Posts Tagged ‘Judaism’

 

Do Synagogue Movements (Except for Chabad) Know What They Really Sell?

Posted on: April 24th, 2013 by Hayim Herring

 
 

My friend and colleague, Dr. Jim Schreier, sent me a link to an article called, “The Only Thing Apple Really Sells,” that inspired the content of this post. The gist of the article is that Apple does not sell hardware, software or cloud-based solutions. Rather, Apple sells an ecosystem. Their products and services are, “one-way tickets to platform archipelagos, to fiercely guarded fiefdoms where everything works in harmony within walls that are high and strong. And the longer you’re inside, the harder it is to leave.” The author of the article goes on to say, “That’s (an ecosystem) the endgame. An ecosystem so interconnected, entwined so tightly, that you can’t leave even if you wanted to. It’s not hardware, or software. It’s a family of products, apps, services, and accessories with the gravitational pull of a black hole. And Apple, today, simply does it better than anybody else.”

 

Do denominational synagogue lay and professional leaders understand that they are really selling a Jewish ecosystem? Or, do they fall into the understandable default position of selling “membership” (a product). (more…)

Look Past the Label

Posted on: February 8th, 2011 by Hayim Herring

Photo by olaf.herfurth*

For many years, sociologists and Jewish pundits have been predicting the rise of Jews who defy denominational labels. And, they are here to stay! Often, the independent minyanim types tend to become the focus of study and observation. But they aren’t the only ones out there.

There’s another group of people who deserve equal attention. They are serious about their Judaism and they’re equally serious about not fitting into a box that someone else has defined for them. Unlike independent minyanim’ers, it isn’t that they necessarily reject denominations. It’s just that no single denomination can contain their eclecticism.

A friend of mine referred me to a recent TJJewfolk.com post by Nina Badzin, entitled The Rise of Reformadox Judaism. It’s a well-written, edgy piece that precisely captures this other group, which I sense is much larger numerically than the indie minyan crowd. (Full-disclosure-I know the author.)

I encourage you to read this post and the many comments that follow. As you do, you might want to think about some of the following questions: if you’re involved in a denominational synagogue, how do you keep someone like author engaged in your community? What appeal does membership have to someone like the author? And ultimately, what are the possible pros and cons to the Jewish community in general as we see more Ninas claim their place?

Rabbi Hayim Herring

*Photo olaf.herfurth via wikimediacommons

You Can’t be Someone Else, You Can Only be More Fully Yourself

Posted on: November 19th, 2010 by Hayim Herring

When I first began working as a congregational rabbi, I used to ask my wife to comment on my sermons. One day she said to me, “your sermon was good, but do you have to sound so preachy?” I thought that was a funny question to ask a “preacher.” But I’ve learned over the years that the most effective preaching doesn’t sound preachy. Years later, in the work that I did when I was executive director of STAR, I was introduced to Eda Roth, who is a communications specialist and this week’s guest blogger. Eda explains how rabbis and all people involved in public communications benefit when they step out of their role and step back into their authentic selves.  Hayim Herring

Rabbi Hayim Herring has quoted me as saying “You cannot be someone else. You can only be more fully yourself.” What does that mean? Most people express a narrow range of themselves. We all develop habits and stay within a certain range of expression. Professionalism adds even more constrictions. Whether business, healthcare, non-profits or the Rabbinate, there seems to be an agreed upon, accepted set of limitations called “what is appropriate” or “professional”.

Recently when working with rabbinical students, I heard a generic commonality in what and how they were expressing, rather than the vibrant individuality and uniqueness of who they really were, with their insights, passion and genuine desire to reach people. Granted, as students they were beginning to learn effective modes of constructing sermons and messages, but the danger was that some of those early habits would become entrenched and limit them and their capacity to genuinely inspire others; that they would stay within a rather safe, comfortable, borrowed and habituated range.

There is an unmistakable ring of truth when we touch genuine chords of who we are – our individuality, passion understanding, insight – and allow those to be heard and felt. That’s the power of words made manifest. If our expression is timid, or limited, if we are afraid to be loud enough to be heard, or so bombastic that we are not making our own genuine connections with the text and allow that to be heard, then our communication is not genuine.

