Big Tent Judaism

An Inclusive Journey to Adulthood

Congratulations to Rabbi Karen Bender of Temple Judea in the greater Los Angeles area for an inspiring congregational column addressing the congregation’s efforts to create a more welcoming environment for interfaith families.

In the column, Rabbi Bender expresses her belief that the act of welcoming congregant’s family members of other religious backgrounds is not only a moral responsibility, but a matter of Torah.

No less significant is the moral principle that is put forth thousands of years ago by the prophet Isaiah: “My House will be called a house of prayer for all Peoples.” In other words our commitment to Torah and its values includes a welcoming attitude towards non-Jews in our house of worship. We are not threatening Jewish ideals by welcoming non- Jews into the synagogue, we are fulfilling them.

This congregation is fulfilling these Jewish ideals by taking full advantage of Call Synagogue Home, a JOI project in partnership with STAR (Synagogue: Transformation and Renewal), generously supported by the Samuel Bronfman Foundation. Call Synagogue Home is designed for congregations of all denominations to use life cycle events to reach out to and nurture the relationship with interfaith families. Congregations can use these events—which range from the traditional, such as birth or marriage, to non-traditional, such as moving into a new home –to foster the relationship (and retention) of those who are already part of the synagogue community. Temple Judea has created a committee of invested lay and professional leaders who have dedicated themselves to look closely at how welcoming the congregation is toward interfaith families as they approach the Bar/Bat Mitzvah experience.

Now with their research behind them, we at JOI look forward to working with the Call Synagogue Home Committee to further their efforts in helping Temple Judea create a religious home for interfaith families and everyone else who has chosen to be a part of the Jewish community.

Multicultural Festival in Cincinnati

Recently, I embarked upon my first journey to Ohio. The purpose of my trip? To help Jewish Federation of Cincinnati maximize the outreach potential of “Celebrate as One” – a huge multicultural festival inspired by Israel’s 60th birthday. The celebration featured a wide range of talent from Cincinnati and beyond and its initial success was readily apparent last Thursday evening as thousands of Cincinnatians came out, even when at first the weather did not cooperate. The event also drew over 175 volunteers from the community! “Celebrate as One” brought in an incredibly diverse crowd of performers and attendees, and it was evident by the smiles, dancing, and captive audiences at Fountain Square’s three performance areas. Folks from the entire community clearly appreciated the talent and diversity reflected in the evening.

For one young adult I spoke with who grew up in the area, it was the first time he saw the Jewish community sponsoring something that he felt truly good about. We know that many folks, especially those of the younger generation, can feel turned off by a sense of exclusivity in Jewish events, and this evening certainly lowered that barrier. As Shep Englander, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, stated in an email to the Federation, “the multicultural openness attracted hundreds of younger and less engaged Jews, who never come to our ‘Jewish only events.’” We commend the Cincinnati Federation for putting on such a wonderful program, and for recognizing the connection between event themes and the potential to reach out to a previously unengaged population.

The big question is – what happens next? That’s exactly where we at JOI come into the picture. My role in traveling to the event was to train volunteers and professionals from the Jewish federation of Cincinnati to help transform this festival from a one time event into an opportunity for the Cincinnati Jewish community to create meaningful relationships with its attendees – particularly those who are Jewishly unengaged. I trained over 20 professionals and volunteer leaders in effective name collection techniques and helped to strategically place them around the square, with a focus on entrances and high-traffic locations. As a result, hundreds of names were collected. The Jewish community can now begin to build relationships with the unengaged, bridging them from the outside of the community to the inside. We look forward to working with the Cincinnati Jewish Community to help develop systematic and systemic strategies to effectively carry out these next steps.