Learning & Resources Category: Research

Reimagining Israel Education

Reimagining Israel Education is a major field-wide new initiative that offers a fresh approach and educational framework for Israel education.

To support and strengthen the broader Israel education field, the Jim Joseph Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, and The Jewish Education Project collaborated with many partners committed to Reimagining Israel Education. Over 18 months, the initiative surveyed more than 400 stakeholders and engaged thought leaders, researchers, Jewish educators and learners to produce a landscape analysis and develop a new educational framework to advance Israel education post-October 7, 2023. This framework emerged from the field-wide process and reflects broad collaboration. We share it with gratitude to many partners.

Reimagining Israel Education provides the field of Jewish education with data-driven conclusions about challenges and opportunities, recommendations for change and a strategic framework for growth and impact. New educational principles rooted in this framework will cultivate in learners a powerful, resilient and enduring connection to Israel.

Learn more how Reimagining aims to help the field work toward a new vision where Israel is integrated into Jewish learning across ages and settings—honestly, holistically, and authentically.

View the Reimagining Israel Education website with background information and the new educational principles.

Read a thought piece in eJewish Philanthropy by Dr. David Bryfman and Rabbi Dena Klein of The Jewish Education Project, and Dr. Beth Cousens, lead consultant for the initiative.

GELS Detecting Early Signals with a Longitudinal Lens

As part of the Foundation’s efforts to cultivate Exceptional Jewish Leaders and Educators (EJLE), the Foundation commissioned Rosov Consulting to partner in accomplishing two objectives:

  1. To systematize and consolidate what can be learned over time about the profiles of participants enrolled in professional development programs offered by 15 EJLE grantee organizations
  2. To capture the outcomes realized by those organizations alongside the participants’ professional trajectories over the years following their participation in programs offered by the grantee organizations

Two ongoing research efforts are working toward these goals:

  1. An annual audit of participants in EJLE-supported professional development experiences, designed to provide a broad, cross-sectional picture of who is engaging in these opportunities
  2. The Growing Educators and Leaders Study (GELS), a longitudinal panel study, is designed to examine the professional lives, growth trajectories, and career sustainability of Jewish educators and leaders, and to deepen understanding of how professional development, workplace conditions, and institutional contexts shape educators’ experiences over time

This report presents findings from the second of these efforts and addresses questions that are central to the Foundation’s ongoing learning agenda: How stable are educators’ commitments to Jewish educational work? Where do we see change over time, and where do we not? How are professional development, supervision, and workplace conditions associated with educators’ satisfaction, sense of efficacy, and intentions to remain in the field?

Access the interim report: GELS Detecting Early Signals with a Longitudinal Lens, Rosov Consulting, January 2026

Read a thought piece in eJewish Philanthropy authored by Rosov Consulting’s Alex Pomson sharing insights from the research.

Setting Their “Sites” On The Future: A New Shared Campus Collaboration

This case study, authored by Susan Wolf Ditkoff, reveals the behind-the-scenes story of the Hebrew College–Temple Reyim Shared Campus: its roots from the perspective of each partner, its intertwined trunk as the “deal” grafted together (and nearly unraveled), and its budding branches that each partner hoped would grow as new opportunities emerged in the years to come.

The history of this Shared Campus unfolded over four broad phases: Dreaming, Exploring, Aligning, and Launching (conveniently, “DEAL”). In reality, these phases were not quite so linear. But with 20/20 hindsight, the phases of the deal are clear.

Phase I: Dream
When an organization considers any new collaboration or alliance, the goal of the initial Dream phase should be to dream big before homing in on the best path forward. At this stage it is critical to open the aperture and tackle “the Big Why” without getting bogged down in the details of any specific path forward. The Dream phase should cast a wide net and lean into the theme of imagine, imagine, imagine.

Phase II: Explore
Once the Dream phase has identified a high potential option, then what? The goal of the Explore phase is to zoom in from the big dream starting point and ask the clear-eyed, no-kidding questions about what it might really take to bring a collaboration to life. The Explore phase should inform the dream by developing different scenarios and options, and lean into the theme of learn, learn, learn.

