Introduction

Several years ago, shortly after moving to New York, I was invited to serve on the young leadership boards of 2 different national Jewish organizations. I was both surprised and flattered. After all, by that time I had been active in the Jewish community for over 30 years, having held numerous significant lay and professional leadership roles. So it was surprising to be asked -to represent "new" leadership - although it was confirming to be seen as a part of the future more than the past.

More striking was the fact that, at the time, I was approaching my mid- 50's! Even in the superannuated world of Jewish communal leadership it was hard to imagine someone of my age being considered a "young leader." While I might flatter myself to think that it was my youthful demeanor, I suspect that it was less a statement about me than it was about the current state of leadership.

Why, you may ask, do I begin an article on the personnel crisis in Jewish life with an anecdote about lay leadership? The answer is that, even though much is being written on the crisis on the professional side, it is my view that the issue of paid professionals cannot be separated from the larger question of Jewish communal leadership. There are endemic and epidemic matters which inform all of Jewish life - and a resolution will not emerge from small initiatives. Moreover, most of the currently proposed strategies to solve the "personnel crisis" do not adequately address the systemic and cultural issues and thus will, at best, tweak the system. In other words, this is one of those Big Picture issues, the solutions to which will require that we change the way we do business.

Those of us who attend national and international Jewish meetings are happy to see our friends and colleagues of long standing. But is it only a perception that there seems to be a recycling of the same people into familiar roles?

This is not to say that none of these people, lay and professional, are worthy. Many are very bright, extraordinarily committed, generous with time and money, abundantly caring, Jewishly knowledgeable, and deeply devoted to Jewish life and future. Many surely have earned and continue to deserve their leadership positions. So what's the problem?

The problem is that over time, organized Jewish life becomes a closed circle. On occasion one can join the circle but the conditions are that one shouldn't challenge too hard. So even though every organization espouses a commitment to bring in "new blood", in reality those who are invited in are rarely those who challenge the status quo way of thinking.

And, as my anecdote suggests, new does not necessarily mean young. While it is true that after the dot.com bust, there are fewer 25 year old ceo's, in the private sector there are still many ceo's, presidents, and senior executives in their 40's. But in Jewish life, while ageism most assuredly exists, on the lay side of things, 40 is barely a young leader.

Moreover, while in the private sector, it is considered healthy to reinvent the corporation on a regular basis, all too often in Jewish life, change initiatives seem to end up simply tweaking or cosmetically repackaging old models.

Our communal rhetoric calls for a much needed renaissance - a word which, if it means anything, surely means "change." Our actions, though, suggest that we seem to believe that Jewish life is not in need of change. We hear of calls bemoaning the personnel problem and the need to create major initiatives to address it. But our actions suggest that we already have the correct leadership and bench strength. So are these calls for change and new personnel simply an empty liturgy of those who, underneath it all, believe that après nous, le deluge? Or do the calls for change truly reflect a deep and profound morass that the current structures cannot solve - despite a genuine desire to do so?

Recently there has been much said, written, and funded to explore the professional personnel side of things. There are very welcome initiatives to redress gaps and glass ceilings for day schools, camps, Hillels, federations, JCC's, synagogues, etc. [In various capacities, I have been deeply involved in several, and I am quite persuaded that these are monies and energies well spent. Note to funders: don't stop now!]

Unquestionably, we have too few people in the Jewish communal professional world, especially given the necessary ratios to really do what is necessary to make a difference in people's lives. And to have more and higher quality people doing this work for enough of their professional lives to make a difference will require all of the well known solutions: higher status, higher salaries, better career ladders, etc. But because the challenges are truly systemic, the solutions will have to go beyond these methods.