News & Blogs Category: Featured Partner

For more than 20 years, SVARA has been invested in the power of Jewish tradition to shape human beings. The “traditionally radical yeshiva” honed its approach to Talmud study in service of bringing this belief to life, helping people deepen their capacity for empathy and strengthening their ability to hold complexity. Text study at SVARA is a transformative practice that acquaints students with the depth of Jewish tradition, invites them into deep, creative, and critical analysis of that tradition, and equips them to become leaders who can guide Judaism toward new, more expansive pathways.

As communities and places of learning seek leaders who are both deeply literate in Jewish tradition and can help people through modern day complexities, SVARA believes that these skillsets depend on one another. Without intentional investment in both, the field risks producing leaders who can transmit information but lack the tools to engage and support people through rupture.

We see the role of educators and leaders to ensure that every student leaves Jewish learning spaces, not just with a familiarity of a certain text or knowledge of Jewish information, but having been inspired, activated, and changed deeply—transformed—by that encounter. Without transformation, literacy, often touted as the central aim of Jewish education, is irrelevant. Literacy becomes transformative only when it’s taught through a lens that shapes character and consciousness, and ushers in a deeper kind of courage among the people who are encountering it. – Ayana Morse, Executive Director, SVARA

With multiple entry points into the sustained spiritual practice of Talmud study, SVARA creates opportunities for people who may never have imagined themselves in Jewish life. In its bet midrash, people encounter Jewish tradition as alive, nimble, and relevant, enabling Judaism to become the connective foundation of communal flourishing. Over the past two years, SVARA explored which pathways might most effectively empower its learning community to take a step beyond transformative learning and into transformative leading.
It found answers in Jewish tradition, the starting point for the curriculum development that now makes up SVARA’s Gemirna Kollel.

A multi-year program that forms individuals capable of interpreting, shaping, and leading Jewish tradition, the Gemirna Kollel is SVARA’s most rigorous and sustained learning environment. The curriculum responds directly to a gap in the current leadership pipeline by offering a values-aligned, intellectually demanding, and deeply human pathway for those who want to take responsibility for the future of Judaism.

My learning with the Gemirna Kollel has shaped my leadership in so many ways. I launched a new Torah platform called The Rubble, serve as a Peer Facilitator for a local SVARA-method learning program, and bring Jewish tradition into my activism at home in Tucson, Arizona. The Kollel is where other learners and I examine the very seams of rabbinic Judaism—asking what halakha is, how it is made, and what it could become. This kind of rigorous, intimate engagement with tradition is exactly what equips a new generation of Jewish leaders like me to make halakha into what our communities desperately need it to be. – Chava Shapiro, current Gemirna Kollel student

Gemirna Kollel students gain deep proficiencies in the language and structures of a sugya (section of Talmud), with close attention to historical layers, rabbinic logic, and the sources that have propelled Jewish tradition forward. Alongside this text work, students engage in the ongoing spiritual practice of learning in chevruta, in community, and in relationship with the tradition as a living, breathing conversation.

The Gemirna Kollel-niks are coming back to push themselves and the tradition further than ever before. And it’s not about “becoming a rabbi,” though some will. It’s about becoming the kind of person who can move through the world with radical amounts of empathy, curiosity, humility, resilience, and courage, and become the kinds of people who can hold the complexity of our world and the uncertainty of this moment. All grounded in Torah. The Gemirna Kollel is the fulfillment of SVARA’s original dream. – Rabbi Benay Lappe, Founder and Rosh Yeshiva of SVARA

The Gemirna Kollel is designed to shape leaders who can teach and transmit Torah, engage with halakhic discourse and ethical questions, and create new frameworks, practices, and responses for contemporary Jewish life. Building on SVARA’s success engaging thousands of learners across the world, this new program creates the conditions for sustained, seminal transformation in an environment where marginalized identities are celebrated as being essential to Judaism.

Rabbis are invested in building a tradition capable of holding real human lives. They are teaching us how to stretch our inherited frameworks to meet the world as it is, right now. And this, to me, is essential for leaders of Jewish tradition. The Gemirna Kollel is about cultivating the ability to see the architecture of an argument, to trace the movement of a sugya in service of witnessing how the tradition makes itself spacious enough for people to see themselves in it. – Amir Weg, SVARA Faculty member

Moving forward, in addition to the new Kollel, SVARA’s has a growing suite of partnerships designed as virtual and in-person experiences for communities of every kind. Whether through a CRASH Talk, a Pop-Up Bet Midrash, a faculty-led adult education series, professional development for educators, or longer-term organizational consulting, SVARA’s partnerships bring its proven frameworks and teaching directly into congregations, campus communities, nonprofits, grassroots organizations, interfaith initiatives, and beyond. Flexible, affordable, and deeply customizable, these offerings invite participants to encounter Jewish tradition as a living resource for responding creatively to disruption, cultivating resilience, and building communities equipped to meet this moment.

Learn more about SVARA’s Gemirna Kollel here and its partnerships. Contact SVARA here if you’re interested in bringing SVARA Torah to your learners, staff, or broader community.

The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of SVARA.

Over the past 20 years, the Hadar Institute has grown to be a center of Jewish life, learning, and practice that builds vibrant egalitarian communities in North America and Israel. Now, Hadar is scaling that mission with Hadar Community Groups—grassroots, peer-led circles that meet regularly to build meaningful Jewish connection on a local level.