Years ago a rabbi came to me for voice coaching. He felt his voice was constricted and reported that he would run out of breath. As we worked, we addressed not only on the dynamics of the voice, but his connection to what he was saying in his sermons. Were his messages coming across as compellingly as he desired? Was he really reaching people? We continued to explore the message itself, his real connection to what he was saying, the fullness and freedom of how he was saying it, and whether and when he was genuinely connecting with those to whom he was speaking (whether a Bar Mitzvah or a congregation).

In connecting with text or Torah, it comes most alive when we bring our insights, understanding and passion to the text, and allow those to express THROUGH the text. It’s then that truth and meaning become immediate real and alive, not just historical cultural memory and wisdom revisited. Say, for example, we are quoting from Proverbs, “Trust in God with all your heart and lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge God and God will direct your paths.” We first, of course, begin with the text itself. What is it saying? How is meaning conveyed through the construct of language itself? What is the architecture of the language, the arc of the phrasing? Then we address how we enter and fulfill that text. If we bring what we know, understand, have lived of those words to our expression of the text, then it becomes present and alive with meaning. Our understanding, our individuality, what we know and have lived of that text enables us to become a transparency for the truth of the text and IS what reveals meaning. It is not reducing the text to us, but allowing who we are to come through the text. We then become a link in the chain of generations through which the word is not only passed down, but is alive, real and immediate. That is then the power of the word, expressed and felt.

How honest, how daring, how real are we willing to be? More than a repeating or rehearsed expression, do we express ourselves genuinely, authentically? That can only happen if the fullness of who we really are is opened and available. We bring our intellectual understanding, our passion, compassion, the fullness of our voices available to reveal that expression, and most of all; great love of truth and of all to whom we communicate. We do not constrict or circumscribe expression, but ultimately allow and reveal.

It is a noble goal – to inspire – to breathe divine life into – others; to allow that divine life to breathe into us.

Eda Roth
Eda Roth & Associates
Real Presence and Communication

Eda Roth is a communications consultant who uses her acting and directing skills to enable people be more value-based, genuine, strategic and clear. You can reach her at edaroth@aol.com.

New Year, New Blog, New Book Idea

Posted on: October 4th, 2010 by Hayim Herring

This summer, I unexpectedly learned the difference between writing the book I planned to write and writing the book I had to write. The book I originally planned to write – Tools for Shuls – was about helping synagogues build their core capacities (areas like marketing, volunteer engagement, fundraising, etc.). But the writing felt like a real chore, and not like the temporary kind of writer’s block that I’ve experienced before. With the help of family and some friends, I reluctantly recognized that there was a different book idea inside of me that insisted on getting out. If you’ve ever been possessed by an idea, then you know what I’m talking about!

So I’m now writing and enjoying it, and while I don’t have an exact name for the book yet (working title: MySynagogue.org: Visions of a 21st Century Synagogue), it’s going to still rest on the assumption that synagogues will continue to do the work of God, Torah and Israel (all broadly defined), but be guided by two premises: it’s time for them to re-examine both 1) their fundamental purposes and 2) and their fundamental organizing structures. It will be different from other books on synagogues, which still generally take the general structures and purposes of synagogues as givens, and focus on either improving them or highlighting some of the functions while de-emphasizing others.

It wasn’t easy coming to grips with this change, given how invested I was in the first idea. But at the same time, I’ll be able to incorporate much of what I’ve learned from you and my own reading into the new book project. So many aspects of the world have changed since I first started writing, but then again – we’re entering a new year, so it’s time for me to embrace it.

One last note – if you don’t want to remain on my distribution list, please let me know. But I hope that you will and more important, that you’ll continue to add your voice to a new conversation.

Wishing you and your loved ones a healthy, purposeful and prosperous new year.

Rabbi Hayim Herring, Ph.D.

A Serious Man: An Ad for Rabbinical School?