Phase III: Align
As the ancient Greek proverb warns, “Many’s the slip ’twixt the cup and the lip.” It’s hard to imagine more sage advice for the Align phase of a collaboration. The goal of the Align phase is to hammer out the niggling, seemingly endless details and land a signed financial and operating agreement. The theme of this phase is negotiate, negotiate, negotiate—the more granular the better.

Phase IV: Launch
Once the deal is signed, the work is far from over; in fact, it’s just beginning. The goal of the Launch phase is to share the new plans with each entity’s constituents, answer questions from the broader public, and generate excitement about the move. The theme of this phase is communicate, communicate, communicate.

Read the case study: Setting Their “Sites” On The Future: A New Shared Campus Collaboration, Susan Wolf Ditkoff, December 2025

Read an op-ed in eJewish Philanthropy on early outcomes of the shared campus by Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, president of Hebrew College, Rabbi Dan Berman, senior rabbi of Temple Reyim, Judith Rosenbaum, CEO of the Jewish Women’s Archive, and Jordan Namerow, president of Mayyim Hayyim’s board of directors.

Ideas that Influence: Understanding and Supporting the Ecosystem of Jewish Thought Leadership

View the executive summary, report summary and deep dives for Ideas that Influence: Understanding and Supporting the Ecosystem of Jewish Thought Leadership.

Background:

This study, conducted by Mission Bloom and funded by Maimonides Fund and the Jim Joseph Foundation, addresses a critical challenge: the need for strategic development of Jewish thought leadership beyond serendipitous growth. While cultivating these essential voices is valued, systematic approaches to do so have been limited.

Through interviews with 30 established thought leaders, an informal survey of over 250 Jewish communal professionals, and extensive field analysis, this research mapped a subsection of the landscape of contemporary Jewish thought leadership and explored the experiences of thought leaders influencing public discourse and decision-making in mainstream pluralistic organizations and communities. It reveals distinctive qualities of Jewish thought leadership and identifies crucial support systems required for its strengthening.

Key Findings: 

  • Jewish Thought Leadership Is Distinctive
  • A Diverse Ecosystem of Voices Exists, Supporting Different Methods of Influence
  • Development Is Non-Linear and Multi-Pathway
  • A Complex Ecosystem Sustains and Supports Jewish Thought Leadership —
    But Faces Challenges

In addition to key findings and recommendations for the field, the report includes four “deep dives” on specific aspects of the research:

  • The Nature of Jewish Thought Leadership: Explore the fundamental characteristics, roles, and types of influence that define Jewish thought leadership today, drawing distinctions from related concepts.
  • Personas and Pathways: Understand the distinct approaches Jewish thought leaders employ, examining their developmental journeys, motivations, and strategic pathways for impact.
  • Mapping the Landscape: Analyze the human infrastructure and contextual environment that supports or constrains Jewish thought leaders, including mentorship, networks, and institutional dynamics.
  • Framework for Action: Discover actionable insights and strategic points for cultivating the next generation of Jewish thought leaders and fostering a vibrant future for the field.

View the executive summary, report summary and deep dives for Ideas that Influence: Understanding and Supporting the Ecosystem of Jewish Thought Leadership.

From Calling to Career: Mapping the Current State and Future of Rabbinic Leadership

Access the executive summary and full report: “From Calling to Career: Mapping the Current State and Future of Rabbinic Leadership,” Commissioned by: Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation and conducted by Rosov Consulting

Over the past decade, Jewish leaders have sounded an alarm about the state of the rabbinic pipeline in the United States: the system through which rabbis are identified, trained, placed, and retained in roles of Jewish leadership. While it is widely recognized that the number of rabbis entering the field has not kept pace with communal demand, especially in congregational settings, much of the discourse has relied on anecdotes or incomplete data. To move beyond conjecture, Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation commissioned this study, conducted by Rosov Consulting, to provide the first data-driven picture of the contemporary American rabbinate and rabbinic pipeline. Its goal: to clarify what is happening across the rabbinic pipeline in the US and inform coordinated strategies to strengthen the field.

