Traditional Jewish institutions are facing many of the same issues that concern mainline Christian institutions -- declining participation among young people, increasingly outdated and expensive buildings, centralized institutional structures designed for a 1950s society.
How can and should the role of the rabbi adapt in this new environment? Duke law professor Barak Richman and Jewish innovator Daniel Libenson have tackled this question in a paper focused on rabbinic training.
In "Right-Skilling: Rabbis and the Rabbinic Role for a New Century," Richman and Libenson, pointing to parallels between the U.S. health care system and American Jewry, argue for reforms in rabbinic training and Jewish institutional life.
Using changes in medicine as a model and drawing on Clayton Christensen's theory of organizational innovation, they argue that there's a need for "right-skilling" -- developing and employing professionals with the specific, targeted skills the sector needs.
Rather than training every Jewish clergyperson to fit the mold of the idealized family rabbi who has known every family in the congregation for decades, they argue for employing a decentralized model, in which a team of leaders trained in different specialties work together to facilitate Jewish learning and community.
"You do not need the brain surgeon, because most of your health needs do not involve brain surgery. You might need a nurse practitioner," Richman said. "We don't really need someone who is thoroughly versed in Talmud and hermeneutics or homiletics -- it may be actually what we really need is the camp counselor."
Read more from Barak Richman and Daniel Libenson » |
| | UPCOMING WEBINAR FROM THE CHURCH NETWORK |
WHAT DOES YOUR TEAM NEED RIGHT NOW?
A Webinar with Tom Donaldson February 14, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. (EST)
In this presentation, Executive and Team Coach Tom Donaldson will guide participants in how to achieve clarity in the church and ministry organizations they lead, and explore key practices for team effectiveness, whether it be a ministerial staff, a church leadership board or team, or denominational service group. Key learnings include: Six Critical Questions for Organizational HealthUsing one of these questions to develop a mission/vision statement for internal use or external marketingA fun technique for moving from mission/vision statement to action plansFive practices that undermine team effectiveness and what you can do about them, including:The missing ingredient at the foundation of team cultureThe surprising value of productive conflictWhy accountability is missing in your team, and who is responsibleLearn more and register »
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| | FROM THE ALBAN ARCHIVE: SYNAGOGUE LEADERSHIP |
| From his 2013 Alban book "Playlist Judaism: Making Choices for a Vital Future," Kerry Olitzky here offers ten ways that our understanding of synagogue leadership should recognize how synagogues are changing. Read more from Kerry Olitzky» |
| From his experience in both business and congregations, former Alban Senior Consultant Bob Leventhal gained insights and experience that led him to develop 12 guiding principles for cultivating effective congregational leadership. Read his list here. Read more from Bob Leventhal » |
Tomorrow's Synagogue Today: Creating Vibrant Centers of Jewish Life by Hayim Herring
In the past decade many intelligent people who care deeply about synagogues have written about them. So how is this book different from all other books? Many books take the overall mission of the synagogue as a given, and the recommendations around structure are really about incremental change. Tomorrow's Synagogue Today stimulates the reader to unleash the power of synagogues to exponentially influence people's Jewish lives. Herring offers creative scenarios to stretch the imagination about how more synagogues could become vibrant centers of Jewish life and how congregational leaders can begin to chart a new course toward achieving that goal.
Key to his vision are the ways synagogues can collaborate with other synagogues and other Jewish institutions in the local Jewish community and around the globe, as well as with organizations outside of the Jewish community. Herring also explores structural change that is occurring in the rabbinate, as well as future roles rabbis may play and how rabbis might begin preparing for that future now. He shares insights from twelve rabbis from across the country about new models of synagogue mission, governance, and organization. He concludes with recommendations about the kinds of investments those who care about synagogues and the Jewish future need to make so that synagogues will remain a significant force in the Jewish community.
Learn more and order the book » |
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