Designed to fit the busy lives of everyone from young adults to retirees, these groups of 8-20 participants meet regularly around shared interests, communal Shabbat meals, and Jewish song, prayer, and acts of hesed (kindness). In time, a small gathering can grow into a lasting community.

Launched just last year, Community Groups are already in high demand. Hadar received applications from potential group leaders in 256 cities—from 37 states and Washington DC, five Canadian provinces, and six other countries. More than 380 current active groups have over 4,000 members—half of which have applied to run their group again next year.

What began as a small experiment has become a powerful reminder of how many people are ready to create Jewish life that feels vibrant, relational, and true to their own home communities. I’m excited to keep learning from these leaders as we imagine what’s possible together.
– Jaime Drucker, Director of Hadar Community Groups

To begin a group, a dedicated group leader or leaders apply to Hadar to start a micro-community. Current groups include parents exploring Jewish wisdom about raising children, Jewish song circles learning new melodies together, book clubs focusing on Jewish philosophy and Jewish texts, a Rosh Chodesh group, weekly parashah groups, and a group of young Jews who volunteer at a local food bank and homeless shelter.

Hadar provides infrastructure around meetings through funding and by connecting leaders and participants to a network of other Jews around the country. Some Community Groups use Hadar’s vast array of Project Zug courses to study a particular topic in depth through both havruta (paired) and large group discussions over the course of the year. Joining a Hadar Community Group means joining a grassroots movement that is actualizing a vision of an active, engaged Jewish world.

I don’t think we would ever have gotten to the idea of becoming a caring community based in joy if we didn’t come together, in person, in song and in study. – Jennifer, Milford, MA

Along with digital recruitment, Hadar Community Groups staff and the directors of Hadar’s regional hubs in several U.S. cities identify and recruit potential Community Group leaders. The staff and directors then serve as local resources, training group leaders in best practices for organizing meetings and using original content, including from Hadar’s Project Zug. This regional collaboration is unlocking new opportunities: drawing on a proven model for peer-led engagement, along with a strong and growing presence in Washington, D.C., Hadar Community Groups and Hadar D.C. will partner with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington to launch a new offering in June, supporting local Jews in their 20s and 30s to build meaningful Shabbat experiences together (if you’re in D.C. and want to learn more, click here).

The topic and sources are creating really good discussion! People are being exposed to Talmud who never have been before, and are getting to know each other through learning. – Hezzy, Minneapolis, MN

Since launching the national program, Hadar has experienced a surge in demand, quickly scaling up to support a growing network of local cohorts. Increased leadership training opportunities and enhanced staff support have strengthened the experience for group leaders while an updated digital presence will soon make it easier for others to get started.  Moving forward, Hadar will gain valuable feedback from leaders and participants, ensuring Hadar Community Groups continue to grow as a diverse, high-impact engine for community-building.

More information about Hadar Community Groups is here. The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of the Hadar Institute.

As Jewish teens face the dual burden of the trials and tribulations that come with adolescence and rising antisemitism in school and online, Moving Traditions continues to be a source of resilience, pride, and strength. The organization recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and is experiencing unprecedented growth in its programs for Jewish youth and educators, and in the number of organizations with which it partners for impact.

Coinciding with this increased growth and demand, the organization recently introduced a new program structure that, as CEO Shuli Karkowsky says, has tangible benefits for all who use its resources:

We are giving our beloved, growing institution the refresh it needs, with a new Moving Traditions brand hierarchy and a more streamlined way of partnering with us as we continue to scale…Fortunately, at a time when they are needed most, Moving Traditions programs are growing faster than ever before.

Moving Traditions’ commitment to helping Jewish youth thrive through the pursuit of personal wellbeing (shleimut), caring relationships (hesed), and a Jewish and feminist vision of equity and justice (tzedek), remain as steadfast as ever. Now, it’s easier to tap into its expertise, support, and resources thanks to some important changes:

• A simplified program structure that organizes programs into three neat categories:
  • Curricular Programs offer a diverse suite of curriculum and training for synagogues, schools, and camps that help teens explore their Jewish identity in context with their relationships and values (access these offerings by becoming a Moving Traditions partner).
  • Meyer-Gottesman Immersive Teen Experiences provide Jewish high schoolers with peer community and adult mentors who support them in developing identity and belonging through the lenses of Judaism, social justice, and feminism.
  • Community Learning offers accessible resources and events for anyone seeking to understand what Jewish teens need today.
    
• Clear, consistent messaging that reflects Moving Traditions’ leadership in Jewish youth identity development
  
• A new way for synagogues and camps to partner with Moving Traditions to bring Moving Traditions Curricular Programs to their community, with easier access and flexible, tiered pricing
• A fully searchable and filterable curriculum portal that helps audiences use more and more of the organization’s impactful resources.

Immediately following the brand refresh, Moving Traditions saw a major spike in visitors accessing its digital resources and the time users spent on its new website. The new Curriculum Portal saw especially strong outcomes, as more users took advantage of capabilities to filter and search for Moving Traditions curriculum by theme, activity, audience, and more.