Key Findings: The State of the Current Rabbinate

  • Deep meaning and widespread burnout coexist – 97% of rabbis report their work as rewarding, while burnout and emotional overload are forcing exits
  • Congregational roles remain dominant, but are losing appeal (non-congregational roles are growing yet remain underpaid and structurally weaker)
  • The rabbinic workforce is aging: (of the 4,144 rabbis active, only 6% are under 35, while 26% are over 65; an age profile older than Christian clergy)

Key Findings: The Future of the Rabbinate

  • Enrollment has declined at large denominational seminaries but appears to be reaching a new equilibrium
  • Smaller and non-denominational seminaries are growing
  • Students entering today are demographically distinct (majority second career; more women; more LGBTQ+; more Jews-by-Choice and those raised in multi-heritage households; more Jews of Color)
  • The calling remains extremely strong, but practical training and career barriers (financial, time, relocation, career viability) are the most powerful deterrents

Key Insights:

  • Burnout is the silent emergency shaping the present and the future of the rabbinate.
  • We are not replacing rabbis fast enough to keep pace with aging exit patterns.
  • The challenge is not inspiration. The challenge is that the path is too costly, too risky, too hard to access.
  • Institutional architecture is behind where rabbinic leadership is naturally emerging (nondenominational, multisector, diverse identity, innovation-driven spaces).
  • The barriers are practical, not ideological. They can be addressed.

There is a substantial population of potential future rabbis who would pursue this calling out of love for the Jewish people and a desire to serve, yet are held back by practical concerns. Many of these prospective rabbis are second-career adults with family responsibilities that make current pathways inaccessible. Many of the leaders we most need are the very ones most likely to be shut out. At the same time, many current rabbis face misalignment between workload, institutional support, and long-term sustainability. The work is deeply meaningful, but the emotional demand is profound. These deterrents matter, but they are not immovable. This moment offers a powerful opportunity for the
field to co-create meaningful solutions.

Access the executive summary and full report: “From Calling to Career: Mapping the Current State and Future of Rabbinic Leadership,” Commissioned by: Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation and conducted by Rosov Consulting

Talent Unlocked: Recruitment Solutions for the Jewish Nonprofit Sector

Access the full report: “Talent Unlocked: Recruitment Solutions for the Jewish Nonprofit Sector,” Leading Edge and PSB Insights, October 2025

Leading Edge and PSB Insights designed this study to learn how the Jewish nonprofit sector could better recruit talent to work in this field. The overarching question guiding this work was, “What’s stopping the sector from recruiting outside talent?”

Key Findings

  • Compensation is key. When considering a new job, compensation is the top factor for all groups. Mission counts too but salary is still by far the biggest factor.
  • Jews like Jewish nonprofits — but only when they know them well. Jewish talent isn’t always familiar with Jewish organizations, but when they are, they perceive them positively and are willing to consider working there.
  • “The Surge” is real — more Jews are interested in working in the sector — but we need to address rising antisemitism to leverage that interest.
  • Gen Z is here — and they’re different. Gen Z professionals have more varied expectations than other generations, and Gen Z Jews have different relationships to Jewish and pro-Israel organizations.
  • The biggest barriers for top non-Jewish talent are fit and familiarity. Few non-Jewish workers are familiar with our field and even fewer are likely to consider working in it. But these barriers are surmountable; when people get to know the reality of Jewish organizations, they’re much likelier to consider joining.
  • Government workers and nonprofit workers are an incredible talent opportunity in this moment. With layoffs affecting the federal workforce and nonprofits, copious skilled and experienced talent is up for grabs.

