Joshua Avedon
First as one of Ikar’s founders, then at Synagogue 3000, and currently at Jumpstart, I’ve had the privilege to work in the U.S., Europe, and Israel with leaders of new organizations and communities of all types and persuasions. I came to this work as someone who grew up disaffected from Jewish life, but who came […]
Rabbi Guy Austrian
“We’re like an 80-year-old startup.” That’s an apt description of the Fort Tryon Jewish Center (FTJC), an independent traditional egalitarian community-based in Washington Heights and Inwood, Manhattan. Founded in 1938 by refugees from Nazi Germany, an aging and dwindling congregation nearly shut its doors in the early 2000’s, then lost the use of its building […]
Rabbi Katy Z. Allen
In the face of the climate crisis, the human species faces an unparalleled existential crisis – will we survive, or will we follow the path of the dodo bird and other species now extinct? Can we both acknowledge the reality of anthropocentric climate change and respond with the speed and vigor required to reverse its […]
Judi Wisch
In my position of Director of Community Engagement for PJ Library I continue to fulfill my lifelong passion of creating Jewish community, especially among those who live outside the organized Jewish community. PJ Library is much more than a free program that sends books to families raising Jewish children. PJ is a tool that helps […]
Rabbi Michael Wasserman
I think of Rabbi Sid Schwarz’s four prescriptions for the revitalization of American Judaism as four aspects of a single broad prescription. Revitalizing learning (chochma), interpersonal responsibility (tzedek), community (kehillah), and a sense of purpose (kedusha) are not separate projects, but four sides of one large project. None can truly happen without the others happening […]
Aharon Varady
The work of the Open Siddur Project is directly aligned with proposition 4. When I founded this project, the initial negative responses I received was that for an “innovation” project, siddurim were not sexy, their liturgical content obscure, their management tedious and that denominational interests and private publishers were fiercely protective of their proprietary intellectual […]
Naomi Tucker
When considering how Jews find meaning in Jewish community, one significant area of disconnect has been the lack of organizations and opportunities that directly speak to women’s experience. For much of the 20th century, Jewish women found themselves gravitating towards social and support roles in synagogues, or found meaning in “professional volunteer” roles where they […]
Rabbi Joshua M. Z. Stanton
Reading the chapter from Jewish Megatrends made me feel as though I had independently begun the process of creating the wheel. What would my life (and work) have been like if I had read it earlier? Probably not much different, but I could have missed some early mistakes and more readily honed the core concept […]
Rabbi Ruth H. Sohn
The work of the Yedidya Center for Jewish Spiritual Direction is most closely aligned with Proposition 4, that today’s Jews are seeking communities and experiences of kedusha, experiences that provide holiness, transcendent meaning, and a sense of purpose to their lives. The Yedidya Center is dedicated to the development and support of the emerging practice […]
Rabbi Garth Silberstein
The idea for Organic Yeshiva originally came to me when I was studying full-time at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, the “open and pluralistic yeshiva” mentioned in R. Schwarz’s essay, which serves as a mecca for young Jews looking to deepen their understanding of the Jewish tradition. Each year, Pardes would take […]
Rabbi Jeremy Sher
My approach at Ha-Emek is very simple: everyone is welcome. I’m a rabbi and I lead a Jewish congregation, and anyone who wishes to be in a Jewish congregation is altogether welcome at Ha-Emek. It doesn’t matter if they’re Jewish or if they’re just exploring. It certainly doesn’t matter who their parents are or who […]
Jane Shapiro
When you are in the business of teaching Torah there are moments when you wonder if you are the last person sitting in the Bes Medrash, like the Matmid of Bialik’s poem. But then the world shifts in subtle or not-so-subtle ways, and students come searching for the Torah’s wisdom so they can make sense […]
Rabbi Rami Schwartzer
Rabbi Sid suggested that at the foundation of American spiritual malaise lies the technological revolution that has propelled our culture in the new century, mentioning as support Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone, and “other students of American culture [who] followed [his] analysis.” But while Putnam was among the most widely read theorists on the subject, he […]
Sammy Rosenbaum
“Come with spirit. Leave with soul.” This is the tagline of The Well-Atlanta, a once-a-month musical Shabbat service for young professionals. About 90 people come each month. We just celebrated the third birthday of the project in January. The goal at the outset was to create a gathering of people who wanted something a little […]
Ari Pomerantz
My work at the Moishe Kavod House falls directly in line at the intersection of the kehilla and tzedek propositions of Sid Schwarz’s thesis. We integrate arts, learning, Jewish spiritual practice, and social justice work to build Jewish community that is personally meaningful and deeply engaged with the world. Kehilla We approach our work through […]
Kendell Pinkney
The work of Kaleidoscope seems most aligned with the propositions of chochmah and kedusha. For the value of chochmah, Kaleidoscope’s mission to bring well-crafted, personal monologues by Jews-of-color and Jews of diverse ethnic backgrounds to the public aligns well with the essential characteristic of authenticity expressed in the article. The monologues of our various cast-members […]
Yoni Oppenheim
I connect deeply to Rabbi Sid Schwarz’s fourth proposition: Kedusha: Lives of Sacred Purpose. His proposition is: “In an age when we better understand the shortcomings of capitalism and the culture of consumerism, the Jewish community must offer a glimpse of kedusha, experiences that provide holiness, transcendent meaning, and a sense of purpose.” Most theater […]
Rabbi Miriam Margles
Alongside any conversation about new paradigms and frameworks for vibrant Jewish life, alongside discussions of innovative projects and core strategies, I find it essential to develop an understanding and mindful engagement with Jewish scars and the process of collective healing. In an analysis of the factors that are contributing to a weakening of Jewish identity […]
Patricia Eszter Margit
Art Kibbutz is one of the first Jewish arts organizations that has succeeded in bringing the Jewish perspective through high quality art projects into important 21st century public discourses in the broader cultural sphere. Our team believes that our tradition has something meaningful to say and arts can be a vehicle to help Jews experience […]
Rabbi Natan Margalit
My work at Organic Torah starts with asking a question about chochma/Jewish wisdom: Must the Tree of Knowledge be separated from the Tree of Life? The Tree of Knowledge is what we have become used to in much of our Western education—it begins with breaking things apart into smallest components. Our education system is divided […]
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