Suburban synagogue creates a big-city service
PDF versionA shout out to Next Dor New York and Rabbi Matthew Reimer of Temple B’nai Jeshurun, engaging young Jewish adults in Manhatten.
The Innovation Sector and the Synagogue
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S3K consultant Ramie Arian writes about near-total absence of any mention of the synagogue in Jewish innovation funding circles.
Some Thoughts on Community (Building)
PDF versionJewish Book Council Award
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Congratulations to S3K team members Larry Hoffman and Steven Cohen, and S3K colleagues Isa Aron and Ari Kelman for their book Sacred Strategies: Transforming Synagogues from Functional to Visionary, chosen 2010 Jewish Book Council winner for best book in the Education and Jewish Identity category.
The book, largely a study of the synagogue transformation movement over the last 15 years, is about eight synagogues that reached out and helped people connect to Jewish life in a new way - congregations that had gone from commonplace to extraordinary. Over a period of two years, researchers Aron, Cohen, Hoffman, and Kelman interviewed 175 synagogue leaders and a selection of congregants (ranging from intensely committed to largely inactive). They found these congregations shared six traits: sacred purpose, holistic ethos, participatory culture, meaningful engagement, innovation disposition, and reflective leadership and governance.
Orders yours from Amazon.com
Ron Wolfson's address to the Rabbinical Assembly
PDF versionExploring the Bible video series
PDF versionRick Jacobs recommended as next URJ President
PDF versionAre Synagogues Still Relevant?
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Well obviously, S3K says 'yes!' Rabbi Sid Schwarz offers his take in the New York Jewish Week
In many Jewish gatherings of professionals and lay leaders, fingers are being pointed at the synagogue as an increasingly irrelevant institution... but it would be unwise to write off synagogues just yet. The cumulative cost of all synagogue buildings and professional staff in America represents the single biggest investment of Jewish communal dollars that exists.
Mitzfunder - a new, exciting fundraising platform
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Community-based fundraising is the new philanthropic model. The folks behind Mitzfunder want to create a Jewish-specific, community-based fundraising tool akin to Kickstarter. This is a novel and potentially revolutionary way to fund synagogue initiatives. They're using the same model of fundraising to create their venture - check it out and pledge.
