jewish continuity and protecting the future of American Judaism, most of the proposed solutions have had little effect. The good news is we’ve also learned that this majority of young Jews are very interested in Judaism, just not the way we’re offering it.
While most in the congregational world talk about outreach, Synagogue 3000 learned that this moniker has a negative connotation. Outreach says, albeit subtly, “I’m reaching out to you so you can come to me and have what I want to offer you.” The community, particularly those young, single Jews who are our potential future are saying, “no thanks.” Instead of outreach Synagogue 3000 changed the conversation to engagement. Learning from the church world and community organizing, Synagogue 3000 created Next Dor (dor is Hebrew for generation) – an engagement program. Participating synagogues agree to dedicate a staffer, most often a rabbi, whose primary job is to meet young Jews where they are – physically, spiritually, and emotionally. These engagement workers are charged with finding young Jews, be they in bars, coffee houses, local gyms, etc., and finding ways of engaging them in conversation to create relationships. Relationships create trust, which creates other relationships, which creates opportunity for real engaging conversations about life and what Judaism has to offer. One of the key points is that this engagement and these relationships are l’shma, for their own sake. Synagogue membership is not the goal – connecting Jews to Judaism is….
While the goal is engaging young Jews in Judaism, several of the Next Dor partner synagogues are discovering tangible benefits….
Unfortunately, congregations have focused on other things like supporting infrastructure, b’nai mitzvah training, and programming. More than the first two, the focus on programming is the irrelevance linchpin. Rather than engaging Jews in what’s important in their lives, synagogues program based on anecdotal information. When numbers fall the default synagogue response is to seek better programming rather than forming relationships with members, finding out what’s really important in their lives, and being responsive to their needs. Interestingly enough, while Synagogue 3000 envisioned the relational approach targeting young Jewish adults, the Next Dor communities are discovering it works with everyone….
To read the entire blog post, click here. I hope you enjoy and am looking forward to your comments!