The Joy of Giving

A woman from out of town recently attended shabbat services for the bar or bat mitzvah of the grandchild of a friend of hers.

She approached me after services and inquired about a sign she saw in our building. She recognized the names of the people for whom the kitchen is named – Sophie Goldblatt and Paul Cooper and asked about them. I confirmed for her who they were.

She was excited when she realized that she knew the family and had lost touch, as they were neighbors many years ago. I was able to put her in touch with the members who had made the donation in honor of their parents.

What a wonderful tribute to know that these people were able to reconnect after all these years. It just goes to show, you never know the impact a donation may have!

Meeting Challenges to Ensure the Best

Executive Director Alan Blank and I recently attended a fascinating week-long seminar at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago. Part of their Institute for non-profit organizations, we participated in the fourth year of a special program developed for rabbis and synagogue executive directors about synagogue management and administration.

We were taught by an outstanding faculty, all from the highly acclaimed Northwestern Business School. Sessions dealt with a full range of topics including marketing, communication and branding, as well as financial matters such as fundraising, and reading and analyzing financial reports. We also studied leadership models, customer service, crisis management and how to implement change.

I always enjoy studying material from other fields, especially the business model to see how lessons can be applied to our work as a synagogue. Alan and I both gained a great deal from the opportunity to study together with some of the leading professionals in the field, as well as to interact with colleagues and to exchange ideas and learn from them as well. Each professor was better than the next.

Upon our return we had a meeting of our staff to discuss and apply some of what we had learned. We talked about the nature of the mission, vision, goals and purpose of B’nai Tzedek, about what makes our synagogue unique, why people affiliate, and the role of the staff in achieving that mission.

We concluded that among the reasons people join are because of the personal connection they feel, the personal relationships – with each other as well as with our staff, clergy and tradition. The wide variety of programs we sponsor offers multiple opportunities for people to connect to each other, as well as to our faith and heritage. In so doing we create meaning and value, which kindles and fans the flame of Jewish identity and deepens their understanding of and participation in Jewish life. Many other ideas were expressed as well, including being a part of a community that recognizes and embraces our connection to Israel and being a part of a place which nurtures and encourages positive Jewish identity. Needless to say spirituality, life cycle events, quest for God, a place to learn about , explore and express our Judaism are also all part of the central and primary focus of what we do.

One comment at the seminar that I will recall and that made an impression on me is that we should not think of our synagogues or any non-profit organization for that matter as a non-profit entity. While we are not for profit institutions, it would be more accurate to describe us and to conceive of ourselves as non-taxable organizations. We learned that if we think of ourselves as non-profits, and do not think about the business side of running our synagogues we will be out of business and not be able to fulfill the worthy goals of our places of worship.

There are many challenges facing synagogues and other institutions as we try to cope with the changing perception of affiliation and ever-changing reality. We come away better equipped and prepared to meet those challenges, and hope that you will share the goal with us of doing what you can to ensure that B’nai Tzedek remains a dynamic and creative synagogue.

Briefing to Israeli Delegation

Last month I was invited to attend a meeting in New York to brief staff members of Israel’s Knesset who were accompanied by members of the Israeli media. The session was part of a multi-day visit to educate Israeli opinion and decision makers about the American Jewish community. I spoke to them in Hebrew in my capacity as Director of Israel Policy and Advocacy at a luncheon sponsored by the Rabbinical Assembly at the Jewish Theological Seminary. My goal was to explain the nature of the partnership between the American Jewish community and Israel from our perspective. I wanted them to understand the nature of what we do and how significant our role as advocates on behalf of Israel is. I also sought to convey the role that Israel plays in the fabric and life of our synagogues.

To that end, I spoke about the high level of participation of Conservative Jews in national Zionist organizations such as AIPAC, Jewish National Fund, as leaders Jewish Federations of North America and of Israel Bonds. I also shared with them information about the work we did to help galvanize support for Israel in the United Nations to thwart the effort of the Palestinian Authority for member status without direct negotiations with Israel this past September. I spoke about our access to and lobbying of members Congress and the administration on behalf of Israel, as well as the visits to embassies that came to the aid of Israel to help extinguish the Carmel fire in December of 2010.

I also spoke about the role that Israel plays in our individual congregations. Among the things that I referred to were congregational trips to Israel and the regular recitation of the prayer for the State of Israel at shabbat services. I made mention of the pride we take in sending so many young people to Israel along with the educational programs we have sponsored to help prepare our young people for Israel related issues and anti-Israel propaganda they may encounter on college campuses.