How to Cultivate an Innovative Congregational Mindset
Where business goes, the Jewish community has followed, with many suggesting that Jewish organizations and institutions, too, face a choice to innovate or die.
Urgency of Now: Join the National Immigrant Justice Campaign
There are currently over 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, many of whom came to this country in hopes of providing a better life for themselves and their families, to reunite with loved ones or to escape persecution in their home countries.
How Jewish Volunteering Helped Me Find the Center of Importance in My Life
Being a 21st-century Jewish leader certainly comes with its challenges - but it's worth it.
10 Ways to Create a Welcoming Culture in Your Congregation
Leaders at almost every synagogue would say their congregation strives to be a welcoming community. The challenge, of course, is how to put that into practice.
A Bridge to Coming Forward and a Pathway to Citizenship: DREAMers, DACA and the Bridge Act
The rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric has the potential for serious policy ramifications.
New Developments Further Challenge the Application of the Death Penalty
How does a state that has not executed a single prisoner since 2005 end up scheduling eight executions and carrying out four of them in ten days?
How Saying “Yes” Transformed my Youth Program
I thought Thursday, September 8th was going to be a typical Thursday evening on a call with teens - an hour-long call in which we'd likely encounter some tech problems, side conversations, and background distractions before everyone rushed off to their next commitment.
Bringing My Teens to the US-Mexico Border: How I Used My Own Passion to Boost Teen Engagement
This spring, Abby Backer brought a group of teens to the US-Mexico border for an immersive learning experience about immigration. How did this experience become part of a Jewish teen program in Chicago?
Is It Time for an Elder Revolution?
The median age of our community is now 50 and every day some 10,000 people turn 65. This boomer cohort has helped redefine American Judaism in the last several decades.
"What Can I Do?" Bringing Together Jewish and Muslim Moms
Through a Jewish/Muslim playgroup, my sister found an answer to a question many of us ask when we learn of incidents of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia: “What can I do?”