Posted on: November 2nd, 2009 by Hayim Herring

My wife and I finally had a chance to see the Coen brothers’ new movie, A Serious Man. In addition to enjoying the Coen brothers’ movies, we had to see it because it’s set in our neighborhood, St. Louis Park, MN. Some scenes were shot in a local synagogue and the old Talmud Torah building in which the Coen boys studied (affectionately called, “Talmud Torture”). And several of those who had minor parts are friends or acquaintances.

Enough people have reviewed the film so all that I’ll say generally is it is indeed like a modern day take-off on the Biblical book of Job, with a lot more irony and less resolution. What I want to explore in greater depth, though, is the treatment of the three rabbis.

The old European rabbi (Marshak) is barely accessible to the public and one approaches him with foreboding. But, Marshak expresses a deep humanity to the fully-acculturated and Americanized bar mitzvah boy. When the modern-day Job, Larry Gopnik, tells his tale of personal and professional disintegration, the Junior Rabbi (Scott) responds with a sunny theory about life’s meaning. When Gopnik finally meets with the Senior Rabbi (Nachtner), he offers Gopnik what we learn is a canned story that is either utter nonsense or a deep parable for theological counsel, further exasperating Gopnik. And Marshak—he closes his door to Gopnik, as if to say that Gopnik will have to accept whatever questionable wisdom there is from the present generations of rabbis and not look wistfully toward some nostalgic age when rabbis allegedly knew the true meaning of life’s pains.

In short, you’re served rabbis who are detached (Marshak), demented (Nachtner), or deluded (Scott)–not exactly an advertisement for rabbinical school. Yet, their words of “wisdom” reappear in various scenes in the film, in the mouths of Gopnik and other characters. Now remember—this is a Coen brothers movie, so you have to be prepared for their ability to play with our minds, and leave us guessing whether a scene is meaningful, meaningless or just plain paradoxical. But is there some truth to their portrayal of rabbis? Do rabbis appear that detached and inaccessible from others? Does trying to live life on a different spiritual plane (which anyone can attempt) make those who do the envy of others because it looks like they’ve “figured things out”? If you were writing the script, how would you portray the rabbis?

At the end of the movie credits, there’s an advisory which reads, “No Jews were harmed in the making of this film.” But, did the Coen brothers help or harm the image of the rabbi and American-style liberal Judaism? What do you think?

Thanks,

Rabbi Hayim Herring

What’s Another Term for Volunteer?

Posted on: July 16th, 2009 by Hayim Herring

Volunteering for the Jewish community is not a new phenomenon. Those who know some Bible often point to Exodus 25:1, when God invited the Israelites to offer their gifts for the construction of the tabernacle. Biblical sacrifice, the primary way of connecting with God, allows for individuals to make a free will or voluntary offering as well.  (Leviticus 22:21).

In the Middle Ages, a structure of volunteer societies existed to meet social welfare and educational needs. And many of today’s venerable educational and social welfare organizations grew from pressing, unmet needs which arose over a century ago. So if volunteering is so deeply embedded in Jewish culture, why do we lack a vocabulary to describe the act of volunteering? (And thanks to Jill Friedman Fixler for raising this question.)

Here’s my guess: from Biblical through the late medieval periods, the framework within the Jewish community for doing good was that of “commandment” or “obligation.” Doing good was not optional, but obligatory.  In fact, the Talmud states that one who is commanded to fulfill a right action is actually greater than one who voluntarily takes on an obligation. That idea runs counter to our thinking today. Many of us probably believe that doing good because you want to is superior to doing good because you have to.

But at a time when we value autonomy, maybe it’s time to develop a vocabulary for the act of volunteering for a congregation. Having such terms can heighten appreciation for the work of volunteers and rethink our relationships with them. For example, the root meaning of the Biblical Hebrew word for a voluntary offering translates as “noble.” That can suggest that we consider some acts of volunteering as acts of nobility. For those who know Hebrew, what words would you suggest? And for everyone, aside from “volunteer,” are there other English terms we might use? Looking forward to hearing from you.

