Do Not Separate Yourself From the Community

Hillel said: Do not separate yourself from the community. And do not trust in yourself until the day of your death. And do not judge your fellow until you have stood in their place. Do not say something which cannot be heard (on the assumption) that eventually it will be heard. And do not say, 'When I have time I shall study,' perhaps you will never make the time. - Pirke Avot 2:5.

The lead article in the Summer issue of Reform Judaism magazine focuses on navigating the cyberworld of technology and re-inventing the synagogue.  The new world of networked computing has led us to this new frontier in synagogue life. The relative ease with which we can connect and the openness of the internet as a conduit for information have radically changed the world we live in.  The old models for doing synagogue assume a very different structure than the networked connections and social network conversations that many of us are able to have through email, Facebook, texting, and internet exploration.

 Ron Wolfson, visionary educator and cofounder of Synagogue 3000, is the author of Relational Judaism: Using the Power of Relationships to Transform the Jewish Community (Jewish Lights Publishing).  In a Synagogue 3000 report last year,  Wolfson gave this advice: “ We have to move from a synagogue of programs targeting different populations to a deepening relationship between the synagogue and their members...The best way to root people in the life of the congregation is through relationships….” 

Wolfson’s new book is an exploration of how relationships transform synagogues from institutions into communities: “For me, the value-added must be a face-to-face community of relationships that gives my life meaning and purpose, belonging and blessing. "Meaning" is an understanding of the significance of life. "Purpose" is an imperative to do what you are put on earth to do during your life. "Belonging" is a community of people who will be there for you and with you. "Blessing" is a feeling of deep satisfaction and gratitude, a calendar and life cycle of opportunities to celebrate the gifts of life.”

At the heart of it, synagogue life is about what Rabbi Hillel taught thousands of years ago – synagogue life is about community and about communal responsibility. While we may be busy lamenting the declining affiliation rates in churches and synagogues across North America, the good news is that many Jews are very interested in Judaism. Transforming the synagogue means thinking differently about how to build community and connectedness. We have to change our measurement of success from looking at the attendance at programs and services, to looking at how many people have deep and lasting relationships within our congregational communities. People come for programs; they stay members if they have those relationships. Our congregation's recent Conversation Café’s have been a wonderful way to think about our relationships within our own synagogue community and think about we can build on the strengths that we already have.