sid.schwarz Articles communities of meaning, Covid 19, emerging Jewish communities, Jewish community, Jewish Federations, Jewish identity, Jewish start-ups, Kenissa: Communities of Meaning Network, legacy Jewish organizations
I have spent a considerable amount of time over the past 20 years in the synagogue transformation space. I currently direct CLI, a two-year fellowship for rabbis on visionary thinking and change management. On our website, we curate a monthly synagogue innovation blog which includes some truly transformational ideas that are re-imagining synagogues for the […]
sid.schwarz Articles creativity, innovation, Jewish community, Kenissa, portals of Jewish life, re-imagining Jewish communal life
I have spent a considerable amount of my professional time over the past twenty years in the field of synagogue transformation. In my book, Finding a Spiritual Home: How a New Generation of Jews can Transform the American Synagogue, I argued that the American synagogue was stuck in a model that developed in the two […]
sid.schwarz Articles communities of meaning, emerging Jewish communities, innovation, intentional communities, Jewish community, Jewish identity, social entrepreneurship
I recently was invited to make a presentation to deans from eight different rabbinical seminaries. The topic was how to better equip their students with some tools so that they can be more successful at driving innovation in the institutions that they will serve in the future. I observed that when I founded a synagogue […]
sid.schwarz Articles art, censorship, Israel, Jewish community, theater
Given the controversy surrounding Theater J’s production of Motti Lerner’s play, The Admission, at the DCJCC, I expected a full scale indictment of Israel’s conduct during the 1948 War of Independence. Instead I encountered a play that probed the complexity of war, politics, memory, ethnic identity, love and survival with astounding sensitivity and nuance. Ever […]
sid.schwarz Articles activism, Fellowship program, human rights, Israel, Jewish community, Jewish professionals, Makom, NGO, RCFP, René Cassin, René Cassin Fellowship Program, social justice
Last week an application process was launched for a brand new program called the René Cassin Fellowship Program (RCFP). With hubs in New York, London and Jerusalem, the RCFP will select 36 outstanding Jewish young professionals, ages 25-35. The year-long program of study, travel and hands-on impact projects does not take the place of one’s […]