I’m excited about having access to all the sessions from different curricular tracks! I’ve never explored the sessions from Shevet, Tzelem, and Rosh Hodesh, so it’ll be interesting to see what’s there. – Partner educator

I am deeply appreciative that Moving Traditions continues to create new programs and evolve current resources to respond to changing realities. Their materials feel extremely timely and up to date in ways that other ‘out of the box’ curriculum often do not. – Partner Educator

Moving Traditions is poised to build on past successes as it continues to expand its reach to educators and teens, with increasingly responsive resources. As just one example, in the 2024-25 school year, Moving Traditions piloted a 10-session Jewish Identity and Israel curriculum for Hebrew High Schools. All participating educators reported that the curriculum helped teens become familiar with the significance of Israel within Judaism, Jewish history, and culture, including the origins of Zionism as a political movement. Nearly all participating teens reported that the session helped them feel like they are part of a Jewish community that supports them as they are. Because of this positive feedback, the program is now offered to all Hebrew High School partners. Some camps used it last summer, nearly 40 partners are implementing the entire track, and more than 250 are selecting sessions a la carte. 

Moving Traditions continues to show that it is responsive to the needs of our communities in the moment. I am excited to embark on the journey of bringing this well-rounded curriculum to our community. – Partner Educator 

To support educators and leaders in a range of settings, Moving Traditions offers different webinars, partner training & support, and customizable practitioner workshops throughout the year. Its upcoming events include Camp Staff Workshops (May 13), Curricular Programs for Campers (May 14), and an event series for prospective partner educators (June 3) on Navigating Identity, Anxiety, and Belonging in a Polarized World.

Learn more about Moving Traditions’ impact and new brand in this video from Shuli Karkowsky. The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of Moving Traditions.

Jewish Studio Project gives me space to notice the feelings inside me and move through difficult moments. I always leave our sessions feeling shifted—more grounded, with renewed energy to move forward. – JSP Participant

As communities and institutions navigate uncertainty, grief, and rapid change, Jewish Studio Project’s distinctive blend of Jewish wisdom, creative process, and leadership development is more salient than ever. To celebrate the organization’s tenth anniversary and the growth of its national movement, JSP recently hosted We the Process—a unique livestream event with watch parties across the country that centered a bold idea: creativity isn’t extra, it’s essential for meeting the challenges of our time and imagining new futures.

Genesis opens with chaos and void. Creation doesn’t wait for clarity; it begins in the dark. At a time when fear constricts our collective imagination, creativity is how we participate in that original creative act again—bringing new worlds into being. – Rabbi Adina Allen, co-founder of Jewish Studio Project

Rabbi Adina and fellow co-founder Jeff Kasowitz, together with the JSP staff and board teams, welcomed more than 400 people to “We the Process” for a joyful, meaningful experience full of music, storytelling, deep learning, art-making, and more. The event featured inspiring reflections from Susan Magsamen, founder of the International Arts + Mind Lab and author on neuroaesthetics, and Báyò Akómoláfé, global speaker and author exploring posthumanist futures. Krista Tippett, Peabody Award-winning journalist and host of On Being, joined Rabbi Adina for a rich conversation about the spiritual power of creativity. All three featured guests emphasized that creativity is a core capacity to strengthen resilience, deepen moral imagination, and equip communities to stay in relationship across difference when certainty collapses.

It matters that we are creators now and healers now…Reinvigorating who we are with the depths of tradition in ways that speak to what the world needs and is longing for. – Krista Tippett at We the Process

This is the moment when we need projects like these, and communities like these, that can play at the threshold of a world with its striking fecund aliveness and its indeterminacy, to blast open new spaces of power.– Báyò Akómoláfé at We the Process

When we create together, we are not escaping reality, we are building capacity to meet it. We are literally reshaping our neural pathways and rehearsing new futures. – Susan Magsamen at We the Process

The celebration also marked a major milestone for JSP’s future: a successful fundraising campaign that exceeded its $500,000 goal with over 550 people donating, reflecting a growing recognition across the field that creativity is not a luxury, but a vital resource for Jewish life and leadership.
In its first decade, JSP engaged tens of thousands of individuals—including educators, clergy, artists, and institutional leaders—across hundreds of Jewish organizations nationwide. Now there are more ways than ever to engage with JSP’s work: through Creativity Circles (peer-led communities of practice); the Studio Immersive (a deep dive into creative process and Jewish learning); the Educators Studio (a Fellowship designed to revitalize Jewish educators); professional development offerings (for organizational teams, fellows, and alumni); and a growing national network of facilitators and partners. Moving forward, JSP is ready to scale its reach and impact, helping more Jewish leaders, educators, and community members unlock the creative capacity to not only navigate this moment—but to shape a more connected, resilient, and life-giving future.

Watch JSP’s New Feature Video

Learn more at jewishstudioproject.org. The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of JSP.

Marking the new moon of Nissan, and counting the months of the year from that point, is the first commandment given in the Torah, right in Exodus. In fact, owning one’s time is how the Jewish people came to understand freedom. This is why Rosh Chodesh, the monthly Jewish holiday of the new moon, is considered a sacred time for reflection, renewal, and hope. To observe Rosh Chodesh, one only has to notice the moon, offer gratitude, and recognize the Divine Oneness in the world.

For a decade, At The Well has made this spiritual, reflective practice accessible with monthly virtual events, regional programs, and spiritual learning products. The organization has always focused on helping women understand the power of Rosh Chodesh as a source of spiritual nourishment, emotional resilience, and connection.

Now, At The Well is engaging a new audience through its Family Rosh Chodesh Initiative. Parents can access beautifully designed, age-appropriate monthly toolkits that make Jewish time tangible and joyful for their children. Developed with Jewish child development experts, the curriculum helps families pause, reflect, and mark the new month together, even amid busy schedules.