Access the full report: “Talent Unlocked: Recruitment Solutions for the Jewish Nonprofit Sector,” Leading Edge and PSB Insights, October 2025

The Hope Study: What Jewish Professionals Told Us About Hope in a Time of Crisis

Access the abridged report, the full report, and a webinar of key findings for “The Hope Study: What Jewish Professionals Told Us About Hope in a Time of Crisis,” conducted by M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, October 2025

The Hope Study, conducted by M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, surveyed nearly 950 Jewish communal professionals across North America. Conducted in the summer of 2025, the Hope Study was the largest effort of its kind to understand how Jewish professionals are sustaining—or losing—hope during a time of unprecedented crisis.

The study found that only 24% of Jewish communal professionals often feel hopeful about the future, compared to 82% of the U.S. population, with internal divisions within Jewish communities—not external threats—emerging as the greatest obstacle to sustaining hope. Respondents most often described political disagreements and sensitivities around Israel as the hardest challenges to navigate. Leadership shortcomings were the second most common barrier to hope, while external antisemitism, though deeply affecting personal well-being, was cited less often as undermining professional hope and resilience.

Key insights include:

  • Internal communal division is the greatest obstacle to sustaining hope. Professionals report that tensions and political disagreement within the community erode their confidence and leave them uncertain about the future, making it harder to feel resilient in their work. Leadership gaps compound this challenge, while external antisemitism was cited less often as a direct threat to hope.
  • External threats weigh heavily on personal well-being, but less on professional resilience. 65% said the situation in Israel affects their personal well-being, and 59% worry extensively about antisemitism. Yet only 26% reported antisemitism significantly affecting their work performance, underscoring that hope in professional life is challenged more by internal dynamics than external threats.
  • Belonging and purpose fuel hope. 73% report feeling a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people often or very often, and 55% said they often feel energized by their work. The most important source of hope, cited by 85%, was the impact of their work on others, followed closely by support from colleagues (73%).
  • Principled leadership is a key generator of hope. Respondents said they are sustained when leaders provide moral clarity and communicate with conviction, especially in moments of crisis.
  • Collective supports are valued over individualized ones. 63% requested clear guidance for sensitive conversations, 48% asked for forums to process current events with colleagues, and 44% requested peer support groups. By contrast, 42% prioritized individualized mental health resources. These preferences show that professionals find hope in shared spaces, practical tools, and communal solidarity.

Latin-Jewish Los Angeles: A Secondary Data Analysis of the 2021 Study of Jewish LA

READ THE FULL REPORT

In 2021, the Study of Jewish LA was conducted to provide a broad overview of diverse Jewish life in the Greater Los Angeles region, and reveal valuable preliminary information regarding the specific experiences of distinct Jewish sub-populations; including Latino/a Jews in Los Angeles. The research described in Latin-Jewish Los Angeles: A Secondary Data Analysis of the 2021 Study of Jewish LA seeks to build upon the 2021 study, by conducting an in-depth secondary analysis of the existing data, uncovering patterns and insights that can inform meaningful actions to support and uplift Latino/a Jews within the broader Jewish community. The report’s introduction notes:

Understanding the experiences of Latino/a Jews is crucial for fostering a more inclusive and equitable Jewish communal life. Many Jewish institutions operate within frameworks that primarily reflect white American Jewish cultural norms, inadvertently sidelining Jews from Latin American, Sephardic, and Mizrahi backgrounds. This study illuminates the specific experiences of Latino/a Jews in areas such as racial, ethnic, and cultural identity, household composition, and Jewish engagement. Latino/a Jewish identity is dynamic, shaped by a blend of linguistic, cultural, and historical influences. Bringing these narratives to the forefront, can help reshape communal perceptions of Jewish identity and expand the frameworks through which Jewish belonging is understood and nurtured.

