Asset based community development

A few weeks ago, my union, the Rabbinical Assembly had a fascinating webinar. It was interesting way of understanding something I’ve grappled with for a long time. Synagogues are in trouble because we’re great with the 15% of those who enter our doors and mediocre with the 85% who are affiliated marginally or are completely indifferent. More and more, we are no longer one people speaking the same language and wanting to share similar experiences.
The 15% are, so to speak, “empowerment Jews.” They are self directed and they know what they want… But the 85% ... are “engagement Jews.” They have deep emotional and spiritual needs but they don’t know what they want. Today we spend 85% of our resources on the 15% and the 15% of money and staffing left is not sufficient to meet the needs of the 85% of the people who want the spirit of the Jewish community, but not in the traditional ways we’ve delivered our services.
Asset based community development was the theme of the webinar and a possible means to address our challenge. When we think about our resources the skills of our members and staff, the geography of our community, our financial resources and our social connections – we realize that we need to rethink the deployment of these resources. I really liked the facilitators use of the “Tipping Point,” by Malcolm Gladwell. We have people in our shuls who are connectors – who have a gift of touching others. Since our goal is not survival but transforming community – we have to use our skills to meet people where they are. What we do is not about programming – but about relationships. This is the center of synagogue life – providing opportunities for personal growth and community connection.
I think we’ve become so focused on institutional growth, that we’ve lost sight of the truth. Synagogue is where people come to meet friends and to experience the sacred. This does not have to be done within the walls of the synagogue. Community is wherever people meet and share and learn and experience the holiness of living Jewishly.
Today synagogues need to lower the boundaries which make accessing Judaism a challenge for so many. The challenges are geographic, social, economic and spiritual. Yet with the right people resources – connecting, being part of a group becomes spiritually desirable. People want to invest their time and energy of the contact is significant, the experience is meaningful and the group is fun and exciting.
Finally, I like this model of engagement because it says that it’s not all about the rabbi. I tend to be the idea person, the teacher and sometimes the inspirer. But I can’t do it all. In this model, the rabbi teaches 10 people who in turn teach 10 more people. Instead of 10 people learning, 100 people study together in their own groups – learning with and from each other, not just from the rabbi. I like this also because I don’t have a monopoly on truth and holiness. Engaging people to find their own meaning and celebration of Jewish life – has to be a plus for Judaism in the 21st Century.

Some things that drive me meshugina

SOME THINGS THAT DRIVE ME CRAZY

I heard that many people post this kind of thing on their blog, so…

It makes me a little crazy when I hear Shabbat nusach on weekday. Weekday melodies are simple and beautiful, they allow a fairly quick pace so that you can go to work or go home in the evening. To hear the fancier, slower Shabbat melodies during the week is like fingernails on a blackboard for me. And vice-versa I go crazy when someone treats Shabbat like weekday and zooms through a davening that to be shabbasdik - takes its time.
One of the way I personally distinguish between Shabbat and a weekday is music … and central to that is how the Shema is recited. I love singing V’Ahvta on Shabbat. It extends the meaning through the music of affirming God’s uniqueness and our love for God. Singing V’Ahvta on weekday makes me feel that it’s Shabbat and I want Shabbat to be Shabbat because I work so hard during the week.
One of the special nuschaot (melodies) of the weekly flow of Jewish music is Saturday Afternoon. It’s a light but kind of sad chant; that says it’s still Shabbat, but the end of the Shabbat is getting closer. Hearing Saturday afternoon melody any other time makes me think: hey, it’s not Saturday afternoon!
In our long Saturday morning service, I want the energy to be in the davening and hopefully in the question and answer. The idea of empty time except for reflection or meditation drives me crazy. There is such beauty in pageantry in the Torah procession and such joy in everyone kissing the Torah as we march around. And yet, I can’t understand that especially on returning the Torah to the Ark, why so many leaders can’t arrive at the Ark at the end of Mizmor L’David. That empty silence waiting for the Torah carrier to arrive to place the Torah in the ark – is a waste. It’s been a long time since I’ve taught it, but we stop on the solos during the procession only to enable the Bar/Bat Mitzvah to be not be distracted during their recitation. Otherwise, the only reason to stop to empower everyone who wants to kiss the Torah. On Saturday morning when we return the Torah to the Ark there’s no reason not have the Torah in the Ark so we can go right into Uvnucho Yomar and Atyz Hayim.
Last, Emails: I find that on a day like last Friday I probably spent 2 hours reading and cleaning up emails. There’s not enough time in the day to respond properly anymore to mail that truly requires thoughtful expression. Worse, and I struggle not to be guilt of this myself, some people are trying to conduct business by email. It’s great for sharing info. It’s wonderful to prep issues for discussion or decision making. But you can’t have a conversation my email, I'm trying to limit myself to answering email now only three times a day. Otherwise, I have no time to study and prepare and have energy for my classes and meetings where good people work to build sacred community.