Many of the women who first engaged with At The Well are parents today. They told us how much they wanted tools to translate their in-home experiences. This initiative helps them introduce their children and spouses to the wisdom of the Hebrew calendar and sacred mindfulness, with age-appropriate activities and thoughtful social-emotional takeaways every month. It makes Jewish learning a lived, relational experience that unfolds naturally within their family life. We want Rosh Chodesh to be as well-known as Shabbat, anchoring Jewish rituals and time for families.
– Sarah Waxman, Founder and CEO, At The Well

The Family Rosh Chodesh initiative builds on what At The Well does best: translating Jewish wisdom into embodied, emotionally resonant practice, now intentionally designed for intergenerational learning and connection. The initiative was piloted with eight in-person and virtual parent workshops in 2025, along with a virtual toolkit, on-demand training, and a free Mini Guide to Rosh Chodesh at Home. At The Well’s approach invites families into this ancient wisdom through modern pedagogy: storytelling, sensory ritual, open-ended questions, and reflection prompts that meet children where they are developmentally.

My biggest takeaway from the workshop is that there is no wrong way to do this ritual—it’s about connection, family time, and connecting with our Judaism. I so appreciate the family blessing and the beautiful manuals to give us structure!
– Family Workshop Participant

While Rosh Chodesh is an easy opportunity to mark time together and create sacredness in the home, many parents have not previously engaged with the Hebrew calendar in this way. For them, this ritual is a new, powerful way to use Judaism as a foundation for well-being and meaning.

Despite an extensive Jewish education in my upbringing, I truly had no idea about Rosh Chodesh or anything about the spiritual aspects of the Hebrew calendar.
– Family Workshop Participant

At The Well’s founder and CEO Sarah Waxman leads a Family Rosh Chodesh training at the Jewish Community Day School of Greater New Orleans.

The initiative’s launch coincided with At The Well’s 10th anniversary and the creation of the At The Well Collective, a new digital platform and app designed to support sustained learning and belonging. This infrastructure made it possible to offer ongoing family toolkits, an instant-access virtual workshop, and “It’s almost Rosh Chodesh!” reminders straight to parents’ phones. The Collective also offers optional peer connection, events, and discussion spaces—turning one-time inspiration into month-by-month practice.

Building on these successes, At The Well is hoping to expand access in the next few years to Family Rosh Chodesh resources through:

• Additional family toolkits and on-demand trainings
• Family-oriented products like books, calendars, and moon “lovies”
• Partnerships with JCCs, synagogues, and Jewish day schools
• More integration into the Collective so families can connect with other parents and deepen their practice over time.

As At The Well hits its milestone anniversary, and as more people seek spiritual practices, the organization is investing in sustainable growth: strengthening earned revenue, expanding the Collective, and supporting families through life transitions with ritual and learning resources rooted in Jewish tradition.

Learn more about At The Well and the Family Rosh Chodesh Initiative here. The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of At The Well.

For most of Jewish history, our People’s most essential leaders have been rabbis. They have been gatekeepers to Jewish communities, curators and custodians of the Jewish tradition, and the ongoing architects of what Judaism means for every generation of Jews.

Rabbanut North America is the Shalom Hartman Institute’s answer to the call for a new rabbinate—grounded in pluralism, textual mastery, and moral aspiration. Launched in 2024 as a dynamic model to both recruit rabbis and develop them, the three-year ordination program welcomed 13 individuals into its first cohort.

Cohort II launched earlier this year with 16 individuals, ranging from early- to senior-career professionals, public intellectuals, and global service leaders, alongside senior Jewish educators and institutional leaders. These future rabbis receive training in the Jewish texts, ideas, and skills they need to lead the North American Jewish community through the challenges of 21st-century Jewish life, Israel, and Jewish peoplehood. Following their first in-person gathering in New York, new cohort members reflected on their initial learning in the program:

We were introduced to a very sophisticated balance between the program as a shared journey and
a sense of solidarity among the cohort, along with an encouragement for each individual to pursue and develop their own path and coherence. – Faustine Sigal, Strategic Advisor to PJ Library and Content Advisor for HBO France for “La Rabbine” (aired on HBO in North America as “Reformed”)

I was fascinated by the deep dive into the history and texts about the evolution of the concept of the rabbi and the notion of rabbinic leadership. – Elan Kogutt, Senior Fellow at the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Collaboratory at Harvard Kennedy School

I found the [opening retreat] helpful for naming the ways that we both already know how to lead because of our professional experience, and that learning Torah has work to do in us. I loved the question [we were asked], “What does it look like when Torah succeeds?” I will keep asking that framing question. It’s such a core question for me and I loved getting to explore it with others. – Bethany Slater, Executive Director of Claremont Hillel

Through leadership retreats, private spiritual direction, summer residencies in Jerusalem, mentorships, and ongoing coursework, the program cultivates rabbis who will engage with thought leadership, ethical clarity, and textual mastery. Already from the first two cohorts, it’s clear that this program is attracting new people to the profession who want to build their skills to become cutting-edge rabbis, fully equipped to lead communities and institutions.

