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Music seen as key to attracting young people to Jewish clergy St. Louis’ Rick Recht discusses Judaism Alive initiative BY BILL MOTCHAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
An ambitious initiative aims to help train and place 500 young Jewish leaders across North America by 2027. The program is being developed by Judaism Alive, a nonprofit organization that includes Jewish Rock Radio, JKids Radio, Jewish Star and Songleader Boot Camp. It is intended to address a looming nationwide shortage of Jewish clergy. The goal is to encourage and support teenagers and young adults to pursue careers as rabbis, cantors, song leaders and lay leaders, said Rick Recht, executive director of Judaism Alive. “There’s a huge demand and incredible supply shortage of rabbis, of cantors, of Jewish leadership,” Recht said. “We have formed a leadership pipeline that we are formalizing through this drive.” The looming shortage of Jewish clergy is due in part to an aging rabbinate. A Faith Communities Today survey of 15,278 religious congregations across the United States in 2020 showed that the median age of U.S. rabbis was 56. Some rabbis are retiring early, which exacerbates the problem. Conservative movement leaders pre-
BY BILL MOTCHAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
The Songleader Boot Camp (SLBC) National Conference returns to St. Louis on Feb. 19 for its first in-person gathering since 2020. The leadership training gathering for Jewish clergy, educators, camp staff and song leaders was presented as a virtual conference for the past two years. The 2023 version will offer both in-person and virtual segments. Rick Recht and Rabbi Brad Horwitz founded SLBC in 2009. The primary activities are held at the Jewish Community Center’s Staenberg Family Complex. Recht said enthusiasm among attendees is high to return to a post-pandemic in-person event. “People are thrilled but they’re also relieved,” Recht said. “There is a giant collective exhale and appreciation to be physically together and to share this learning and this healing and this celebration together.” Nearly 500 participants are expected, including several hundred at the J. Featured presenters include Rabbi David Ingber from New York and Rabbi Abby Stein, a Jewish educator, author, speaker and activist who grew up in a Hasidic family and became ordained as a rabbi and in 2015 came out as a woman of trans experience. Stein is the author of “Becoming Eve” a book about her experience. She is a direct descendant of the Baal Shem Tov. “She’s quite a fascinating person with an incredible story,” Recht said. “We’re really
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At top and above: Participants in the 2019 Songleader Bootcamp join together in song during a session at the Jewish Community Center. FILE PHOTO: BILL MOTCHAN excited to have her with us. We have another highlight—more than 50 Jewish Star teen and young adults who are going to be with us.” Jewish Star is a talent search and development program that identifies and recruits Jewish teens and young adults who have a passion for music. The program provides leadership training and mentorship with prominent Jewish artists and educators. Ingber and Stein will be featured in the SLBC Community Speaker Series on
Monday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the J’s Mirowitz Performing Arts Center. Attendance is open to the public. Register online at www.songleaderbootcamp.com/ register. The SLBC, Recht said, was able to create a high-value experience for attendees thanks to the support of donors, including the Kranzberg Family Foundation, the Gladys K. Crown Foundation, Jewish Federation, and then the Staenberg Family Foundation.”
Rick Recht, Executive Director of Judaism Alive. PHOTO: BILL MOTCHAN