Rabbi Scott Perlo
This is from the tail end of a Boston Globe article: “I definitely like the spiritual aspect of pushing yourself further than you ever thought you could go,” Huberlie said. “I don’t think I can put my beliefs behind any particular religion right now. . . but something I missed [about church] is if you really need […]
Eden Pearlstein
To my understanding the primary thesis of Rabbi Sid Schwarz’s chapter was that the American Jewish community is in the process of massive ideological and demographical transition. This transition is affecting individual Jews as well as many institutional pillars of the community such as synagogues and federations, both of which appear to be losing numbers […]
Nati Passow
I enjoyed reading Rabbi Sid Schwarz’s opening essay to his book, Jewish Megatrends. Much of what I encountered reflects my own experience growing up in the Jewish community, and working in it for over fifteen years as an informal educator and non-profit director. While I agreed with the concept of the tribal and covenantal Jew, […]
Blair Nosan
I really enjoyed reading this essay. I see my work aligned with chochma, kehillah, and kedusha, and I found these to be helpful frames for explaining some of the phenomena that I’ve observed while creating Jewish community on the fringes of the Jewish world. I have thought deeply about chochma, first as it once characterized […]
Rabbi Lee Moore
What are the most useful mental models that can help us understand the shifting patterns of current and future generations of Jews (of which I am one), given the decline in their (our) participation in traditional institutions? Sid Schwarz offers a paradigm that couches us as consumers and to some degree encourages thinking about us […]
Rabbi Avram Mlotek
Base’s three pillars are living the Jewish calendar, Talmud Torah and community service. How these pillars look depends on each Base rabbi, partner and local community. For us at Base DWTN, it looks like the following. Regarding chochma: Sharing the treasury and wisdom of the Jewish canon is at the heart of Base’s mission. How […]
Yavilah McCoy
In what ways do you see your work aligned with one (or more) of the four propositions? Wisdom/Chochma Proposition 1: In an age of globalization, Jewish institutions need to offer multiple avenues to explore chochma, the wisdom of our sacred texts put into the context of the world’s religions and in the language of contemporary […]
Jakir Manela
Wisdom/Chochmah Proposition 1: In an age of globalization, Jewish institutions need to offer multiple avenues to explore chochmah, the wisdom of our sacred texts put into the context of the world’s religions and in the language of contemporary culture. Pearlstone is one of the national leaders of the JOFEE movement, pioneering a new avenue with […]
Daniel Libenson
I found myself more drawn to the essay’s analysis of the current situation of Jews and Jewish life in America than to any one of the four propositions. In my work today, I am increasingly trying to engage people with the idea that we are a “desert generation” and that this is a “time of […]
Hart Levine
When I think about what I try and provide for others, it boils down to two things – meaning and connection. Meaning means connecting people to the meaning of Judaism, that’s found in Torah and in Jewish tradition. I agree that most people aren’t connected to it and don’t find it in the synagogues and […]
Aharon Ariel Lavi
In what ways do you see your work aligned with one (or more) of the four propositions? To some extent, the work I do both in Israel and the US aligns with all four propositions, but with some more inherently than the others. The first, and most inherent one, would obviously be the third proposition […]
Idit Klein
Wisdom/Chochmah A key piece of Keshet’s work focuses on giving LGBTQ Jews the opportunity to engage with traditional Jewish texts – both texts that easily resonate for LGBTQ Jews and those who support LGBTQ equality as well as those texts that historically have wounded us. It can be transformative for a trans Jew to be […]
M. Dove Kent
From the four propositions Schwarz lays out in Jewish Megatrends: Charting the Course of the American Jewish Future, the work of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) aligns with the areas of Social Justice/Tzedek, Community/Kehillah, and Lives of Sacred Purpose/Kedushah. JFREJ provides a powerful vehicle for Jews to pursue racial and economic justice by […]
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
What if the “margins of the community” cannot, in fact, be nurtured “to grow into a great renaissance of American Jewish life” (as you suggest on p. 7)? I have come more and more to think that the contributions of the margins (which I would include myself among) will make impacts that are not strong […]
Rabbi Andrew Kastner
It was really stimulating for me to re-read this section of Jewish Megatrends, now a few years deeper into my career. I have been fortunate to been influenced by many of the courageous and leading Jewish professionals who opened me to thinking about Jewish tradition as part of a broader marketplace and an ever evolving […]
Rabbi James Kahn
I describe myself as a rabbi of social workers and caregivers. My congregation is the Jewish Social Service Agency (JSSA), which serves the entire Greater Washington region. Roughly half of our membership (staff) is Jewish, but I seek to be the rabbi to all. Most recognize their work at JSSA as holy. Some see it […]
Rabbi David Jaffe
My teaching brings wisdom and practices from Mussar and Hassidut to institutions, communities and individuals looking to access Jewish spiritual technologies for character development and growth. I work with mainstream institutions like day schools and synagogues, groups of spiritual seekers meeting in private homes and rabbis and chaplains seeking their own growth and new tools […]
Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann
The four propositions that Sid puts forward in the opening chapter Jewish Megatrends is that the successful new Jewish enterprises are the ones where Judaism can be experienced as a deep, ancient, multifaceted and modern wisdom tradition path to real expressions of tikkun and tzedakah in our broken world space for finding community, connectedness and […]
Rabbi Brad Greenstein
Kedushah through Immersive Experiential Education The centerpiece of Moishe House’s Jewish education is our Immersive Learning Retreats that not only train residents with ritual skills, but also create transformative experiences. Moishe House Retreats focus on the following educational modalities and participant takeaways, of which the first and third are centered on intentional transcendent experiences. Educational […]
Rabbi Lisa Goldstein
While the work of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality is most directly focused on kedushah, we see it manifesting in ways that include the other three propositions. Our premise is that by cultivating mindful leaders, we can revitalize Jewish life. We are seeking to help leaders in Jewish communities – rabbis, cantors, educators, social workers, […]
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