The students drawn to Rabbanut North America reflect the “untapped well” of future rabbis: medical doctors and psychologists; law professors and Ivy League academics; technologists and humanitarian workers. Their presence widens our understanding of rabbinic leadership itself. What has struck me most is not the structural innovations, but the effect of bringing together genuinely pluralistic cohorts and treating their ideological and developmental differences as part of their formation. Students describe learning to inhabit tension, not resolve it, as one of the most transformative aspects of their development. – Rabbi Jesse Paikin, Director, Rabbanut North America

At a moment when Jewish communities are asking more of their rabbis than ever before, Rabbanut North America is a timely, even prescient, response to shape a renewed rabbinate. Together with graduates of Rabbanut Yisraelit – Hartman’s Beit Midrash for Israeli Rabbis – Rabbanut North America graduates will join a growing, pluralistic rabbinate committed to intellectual openness, ethical seriousness, and responsibility for the Jewish people.

Learn more about Rabbanut North America and its cohort I and II members. The Jim Joseph Foundation is a funder of the program.

How should I care for the people I love?

What’s a good life?

How do we disagree?

How do I face uncertainty?

These are the types of big questions that IYUN helps young Jewish adults explore through Torah study in a cohort setting. The organization trains educators around the country in its distinct approach that combines this study with Jewish community engagement facilitation. After training, educators lead cohort groups of 10-15 people, cultivating communities of depth and substance.

We wanted to share that we have had the most wonderful experience with this IYUN class. From the beginning, it was lively, with active participation and a lot of great ruach! But every week it gets better as people deepen their sense of friendship, understanding, and engagement…Through connecting in this deep and active way with Jewish wisdom, we are strengthening ourselves and our team, but also our families, friends, and community. —Molly Curren Rowles, Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine

In just its first few years, IYUN has trained 256 educators who have engaged 3,327 adults throughout North America. These learners are situated in over 100 communities — from Federation Young Adult Divisions to congregations, from JCCs to Moishe Houses, from Bases to Honeymoon Israel alumni groups, Repair the World Service Corps, and far beyond. IYUN’s distinct approach focuses on:

• Building community and a love of Jewish learning. IYUN carefully curates the members of each cohort with an eye toward deepening social relationships among participants and building long term community, not just “covering material.”  With this approach, participants leave with knowledge, a group of friends, a relationship to a local educator, and a strong feeling of community.
  
• Focusing on Jewish texts because they inform liminal life moments. IYUN groups are often organized around significant life events – birth, death, marriage, building a home, embracing adulthood, conveying values and legacy – and cohort leaders seek out Jewish texts that speak directly to these most human phenomena.  IYUN wants the cohort members to feel that their most profound human questions have been touched by the wisdom of Torah.
• Training local teachers to bring Jewish learning alive for our audience. IYUN offer both outstanding curricular delivery and also training — using the experience of forming and operating a learning circle as real-world practice for learning a set of teaching skills and a holistic community-building approach.

In the midst of raising a community of little kids, it can be really hard to find the time to have these types of conversations. I feel really grateful that I can bring these questions and make space for discussion for the folks in my community. —Dalia Shapiro (runs a Circle for fellow young parents in her living room)

Returning Honeymoon Israel couples gather for an IYUN Circle on “The Home We Build Together” in Cincinnati.

Ninety-four percent of cohort members say that because of their IYUN circle, they want to continue learning Torah and Jewish texts. Many of these people are learners who previously were not reached by adult Jewish education programs. IYUN also partners with Jewish organizations and groups to offer Torah study as part of their regular “staff learning,” dialing up the Jewish confidence and fluency of their professionals. This includes new, unexpected networks like Jewish Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), who look to IYUN to create new curricular resources as they build community in the workplace.

Our vision is to make every community builder an educator, and every educator a community builder. We do this through partnerships where we train Jewish communal leaders in both the art of teaching and—simultaneously—the art of building community, as we have done with PJ Library, the Nachshon Project Graduate Fellowship, Hebrew College, Pardes, Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation, and many others. — Erica Frankel, Founder of IYUN

IYUN is excited about a number of emergent projects on the horizon, including the launch of the “Shabbat Hospitality Studio” curriculum this Fall, which will equip local leaders to build a culture of Shabbat home hospitality throughout their communities. And, on November 14th & 21st, the IYUN team will offer a two-part, virtual Masterclass in Relational Recruitment: How to Get the People in the Room — open to Jewish community builders of all experience levels and roles. Learn more and register before spots fill.

Learn about IYUN at iyun.community and reach out to them at [email protected] to explore building a community of meaning—whatever your setting. The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of IYUN.

The Shalom Hartman Institute’s Beit Midrash for New North American Rabbis (Rabbanut North America) is training visionary leaders in the Jewish texts, ideas, and skills they need to lead the North American Jewish community as cutting-edge rabbis. The inaugural cohorts of Rabbanut North America will be ordained as rabbinic thought leaders fully equipped to lead communities and institutions grounded in pluralism, moral aspiration, commitment to Jewish peoplehood, and courageous leadership.

Rabbanut North America is a pathway to the rabbinate for candidates who have already proven themselves in a first career and are prepared to move quickly and efficiently through a course of study designed to build on their existing strengths and fill in whatever gaps they may have in their knowledge and skills. Our Institute, because it is not modeled on the university, is a nimble and creative organization with extensive experience in designing and implementing this kind of program. – Yehuda Kurtzer, President, Shalom Hartman Institute

In this challenging moment of Jewish history, Jews are turning to their rabbis in unprecedented numbers for pastoral support, moral clarity, guidance, understanding, and tools for activism. Jews are also flocking to community for a sense of belonging. This reengagement with Jewish community presents a renewed opportunity for rabbis to shape the future of Jewish identity, meaning, and purpose for the next generation.