Usurious interest

Several weeks ago, I attended a meeting with the head of the credit card division of a large national bank. As previous written, in our social justice work, we are concerned that interest rates are destroying the ability of the middle class to enjoy the prosperity we all seek. Usury is religiously prohibited in Western Religious Traditions because it devastates working people’s ability to leverage their work into home and property.
While I didn’t expect the bank to accept an ethical rationale for a cap on credit card interest rates, I was surprised at how dysfunctional the system really is. In normal times, the cost of credit card business is around 14%: 3% for cost of funds, 2% operating costs, 2% marketing, 5% write-downs and around 2% for profit. Today with defaults closer to 10%, it would take and interest rate of 19% to make a 2% profit.
How can this work? … by charging rates of 25-30% for some customers. How can anyone dig out of this kind of credit card balance, when they’ve missed a few payments, and their rate is raised to 29.99%!
And yet looking at this model: it’s not the only model. Not every college kid has to receive offers for credit cards. I don’t know why I receive at least one credit card solicitation by mail every week. Maybe credit cards should not be offered to everyone? I remember my first credit cards in the late '70s and early '80s had rates of 7-8%. Banks still made money in those days with a different model of making a legitimate profit. Maybe in the coming months a different model for bank profit will find its way to the public domain.

The Amidah and God's (and our) freely given love

I was studying last week about the Amidah with a colleague. According to the rabbis, the patriarchs originated the three daily amidahs. That's one of the reasons the prayer begins with "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Yet, how could the patriarchs have established this prayer when the Torah was not even given until hundreds of years after their lives?
I read a new answer, credited to Rabbi Nosson Sterhartz, the recorder of the Bratzlaver Rebbe. Even before the Torah was revealed, there was divine hesed or love. This is the basis of the Torah and in fact, the basis of all creation. Abraham and Sarah prayed to God through this love - they served God in deed and word - experiencing God's love in their lives and reciprocating it with kindness and spirituality. The core of this "service" was 'chesed hinam' or freely given love, love without any thought of return.
This was the foundation of Abraham's life and his legacy to us today. Abraham welcomed strangers. Abraham refused reward for rescuing captives. Abraham tried to save the evil citizens of Sodom. Abraham brought others closer to God. Abraham was a blessing to the world - to people who he touched with his own piece of God's love. Abraham knew of "freely given love" even before the Torah was given. Since Abraham blessed the world with this aspect of the divine, we begin the Amidah with his name and his children's ... who continued this precious, holy legacy. We we rise to recite the Amidah, we, Abraham's children, invoke the source of our prayer: unconditioned, freely given love.

Cheshvan

It's the first day of Cheshvan - the only Hebrew month no holidays, major or minor in the year. Often this month is called: 'Mar' Cheshvan - some think this means, bitter (like Maror) because it has no holidays. Others say, mar (as in Modern Hebrew) means "sir/mister," a symbol of respect. As I wrote in my last post, after all the holidays it's time to breath and get back to normal.
This month makes us think about the resolutions we made during the High Holidays. Are we taking the thoughts and plans which we reflected upon and started to implement those sacred intentions? Have we taken all the energy we invested in seeking to transform our lives and actualized the activity we envisioned? This is the first part of turning the High Holidays into daily holiness.
What I enjoy most about this time though is finding the sacred in the daily mundane aspects of living. I like davening at home in the morning and at minyan in the evening. I enjoy having a little more time for study and more important for people who call or want to meet with me. I guess (and I have for a long time) I do believe in what Max Kadushin taught many years ago: we believe in "normal mysticism." Yes, God can be found in special holidays, wonders of nature and sacred moments of the cycle. But God is also found in every aspect of this world if we would just open our minds and hearts and souls to the wonder and the Presence.

Almost there ...

Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot ... one more big weekend to go. After the incredible crowds, the moving liturgy, the beauty of the Sukkah - the end days of the Fall holidays are weird. Shemini Atzeret, this Shabbat, is this strange day. No more lulav/etrog. Sukkah is optional. Instead we have Kohelet - the Book of Ecclesiastes, Yizkor - the Memorial Service and Geshem - the prayer for rain in Israel. It's kind of serious again, like Yom Kippur, but not so much about our sins - more about our values and our journey. It's a reflection on our quest for meaning in life, in the life of our loved ones and in the life of our community. The rabbis say: after all the pageantry and festivities of Sukkot - the 8th Day is quiet, just those who worship and God enjoying (in many communities) a last day of Fall Holidays.
But for traditional synagogues outside of Israel there is one final celebration: Simchat Torah. After nearly a month of holidays - we party! Finishing the Five Books of Moses and starting over again is for those who experience the cycle filled with joy. We have been privileged to study God's words and to infuse them into our life this past year. And now we will start again - the never ending cycle of listening to the Divine word, culling its values and practices, and living them ever day. It's good to sing and dance with the Torah celebrating our faith, our love and our truth. Hag Sameach...

The Danger of Iran

In several cities around the country today there were rallies to mobilize and publicize about our concerns that Iran constructing nuclear weapons. Our government needs to act with other countries in preventing a clear and present danger.
The Iranian regime under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has become a growing threat to the security and stability of the Middle East and the world. Its support of terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and other similar organizations undermine efforts to achieve peaceful resolutions to local conflicts, and contribute to religious and factional violence that threaten American troops and Israel.
President Ahmadinejad vitriolic rhetoric of Holocaust Denial and affirming the need to destroy the State of Israel may seem ridiculous to many, but are still dangerous. Some may believe that his words are simply political leverage and propaganda - but too often words lead to hate, violence and death.
If these statements are true ... a nuclear capable Iran would be a threat to Israel and US troops and interests in the Middle East, but to the stability of the entire world. While there are disagreements over when they will achieve nuclear independence, there is little debate over their true objective. Whatever the time-line, efforts must be increased to stop Iran from successfully becoming a nuclear power.