Most importantly, this study is not just about gathering knowledge—it is about taking action. By examining these important facets of Latino/a-Jewish life in greater depth, we are able to provide Jewish organizations, leaders, and advocates with concrete, evidence-informed recommendations to better serve Latino/a Jews in Los Angeles. In the long term, the impact of this work will be measured by how effectively Jewish communal spaces adapt to become more inclusive and representative of all who identify as Jewish. By ensuring that Latino/a Jews feel seen, heard, and valued, we move closer to building a Jewish Los Angeles that truly embraces the richness of its diverse members.

Key Findings:

  • Community Snapshot: Latino/a Jewish households in LA are diverse, multigenerational, and geographically spread across the city; 40% speak Spanish at home and 30% are foreign-born.
  • Identity & Values: Judaism is deeply important (74%); core values include family, tradition, ethics, and social justice, with many households raising children Jewish.
  • Engagement Patterns: About half belong to synagogues or Jewish orgs; engagement is shaped by factors like friendships, intermarriage, converts, and experiences of antisemitism.
  • Lived Experiences: Focus groups revealed identity complexity, joy in connecting with other Latin Jews, but also challenges of racism, colorism, and access barriers in Jewish spaces.
  • Recommendations: Increase Latino/a Jewish cultural visibility, expand bias training and leadership opportunities, provide bilingual/affordable education, and adapt programming to interfaith and multigenerational families.

Latin-Jewish Los Angeles: A Secondary Data Analysis of the 2021 Study of Jewish LA, Final report by Jewtina y Co., Lead Investigator Dr. David McCarty-Caplan, March 2025

Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in the United States: Identities, Experiences, and Communities

READ THE FULL REPORT

JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa commissioned the first-ever national demographic study of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in the United States, conducted at NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service under the direction of Dr. Mijal Bitton. As part of the research, scholars at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS) at Brandeis University conducted a review of existing quantitative data from national and community studies on Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in the U.S. Researchers also closely examined four distinct communities—the Syrian community in Brooklyn, NY, the Persian community in Los Angeles, the Bukharian community in Queens, NY, and the Latin Sephardic community of South Florida. Key findings from Sephardic & Mizrahi Jews in the United States: Identities, Experiences, and Communities:

  • An estimated 10% of Jewish Americans identify as Sephardic or Mizrahi.
  • 27% of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews are considered economically vulnerable, compared to 18% of Ashkenazi Jews.
  • Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews tend to be younger, with a median age of 48, compared to 56 for Ashkenazi Jews.
  • 88% of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews report that being Jewish is somewhat or very much a part of their daily life, and 69% donate to Jewish organizations.
  • Sephardic identity primarily originates in ancestry and religion.
  • 31% of Mizrahi Jewish Americans hold Israeli citizenship, compared to 5% of Ashkenazi Jews.

“The research is more than just insights and data; there’s a roadmap here that we hope will be a catalyst for change,” said Sarah Levin, Executive Director of JIMENA. “Jewish communal leaders and educators can include Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews—and our history, traditions, and current customs—in meaningful, equal ways that reflect the diversity of the Jewish people.”

Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in the United States: Identities, Experiences, and Communities, Dr. Mijal Bitton, August 2025

BREAKWEEK Impact Summary: Exploring the power of collective rest

R&R: The Rest of our Lives is a future-of-work nonprofit dedicated to fostering thriving work environments. In a new Impact Summary, R&R shares key findings and lessons learned from its BREAKWEEK grant pilot, a synchronous one-week break for organizations to disconnect from work to rest and recharge.

Key Data from the Survey:

  • 99% of participants had a positive or very positive experience
  • 92% reported reduced stress or burnout
  • 91% want BREAKWEEK to return next year
  • 71% said their productivity improved after returning to work

Qualitative stories behind these numbers:

I finally slept. For real. For the first time in months.
I came back with clarity and more creative ideas than I’ve had in a while.
Knowing everyone was off made it easier to truly disconnect — no guilt, no fear of missing out.

Access the full Impact Summary and a recoded presentation on key findings.