Rabbanut North America, this new network of North American rabbis, will join their counterparts from Hartman’s Rabbanut Yisraelit: The Hartman Beit Midrash for Israeli Rabbis, which has ordained four cohorts of rabbis since 2015. Together, these innovative rabbis will form a pluralistic rabbinate for the Jewish people and forge new paths of leadership for the future of Judaism and Zionism.

The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of Rabbanut North America. Learn more about the program, including its model and curriculum, at hartman.org.il/program/rabbanut-north-america/.

New study shows that becoming smarter about arguments helps people become closer to those with whom they argue.

When educators Robbie Gringras and Abi Dauber Sterne launched For the Sake of Argument in 2022, they wanted to help people in Jewish communities engage in healthy arguments, particularly those centered around Israel. They do this work through stories designed to provoke disagreements about issues central to the State of Israel and the Jewish world, and a new “pedagogy of argument” to help people gain the confidence and know-how to have healthy arguments. What undoubtedly seemed important in 2022 took on an unprecedented level of urgency after October 7th, 2023 as communities grappled with newfound tensions and sensitivities. A new study shows the impact and continued potential of For the Sake of Argument’s efforts.

“More and more communities are reaching out looking for support and guidance,” said Dauber Sterne. “Conversations around Israel right now can either tear communities apart or strengthen connections and build mutual understanding. Educational leaders know they must engage in these conversations, and they want to—but doing it constructively and in a healthy manner takes an intentional approach and training.” 

On the eve of their publication of a new collection of argument-stories about issues arising from October 7th, key findings from the new study conducted by Rosov Consulting about For the Sake of Argument show its influence on participants and communities: 

1. FSA provides participants with a cognitive map, confidence and emotional resilience needed to engage in an argument healthfully.
2. Even a short workshop of 90-minutes is associated with positive gains in participants’ understanding of different types of arguments. 
3. Becoming smarter about arguments seems to help people become closer to those with whom they argue. Both survey and interview data suggest that enhanced cognitive outcomes contribute to enhanced emotional outcomes. 
4. Program participants increase their knowledge about issues in contemporary Israel and have a desire to learn more. The more they learn, the more they want to learn. 

FSA participants share how the program influenced them:

The information they gave us about when you’re in a conversation with someone, to try to make sure that you’re listening to them, and that you’re using certain key phrases—I found that really actually worked. I have problems with talking over people. And so, it did actually help to recognize, okay, if I’ve been talking for a long time, you might want to end off with, ‘But I want to hear what you have to say’.… Now I get to actually hear other opinions.  – Toronto teen

 

The main thing I took away was it doesn’t hurt to listen without interrupting. You can get your turn in, but you can wait. … I use what I’ve learned in the sessions mainly regarding listening. … In the past I would probably have just gone for the jugular, and now I might just nod and go, ‘Aha, maybe we should talk about that sometime.’ – Limmud, older adult

About the study:
The study was conducted over the course of two blocks of time as part of collaborations with Limmud UK and UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. At Limmud, participants took part either in a 45-minute, one-off session or a series of four 45-minute sessions over the course of four days. In Toronto, they participated in either a one-time 90-minute session or two 90-minute sessions. 190 participants completed a survey at the start of their first FSA sessions and also at the end of their last one; 15 session participants were also interviewed about three months after their sessions. 

The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of For the Sake of Argument. Access FSA’s full resources here and the newest evaluation from Rosov Consulting here. 

When the groundbreaking, collaborative ElevatEd initiative launched in the summer of 2023, it immediately began to develop a far-reaching strategy to attract, train, and support more early childhood Jewish educators (ECJE) in the field. Over the last year, the initiative, led by JCC Association of North America, Jewish Federations of North America, and the Union for Reform Judaism, has collaborated with funders, practitioners, educators, and community leaders to address the critical educator shortage and work to expand the field of early childhood Jewish education in North America.

The three-year ElevatEd pilot focuses on 11-12 pioneer communities, with a goal of recruiting, training, and credentialing up to 30 educators in each community, amounting to more than 300 emerging early childhood educators in total. The five initial communities—Boston, Denver-Boulder, East Bay (California), Houston, and Long Island—will be joined by a second cohort beginning this school year, including Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, Pittsburgh, Seattle, St. Louis. Educators from these communities work in JCCs, synagogues across all denominations, and a diverse collection of other Jewish educational settings that reflect the unique demographic makeup of their area.

ElevatEd’s multi-pronged approach to recruitment and retention is designed to address the field-wide educator crisis in a strategic, scalable way. By drawing on best practices, techniques, and new technologies from the for-profit world, ElevatEd supports these directors through numerous resources and offerings, in an area in which most of them have little if any training.

The realization that we are always learning and the connection between director and staff is one of the most important components of a healthy working environment. Supporting staff at all stages of their journey is a crucial part of keeping teachers motivated and committed to the field. – Debbie Neuschatz, Director, Long Island

Launched last year, ElevatEd’s Director’s Year-Long Course in Recruitment offers curriculum in talent acquisition and a stipend for participants. The course covers topics such as using AI/ChatGPT, creating personas for targeted recruitment, constructing engaging job descriptions, creating and using a SWOT analysis to understand one’s local job market, and creating an employment value proposition to attract top talent.

This past spring, to provide immediate support to directors, ElevatEd contracted with a recruitment process outsourcer (RPO). A recruiter from the RPO drives traffic to open positions in ElevatEd communities, supporting the “top of the hiring funnel” through ads on Indeed and posts on social media and job boards. The aim is to have more people looking at ElevatEd job ads than would otherwise occur. In some cases, the recruiter connects with schools that have several open positions, then handles all the sourcing and screening of candidates before the director conducts a final interview and hire. It is streamlining the interviewing and hiring process, saving time and energy for local center directors.

