Beth El Temple’s
November/December 2014
Hashaliach
Cheshvan/Kislev 5775 Volume 25 Number 2
Beth El Temple Presents
DR. RON WOLFSON
Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf Scholar-in-Residence by Jane Mendlow
November 21-23, 2014 When Barbra Streisand belted out the legendary pop song, “People,” in 1964, composed by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, no one could have predicted that the theme of that hit would be relevant to the upcoming Scholar-inResidence weekend. The message — people who need people, who are not emotionally cut off from others, are the luckiest people in the world — is a theme remarkably aligned with Dr. Ron Wolfson’s discovery and prediction that the survival of Judaism and Jewish communal institutions in North America will be based not on programs but on relationships with people. Dr. Wolfson has identified the theme of this special weekend: Relational Judaism: Using the Power of Relationships to Transform Our Synagogues and Communities. As a renowned author, scholar, educator, and speaker, he has been a seminal leader in helping Jewish communities and congregations build new models for engagement that emphasize relationships with people and develop communities that “genuinely care about the people we seek to engage.” His suggestions for changes in outlook, policies, and action apply to rabbis, professional staff, lay leaders, congregants, and other Jewish institutions in the community. Based on his broad experience in observing different Jewish communities across the country and the world, Dr. Wolfson has useful examples of what is working and not working in terms of engagement.
To illustrate a common situation, in the Autumn 2013 issue of CJ: Voices of Conservative/Masorti Judaism, marking the 100th anniversary of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Dr. Wolfson wrote an article entitled “It’s About People, Not Programs.” He recalls a rabbi confiding in him that a woman who was a member of his synagogue for 20 years resigned. According to the rabbi, “I was shocked because she showed up to all of our programs. So, I called her to ask why she was leaving. You know what she said? ‘I came to everything, and I never met anybody.’ ” Demographic changes affect congregations, but they also provide an opportunity to re-think strategies. In an interview with the Jewish Ledger in February 2014, Dr. Wolfson addresses the growing phenomenon of the delay in marriage and having children, which has typically led to Jews getting involved in the Jewish community. At the same time there has been an increase in the Baby Boomer generation and empty nesters, who tend to drop away from affiliation with Jewish organizations unless there is a community connection through friends. Strategies that take these changes into account will be part of this learning weekend. The concept of relationships and “relational Judaism,” according to Dr. Wolfson, is central to Judaism. Last year in the Jewish Journal, Dr. Wolfson explained, “The foundational principles of Judaism are based on relationships, or the Hebrew notion of brit or covenant. We do not live our lives in isolation; we share our lives with one another, with family, friends, the Jewish world, the larger world, and ultimately with God.” How does a “relational model” differ from a “transactional or programmatical model” for Jewish communities, and why does it matter? Why are successful organizations moving to a relational model? Dr. Wolfson will unravel these questions and more in his sermon, presentations, and discussions throughout the weekend.
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