Archive for February, 2012

 

Your Record is Now Permanent

Posted on: February 16th, 2012 by Hayim Herring
Footprint in the sand

Photo by manuel cazzaniga on Fotopedia

The death of Whitney Houston is a very sad event. From scenes of her singing in a gospel choir as a teen to recent television interviews-so much of her life has been laid bare in public. There is an incredible amount about her that is permanently available to the world.

This intense week of coverage made me reconsider a phrase from the Rosh ha-Shanah Musaf prayer: “Under Your gaze, all hidden things come to light…For nothing is forgotten before the throne of Your glory, and nothing is hidden from Your eyes” (Musaf Amidah, Koren Sacks Rosh ha-Shanah Mahzor). This is what we say about God, but now we, too, have the technology to make so much of our lives available to the public for anyone to view.

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Tomorrow’s Synagogue Today: My New Book is Now Available

Posted on: February 8th, 2012 by Hayim Herring
Order your copy of Tomorrow's Synagogue Today on Amazon

Eternal light designers/artists: Michael Berkowicz and Bonnie Srolovitz-Berkowicz; Cover photo: Marcie Ward (Synagogue: Temple Israel, Orlando, FL)

In the not too distant past-as recently as a decade or so ago-when people wanted to do good, they volunteered for a non-profit that reflected and practiced their values. The hierarchy would acculturate them into the “right way” of doing the work. If they were reasonably competent, they would be promoted up the ranks and often contributed a lifetime of volunteer service.

But that era is over. Today, with the Internet and social media, anyone can become educated about an issue, select a cause, inexpensively raise funds, market and mobilize large numbers of people around it. Individuals can contribute a large amount of good to the world without the help of non-profit organizations and can cultivate a global, loyal base of followers, at least for a limited amount of time. In that case, what is the purpose of a non-profit organization today? How do volunteers and professionals, who understand that non-profits both serve and transcend particular causes, lead in this environment?

As I know the Jewish community well-and the synagogue best-these are the kinds of topics that I explore in Tomorrow’s Synagogue Today: Creating Vibrant Centers of Jewish Life, published by the Alban Institute. They touch upon the very purpose, structure, theology and leadership of synagogues and other Jewish organizations. Are these core issues of synagogue life, as they are expressed today, adequate for a new century?

Many other institutions that were essential last century have experienced turbulence and realize that their continued relevance and existence in our global, mobile, connected environment cannot be taken for granted. Synagogues are no different. I hope that Tomorrow’s Synagogue Today: Creating Vibrant Centers of Jewish Life will stimulate a fresh, hopeful and helpful conversation about synagogues and the transition that they must make to ensure their continued impact on Jewish life.

To pre-order your copy of Tomorrow’s Synagogue Today, please visit the Alban Institute’s website (Alban members receive a 20% discount!) or Amazon.

Thank you and B’shalom,

Rabbi Hayim Herring

Leadership in a Time of Flux

Posted on: February 2nd, 2012 by Hayim Herring

By Colin_K on Flickr

The recently concluded World Economic Forum‘s 2012 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland has posted the uncurated library of content, blog posts, tweets, videos and more from the meeting on its website.  One session that caught my eye was titled “The Davos Debrief: Leadership and Innovation Models.”

This session discussed how leaders are usually held accountable for not dealing effectively with crises, “when the real problem is the failure of organizational structures to respond to newly developing situations.”  It highlighted the Eurozone debt crisis, noting that while Europe has “plenty of leaders,” its existing organizational structures are not capable of handling these unanticipated problems that the EU is now facing.  In other words, they weren’t built to adapt to radically different realities.

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