Rabbi Hayim Herring

Volunteers: A Great Treasure

Posted on: June 18th, 2009 by Hayim Herring

While I can’t remember the source, there’s a beautiful story that describes how a man sets out on a worldwide quest to find the greatest treasure in the world. After wandering the world, he returns home and digs underneath his own kitchen floor and—finds that the treasure had been there all along. The treasure has been there all along….

This story makes me think about the hidden treasures that are right in the middle of congregations: namely, volunteers. Why?

Let’s look at some basic demographic characteristics of American Jews, relative to other ethnic and religious groups:

Members of congregations are amazing underutilized assets! 

In 2004, Dr. Amy Sales, noted Jewish researcher at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Life at Brandeis University, published a study entitled The Congregations of Westchester in which she provided rich data on congregational life from 16 congregations. She asked participants to respond to the statement, the “synagogue makes good use of my skills and abilities.” A mere 34% of respondents agreed with that statement. In a related vein, 66% of the “rank and file” membership reported that they were “not at all active” in their congregation.

Imagine what congregational life could be like if these statistics were reversed, so that 66% of congregational members reported that the synagogue makes good use of their skills and abilities and 33% of the members reported that they were not at all active in their congregation!

So, here are two questions I’d like you to respond to:

  1. How can synagogues make more members feel that they make good use of their members’ skills and abilities?
  2. How can synagogues increase the number of “rank and file” members who want to volunteer their time for some aspect of synagogue life? 

Rabbi Hayim Herring

Photo from flickr.com  MoBikeFed

Don’t Forget the Personal in PC

Posted on: May 22nd, 2009 by Hayim Herring

The acronym PC originally meant personal computer. This represented a revolution, putting powerful computing tools once only used by corporations into the hands of individuals. But personal should have another dimension. We shouldn’t forget that technology must be a reflection of the personal touch that a church or synagogue aspires to provide.

In the prior post on technology, people noted that technology should be thought of as just another way to reach and teach members in the community. If you have people leading the technology team in your congregation who are easily attracted to the latest trends and toys in technology, take caution. Make sure you also have people who know less about technology, and more about building community. 

For example, many congregations have four generations of members.  Let’s assume that the majority of members at least access the congregation website, which you’ve just redesigned.  Did you ever think about the font size used for text? For some who are older, trying to read it is like trying to hear from an inadequate sound system in the sanctuary.  One of the ways you can help people into your “electronic front door” is to have a button which enlarges the size of the font.  This sounds like a small matter, but if older members have difficulty reading the website, what message are you sending to them? You’re implicitly saying that your congregation doesn’t understand their abilities—not the message we want to send to our elders, who have often been loyal supporters of the congregation!

Another example: how easy is it to use the automated voicemail system. Is there a long message before an option to get information? Is the staff directory accurate? (I often find that trying to locate the extension of a Rabbi after hours is especially difficult because some directories consider “rabbi” a part of the name!) If you get caught in the equivalent of voicemail devil’s triangle, you’re again sending the unintentional message that you’re not attentive to your congregants.

So here’s a suggestion. If you have an adult education committee meeting, invite people to come in 15 minutes earlier to give feedback on the adult learning section of your website.  You can do the same if you have a sisterhood or brotherhood meeting—ask members to review their activities page and the website in general. You can follow a similar process for getting feedback on your voicemail system.

As you review your technologies, try to keep the following questions in front of you:

  1. Do your communications technologies serve your members’ needs, and how do you know that’s  true?
  2. Are they consistent with each other so that key information is easily accessible and accurate?

If you do try to solicit feedback from committee members please share what you’ve learned.  Additionally, let our readers know what simple changes you have made to help better connect members to you’re congregation.

Thanks—and looking forward to your responses and experiences!

Rabbi Hayim Herring

photo from flickr.com, Kaptain Kobold

Personal Confessions: Spirituality Lost and Found

Posted on: May 4th, 2009 by Hayim Herring

Before we leave the topic of spirituality, we’re going to take a look at a critical factor in creating spiritual communities: the Rabbi. I’ve tried not to be blatantly biographical, but I’m making an exception in talking about spirituality. Why? I can generalize about congregations, but I can’t generalize about “rabbis and spirituality,” because each rabbi has a unique path and story.