Communicating Across Differences: Resetting the Table’s Contributions to Strengthening Leaders and Communities

Read An Impact Evaluation: Communicating Across Differences – Resetting the Table’s Contributions to Strengthening Leaders and Communities, by Research Success Technologies

The training with Resetting the Table has been transformational for me. We were taught practical and impactful skills and given the space and tools to practice them. When we were first told to engage with people across difference, I realized that I had already anticipated the other person’s stance. But once we actually started, it turns out their opinion was as nuanced as mine and we grew not only in our understanding of the issue, but in our relationship to one another. – A Federation Executive

Resetting the Table (RTT) works to equip community leaders with tools and skills to enable “collaborative deliberation” in the face of strong differences on contentious issues. The goal is to transform ideological disagreement and conflict into an engine of strengthened relationships and problem-solving, ultimately to build healthier communities and a more cohesive, resilient society. For that purpose, RTT has developed a toolkit of processes, including communication skillbuilding workshops, facilitated community dialogues, narrative training for media makers, multi-perspective educational resources, 10-month intensive trainings, 4-6 session professional development and learning cohorts, and decision-making forums. RTT programs have directly reached more than 80,000 participants across the United States, including people who hold vastly different political views as well as professional roles, ranging from clergy from various faith traditions to TV writers to leaders of national and regional community organizations.

In 2023-24, Research Success Technologies conducted an in-depth evaluation focused on RTT’s work with leaders working within American Jewish organizations at the time of their participation. Researchers assessed the cumulative impact of RTT’s training programs and provided insights for the organization’s future development.

The Need for Communication Across Differences
Communication across differences, while challenging, is a vital component of communities, organizations, and pluralistic societies, and of Jewish life in particular. As shown in this report, communication across differences encompasses a wide range of contentious issues that, when not addressed, become the source of potentially destructive division. Common issues inspiring charged differences include political divides, such as the red/blue polarization affecting American society, and differing views on the role of Israel in Jewish life. They also involve generational gaps, where younger and older members may have contrasting attitudes toward politics, current events, tradition, and religion. Denominational differences, spanning Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and secular Jewish identities, require sensitive dialogue. Additionally, communication across differences is essential in addressing interfaith relations, racial diversity, and responses to antisemitism. Bridging these divides strengthens communal cohesion and resilience.

The contribution of RTT’s training for communication across differences came into sharp focus during the period in which this research was conducted. The project’s launch meeting occurred the week following October 7th. The fallout which continues, and its impact on alumni of RTT’s programs, have afforded deep insight into the critical need for communication across differences in this time of historic crisis. This research shows RTT alumni navigating the emotional and ideological reactions to post-October 7th fault-lines by promoting open, empathetic dialogue, particularly as individuals and organizations grapple with differing perspectives regarding the Israel-Gaza war itself as well as responses to the way the war has impacted college campuses, organizations, and communities.

In this time, many Jewish leaders fear directly addressing ideological divisions – both within Jewish life and between Jews and the society around them. This report tells the story of how skillsets and mindsets for communication across differences can transform ideological diversity from a potentially destructive force into a resource for building healthy, cohesive, and resilient organizations and communities. The report also grapples with the difficulties of reaching the ideal and maximizing the impact of communication across differences.

An Impact Evaluation: Communicating Across Differences – Resetting the Table’s Contributions to Strengthening Leaders and Communities, Ezra Kopelowitz Ph.D., Hadar Franco Galor Ph.D., Jack Gillis M.A. and Kristine Leduc, Research Success Technologies, February 2025

 

Impact Through Information Influence

This 2025 project by SubCulture Systems explores the impact of new media—including social media, podcasting, and online videos—on reaching and influencing key stakeholders by asking “How does new media influence stakeholders, particularly through reach and exposure frequency, and what are the resulting impacts on behavior and attitudes?” Key activities included a compilation of research on new media’s reach and effectiveness into a literature review, development of frameworks to assess investments, strategies proposed for real-world testing, and identification of potential New Media advisory group members.

“Impact Through Information Influence,” SubCulture Systems, January 2025