ElevatEd has given a voice and brought attention to the fact that my role as a Director of ECE includes many hats. In particular, even though I had no desire to be in recruiting…whether we like it or not, we are doing recruiting work. They said, ‘so here are some ways to be more effective’ since almost no one in a role like this has training in this area. They noticed an area of the job that we were trying and failing to do and gave tangible steps and training to help us improve. – Courtney Ludlow, Director, East Bay

Another key offering is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), which increases the efficiency of the talent search process. A single post links to 12 free job boards, including LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Indeed, Glassdoor, Talent.com, and more. Each school can customize their workflow and create personalized automated emails to streamline the hiring process. Schools can also create “knock-out” questions to ensure they only spend time screening candidates who understand the job post and are eager and excited about the job prospect.  

Along with these offerings, ElevatEd offers “Recruitment Labs,” which are drop-in coaching hours, an employee referral program, a digital marketing campaign toolkit launching this fall, and a dedicated careers website that is designed to act as a centralized location for early childhood positions across the country.

The educator pipeline crisis is significant, so our response to it must reflect that. By drawing on best practices from outside of the Jewish world, leveraging technologies, and building professional competencies among directors in this critical area, we can help ECJE communities attract new talent in new ways, in a manner that’s sustainable for the long-term. Throughout the recruitment season, we are assessing which strategies are most effective and cost-efficient. We seek to share these learnings with ECJE centers across the country and with the field of Jewish communal service at large. – Orna Siegel, Executive Director, and Sasha Kopp Hass, Senior Director of Education, ElevatEd

ElevatEd is a pilot initiative funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, and the Samuels Family Foundation, as well as from local Federations, foundations, and local philanthropists in each pioneer community. Visit elevatedtogether.org for more information.

Since October 7th, Jewish communities are experiencing vast challenges, including navigating internal political differences as well as facing tensions and animosity in coalitions, on campuses, and beyond. Resetting the Table, which builds societal capacity for communication and collaboration across charged political divides, has been flooded with unprecedented need and demand from Hillels, camps, young adult organizations, and Federations, as well as from higher education administrations, workplaces, and institutions outside the Jewish community. To support leaders in these settings, Resetting the Table has multiplied its trainings, resources, and facilitated forums to help people de-escalate tensions, talk to rather than past each other, and strengthen lines of relationship, learning, and collaboration across their differences.

I feel so much more equipped not only to facilitate dialogue sessions, but also to generally be better at dealing with disagreements that come up in a professional (and even personal) setting. At first glance, it would be easy for a skeptic to write off Resetting the Table as wishy-washy, trite, or ‘both-sidesy.’ But that couldn’t be further from the truth—our fellowship was rigorous, deeply thoughtful, and rooted in a clear understanding of both psychological and social realities.
— Aaron, rabbinical student, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Rabbinic Intern, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale

Among RTT’s offerings, its intensive training programs for Jewish professionals have expanded significantly since October 7th, equipping Jewish leaders and professionals across the country with skills to respond to flashpoint moments, build proactive relationships across lines of difference, strengthen Israel engagement, counter antisemitism, and build healthier and more resilient communities. RTT’s methodology is one of the most robust and effective approaches for facilitating challenging conversations in the country, recognized as best-in-class both within and beyond the Jewish world. By working closely with strategic partners such as Hillel International, Jews of Color Initiative, Foundation for Jewish Camp, rabbinical schools, Federations, BBYO, OneTable, Repair the World, Honeymoon Israel, and others, RTT is building a national field of trained facilitators and coaches to support productive discussion and inquiry on Israel and other important issues across Jewish life.

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 another leader’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.
— Rori, Maharat, Senior Vice President for Community Relations, JCPA and former Executive Director, JCRC of St. Louis

More than 4,100 participants from the Jewish community have engaged with RTT this year, including more than 1,900 unique Jewish educators, rabbis, Hillel professionals, and lay leaders positioned to reach tens of thousands more. Post-program evaluation shows that Jewish leaders become more confident and capable of leading tough conversations within their own communities and beyond, applying their learnings internally to build communal cohesion and healing, and also externally to strengthen relationships with other communities in this challenging time. In longitudinal interviews and surveys, 95 percent of alumni reported continuing to use RTT tools and skills one to ten years after participating in a program, with majorities reporting they used RTT tools to navigate differences on Israel; to address tensions post-Oct 7^th; to combat antisemitism; to support their constituents to speak and listen to each other better; to engage new, skeptical, and resistant audiences; and to foster an environment of communal cohesion and resilience.