I wonder, is spirituality a generational issue?  I don’t remember my rabbi, of blessed memory, using that word when I was growing up in the ‘70’s. Nor do I remember him often mentioning God (I could be wrong on that last score but don’t believe so.)  I attended The Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) from 1976 to 1985 (undergrad and reb school), and again don’t remember the words spirituality or God mentioned all that much.

I loved my education at JTS and remain grateful for it to this very day. But the approach to Jewish living in those years generally excluded discussions about God, faith and spirituality from the curriculum, except in the most abstract academic manner, although some of us frequently discussed those issues well into the night as students, especially over Shabbat evening meals. We had no or few role models to raise these issues with and we really felt that not too many of our faculty members concerned themselves with the exploration of their own life of faith, or if they did, they didn’t seem very willing to share these issues with us. In fact, I would even say that our education undermined the cultivation of spiritual feelings.  Pretty sad, considering that many of us entered school with a serious belief in God, even if it wasn’t the most sophisticated theological understanding of the Divine.
 
I can’t detail my encounters with spirituality during 10 years of Congregational life, seven years of Federation life and seven years of Foundation life. And of course, a lot in life has happened during these years outside of work.  While I periodically experienced spiritual moments in all of these iterations, I felt that I was undergoing a slow, spiritual death.  In retrospect, I don’t fault my work environments much, although none of them were conducive to intentionally cultivating spirituality. 

What I realized is that I had allowed myself to drift from my own spiritual moorings to the point of cynicism. As spirituality became more of a buzzword, I felt that spirituality was another form of narcissism clothed in religious vocabulary.

For whatever the reasons, I am grateful to say that I have felt the resurgence of spiritual feelings.  For me, that means paying greater awareness to those around me, to what I do and how I do it, to learning from those who have spent more time on doing their own spiritual work and reading more about spiritual masters.  Prayer feels richer, relationships feel deeper, the meaning of everyday moments is greater, and my questions about existential meaning are more insistent.  So that has been my path of spiritual enchantment, disenchantment, and re-enchantment.

What’s your story?

Rabbi Hayim Herring

image from Flickr.com, Image Zen

Welcome to the Tools for Shuls Blog!

Posted on: December 4th, 2008 by Hayim Herring
You’re invited to contribute to a book about synagogues, churches and other non-profit organizations. The working title is Tools for Shuls: A Guide to Makeover Your Synagogue. (Shul is Yiddish for “synagogue”). The Alban Institute is the publisher, and the book should be in print about a year from this spring or even sooner. While the title of the book has the word “synagogue” in it, anyone who cares about improving the impact of nonprofit organizations potentially has something to offer. By posting on this blog, you will expand the knowledge of how religious organizations can elevate their performance and still maintain their spirit. And, if I use your idea, you will be credited in the book.

I’m looking forward to a rich conversation on the blog. I plan to post an entry every week. Some of the issues that I hope to explore include:

  • introducing innovation in a setting which is geared for preservation and adaptation
  • appreciating the value of assessment as a tool for synagogue learning and growth
  • increasing the number of synagogue volunteers and improving their experience
  • digital dreaming, that is, using technology to extend the reach of synagogues.
  • These are just a sample of some of the topics that I hope we can explore together. Please share your wisdom by commenting on these posts and help to make synagogues and other faith-based organizations even more vital today.

    Throughout the almost 25 years that I have been a rabbi I’ve worked in and around synagogues, and have been inspired by many synagogue clergy and volunteers. I also know how incredibly complex synagogues are and how clergy are often insufficiently prepared for executive leadership and management roles. Volunteer leaders would enjoy a more satisfying experience if they also had some additional tools and knowledge to help them fulfill their synagogue roles. This book is an effort to fill in some of those fundamental gaps. So please share your wisdom and help bring your aspirations of your synagogue or church in this areas to life!

    If you haven’t already read my first post, Pick the Low Hanging Fruit or Reach for the Stars?, please scroll back up to read it and then share your thoughts.

    Thank you,

    Rabbi Hayim Herring