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, […]
Cara Gold
My community is defined by ‘outward looking’ sensibilities, a seeking of new collective forms of engagement, meaning-making, dissatisfaction with the status quo, and systemic social change work. My work is focused on shifting power from the institutional towards the grassroots within the Toronto Jewish community. The Canadian Jewish community has historically been traditional in its observance, […]
Rabbi Laura Geller
My work is most obviously connected to Proposition 3, but it resonates with Propositions 1 and 4 as well. Proposition 3: At a time when technology has made meaningful social intercourse much harder to come by, the Jewish community must offer places where people can find support in times of need, communal celebration in times of joy, […]
Jacob Fine
My work with Abundance Farm is aligned with each of the four propositions. We understand our mission as having three, overlapping dimensions–1) to support local food security and to promote food justice 2) to provide inspiring, farm-based educational experiences and 3) to build strong community across a diversity of age, faith and background. The value […]
Shir Yaakov Feit
Rabbi Sid Schwarz identifies four “pockets of Jewish renaissance” driving individuals and organizations, each with differing motivating factors: wisdom (dorshei chochmah) social justice (dorshei tzedek) community (dorshei kehillah) lives of sacred purpose (dorshei kedushah) My life, work, and practice are informed by all four of these propositions. It is thrilling to see these emergent waves identified […]
Jacob Feinspan
The fact that Jews United for Justice (JUFJ) exists in the first place, and has grown and succeeded in recent years, is due to the groundswell of Jews who are actively seeking ways to act on their Jewish values to advance justice. We start from the Jewish community’s collective experience of moving from the margins […]
Kohenet Sarah Shamirah Chandler
“Shabbat is the answer to every question.” This mantra is one of my favorite teaching and organizing tools in Jewish life. Here’s how it works: ask everyone in the room what questions they have. I’m not talking about things you can Google or ask an expert – real questions that you’re struggling with. Almost without […]
Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg
It appears to me that Sid Schwarz’s framing of strategies employed by successful Jewish organizations and programs is useful. Given that Beth Am is a synagogue attempting to establish its relevance in the current marketplace of Jewish ideas and with this current generation of American Jews, I believe we employ each of these strategies. Indeed […]
Mariel Boyarsky
My first question upon reading this interesting, well-written, and engaging chapter was: “Why?” Though I agree with a lot of what is laid out in this chapter (and also disagree with some), I feel that we need to take a step back before we can even begin the conversation around how to fix the problem […]
Ross Berkowitz
I once heard someone say in jest (or mockery): “When it comes to understanding and reacting to trends, most non-profit organizations lag five years behind the for-profit world. Jewish organizations are another five years behind the secular non-profits.” Not so funny when you think about it—but all too often true. I see the essay from Jewish […]
Helen Bennett
The Jewish Megatrends thesis put forward by Rabbi Sid Schwarz offers a useful basic description of the current moment we are in as an American Jewish community. Here are some thoughts and reflections. Using Sid’s terms, I am a millennial and a covenantal Jew. Holding these identities, I have a lot of respect for the […]
Rabbi Rachel Barenblat
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. Much of my work is aligned with this first proposition. As Jews we have inherited (and continuously […]
Melissa Balaban
In 2004, when we founded IKAR and developed our membership model, we were acutely aware of the allergy most young Jews had to Jewish institutional life. We had an idea of how to address the pervasive sense of alienation and disaffection that many Jews, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, were experiencing. The four […]
Jewish Megatrends: Charting the Course of the American Jewish Future
This essay appears in Jewish Megatrends: Charting the Course of the American Jewish Community, by Rabbi Sid Schwarz. The book is published by Jewish Lights and appears here with their permission. The Jewish community is in a time of transition. Those who are active in the community certainly know this. Many of the institutions […]
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