Given the tensions on college campuses, RTT’s partnership with Hillel has been especially important. Special training programs for Hillel staff—including facilitation training for mid-to-senior career Hillel professionals as well as early-career Hillel professionals—helped them facilitate student experiences to strengthen relationships and understanding across differences in this difficult year. Hillel International reports that next to increased security, Hillel professionals describe the tools RTT provides as their greatest need. Participating professionals were equipped with communication tools that helped them support Jewish students to feel less anxiety and trepidation when talking about Israel, antisemitism, and other charged topics; offer programs where Jewish students can feel safe to express what they’re experiencing and feel more strongly connected to Jewish life and to each other even across strongly differing perspectives; build trust with students who have felt alienated from Hillel in the past or during this time due to political differences; and navigate inter-group relationship-building with administrators, DEI departments, and non-Jewish student groups. As a result, on campuses where RTT has trained Hillel professionals over the past several years, students report relief and gratitude for the space to share their experiences and views on Israel and other tough issues, and to listen to their peers in turn. Hillel professionals report new and different students participating in Hillel programs, and improved relationships between Jewish and non-Jewish students even during moments of escalation

“There [are] an abundance of resources out there to [address] challenges that are focused outward, but there are very few focused inward [on Jewish students]… How can we ever expect students to have respectful, authentic conversations with folks they disagree with outside of the Jewish community, if we can’t do so within the Jewish community? That’s really our focus, our north star, and I believe it’s one of the reasons our Israel campus climate is a positive one.”
– Jenna, Executive Director, Queens College Hillel

Resetting the Table’s framework and tools were specifically designed to overcome the toxic discourse unfolding around us today—splintering coalitions, campuses, workplaces, and communities alike. This framework—crucial long before October 7th—will be ever more important to engage the next generation, combat polarization and hate, and ensure the resiliency of the Jewish community for years to come. RTT gives leaders the tools to address their deepest challenges while holding the difficulty and pain, building communal solidarity and care, and learning from people’s differences. With this approach, political differences evolve from a source of tension, anxiety, and alienation into an engine of communal health and cohesion.

The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of Resetting the Table. Visit resettingthetable.org URL for more information. 

The Jewish leaders of today are facing an unprecedented Jewish tomorrow. Atra is deeply invested in training, equipping, and empowering us as rabbis to rise to the occasion and serve the Jewish future.
– Rabbi Sivan Rotholz, Atra’s Fellowship for Rabbinic Entrepreneurs 2022-’23

Being an effective rabbi today demands a more diverse set of skills and knowledge than ever. People, especially young adults, want spiritual guidance from rabbis with whom they have personal relationships and can help them address needs and challenges in their lives. On top of this, since October 7th, rabbis are working tirelessly to support communities, engage people in spiritual leadership, and create moments filled with meaning and inspiration. Through rigorous research, vibrant communities of practice, innovative fellowships supporting rabbinic entrepreneurs, and ongoing professional training and support, Atra helps rabbis lead with vision and meet the ever-evolving needs of the Jewish people. 

We need to prepare rabbis to serve our people in every place they are, in every way that they need spiritual leaders. Over the last few years, we’ve seen the demand rise for rabbis who combine a deep knowledge of Torah with the ability to build Jewish communities centered on personal relationships. We work with a large cadre of rabbis to ensure they can harness this skillset to meet the many needs of Jewish communities.
– Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, Executive Director of Atra

Atra helps rabbis learn how to engage people in new ways—both inside and outside of congregational walls—and strengthens connections among fellow clergy. More than 1,000 rabbis have engaged in Atra training, resources, support, fellowships, Master Classes, coaching, networks, and workshops. Of these, 71 spiritual innovators have participated in Atra’s national rabbinic fellowship program, experiencing pluralistic, cohort-based training and individualized support. Atra is now piloting this national model in other communities to build stronger local networks among rabbis so they can learn and grow together. Another platform, Atra’s Communities of Action and Practice, is designed for rabbis and other Jewish clergy to have space for sharing, learning, and growing together in both personal and professional realms. Atra’s research shows that strong collegial and mentor relationships, and knowing how to leverage those relationships, are key to managing crises.

Responding to urgent community needs in the wake of October 7th, Atra’s new 3-part virtual workshop on Facilitating Difficult Conversation provides spiritual leaders with a framework of understanding and a set of crucial skills around group dialogue, mediation, and conflict resolution. Other ongoing Atra programs help rabbis identify new approaches to supporting communities, gain new technology skills, onboard into new jobs, and much more.

In addition to programming, Atra is a thought leader for the field, committed to sharing best practices. Its research helps to understand communities’ needs and clearly define what excellent rabbinic leadership looks like. Key findings from Atra’s 2023 study showed that young American Jews want more experiences with rabbis because those interactions help them feel more spiritually connected and more connected to a Jewish community. Atra shared insights from the research about what factors make for positive interactions between young adults and rabbis, how these interactions help young adults feel more comfortable and confident being Jewish, and where rabbis can look to engage even more young people.

Young people want leaders in their lives who relate to them, accept them, and who signal to them that it’s ok to be vulnerable, to be unsure of things in life. With the right training and support, rabbis are those leaders! Now we need to figure out how to match as many rabbis as possible with as many young adults as possible to develop these meaningful relationships.
– Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, Executive Director of NYU’s Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life and Co-director of the NYU dual MA in Jewish nonprofit management

For centuries being a rabbi meant presiding over a town or a synagogue. Today, rabbis are also working on campuses and in prisons, online and in person, in hospitals and in recovery programs, in homes and in cafes, in Yeshivot and on street corners–everywhere that communities are found and built.

American Jews need rabbis, and Atra uniquely provides the ongoing professional learning that rabbis need—training and supporting rabbinic leaders from all backgrounds to adapt their practice for the real world and to drive their visionary leadership so that they can help people and communities thrive. Moving forward, Atra is poised to expand its programs and reach, to provide even more rabbis of all denominations and roles with ongoing professional support and training over the entire arc of their careers, and to strengthen the field of spiritual leadership. 

Visit atrarabbis.org for more information. The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of Atra.