Blog Entries

Judaism is not a Twitter-Able Religion

skraus@jesna.org — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Below you will find an article written by Donniel Hartman in which he confronts a Catch-22 of today:

..."In order to reach the numbers we need, we have to dumb down our message and water down the experience. A dumbed-down and watered-down Judaism, however, cannot compete in an open marketplace of ideas. Therefore, our successes lay the foundation for our failure. At the same time, when one deepens the message and intensifies the experience, one seemingly loses the numbers game."

Please rea [...]

Scarsdale Rabbi To Lead Reform

skraus@jesna.org — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 05:00:00 +0100

Westchester’s Richard Jacobs to take over movement; top rabbis say URJ is out of touch.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 Gary Rosenblatt Editor And Publisher

With an internal position paper by Reform rabbinic leadership describing the movement as in “d [...]

Talking To Conservative Rabbis: What’s In A ‘Movement’?

skraus@jesna.org — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 05:00:00 +0100

Julie Schonfeld Special To The Jewish Week

Since the beginning of January, I have been on a tour of North America and have seen over 400 Conservative rabbis face-to-face or conducted extensive phone interviews with them.

What am I looking for?

I have been reaching out to my colleagues with the question: “As a rabbi, what are you are trying to accomplish [...]

Are Synagogues Still Relevant?

skraus@jesna.org — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 05:00:00 +0100

Sid Schwarz Special To The Jewish Week

The recent release of a draft strategic plan for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is simply the latest indicator of the challenge facing non-Orthodox Judaism in the United States. The USCJ press release was accompanied by data showing that the movement has lost 14 percent of their affiliated families since 2001, and [...]

The Foundations of Social Media

skraus@jesna.org — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:00:00 +0100

On Wednesday, March 9, 2011, ACRE members participated in a webinar titled, The Foundations of Social Media: New Rules of the Game and Strategies for Success for Rabbis and Jewish Organizations. The webinar facilitator was Lisa Colton, the founder and president of Darim Online (www.darimonline.org). Darim Online is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Jewish organizations thrive in the digital age.

The webinar highlighted the implications of social media [...]

Creating an Entrepreneurial Rabbinate

skraus@jesna.org — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 05:00:00 +0100

Creating an Entrepreneurial Rabbinate

Rabbi Rebecca W. Sirbu

One rabbi blogs about science and religion on the Huffington Post (www.sinaiandsynapes.com ), another teaches chanting and Jewish meditation at a Yoga studio down the road from her congregation (http://shmakoleinu-hearourvoices.blogspot.com/), and a third counsels, teaches, [...]

How Relevant is this to the World of CRE?

skraus@jesna.org — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 05:00:00 +0100

Adrift in a Sea of Resources: The Quiet Crisis in Clergy Continuing Education by G. Jeffrey MacDonald

THE ARTICLE BELOW FROM THE FALL, 2010 EDITION OF CONGREGATIONS DESCRIBES A SERIES OF ISSUES FACING CHRISTIAN CLERGY AND CLERGY CONTINUING EDUCATION. AS YOU READ THIS ARTICLE, REFLECT AND COMMENT BELOW ON HOW RELEVANT THIS IS TO THE FIELD OF CONTINUING RABBINIC EDUCATION

On a crisp winter morning in 2009, pastors from across the country gathere [...]

The Social Sermon

skraus@jesna.org — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 05:00:00 +0100

The Social Sermon is a unique approach using social media to make synagogues, classrooms and other educational settings more participatory and communal.

The approach allows a rabbi, for instance, to compose a weekly sermon by posing ideas from the weekly Torah portion into an online communal conversation and allowing a discussion to unfold on Twitter or Facebook. Come Shabbat, the rabbi's sermon reflects a communal conversation, not just his or her personal reflections.

Da [...]

We've Come A Long Way

skraus@jesna.org — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100

As I look back over the years of my rabbinate it is amazing how far the American rabbinate has come in its recognition that organized and professional CRE for rabbis is a must for every rabbi. As such, our association, ACRE, has played an important role in galvanizing the consensus that every rabbi needs to develop a comprehensive CRE plan that he/she can present to their congregation or organization. Such a plan will show that the individual rabbi understan [...]

Why Your Rabbi Can't Lead

skraus@jesna.org — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Why Your Rabbi Can't Lead

In 1893, Ahad Ha'Am, a proponent of cultural Zionism, wrote an essay entitled, "Priest and Prophet." The gist of this article was that Moses, the Prophet, was an idealist. Therefore, he was uncompromising in his expectations about God's demands the Jewish people. On the other hand, Aaron the Priest, the older brother of Moses, was a popular leader. He worked in the messy, real realm of people and was a pra [...]

New Rules of Engagement

skraus@jesna.org — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 05:00:00 +0100

On October 26, Mordecai Holtz wrote the following blog posting on E Jewish Philanthropy:

In an age when we the Jewish youth are being influenced by a bastion of sources of media and technology, the Jewish people cannot afford to show a disjointed front towards the future. Today's Jewish youth, according to Dr. Steven Cohen, view the current Jewish practices and, it would seem, modern Jewish leaders as their role models, as autonomous, boring, bland, coercive, and [...]

Jewish Studies Rises, but We Pay the Price

skraus@jesna.org — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Dr. Jacob Neusner, Distinguished Service Professor of the History and Theology of Judaism and a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College, makes clear in this editorial published in the Forward why rabbinical seminaries are so crucial to the life of the Jewish people.

Click here to read Neusner's argument.

3rd Annual ACRE Conference

skraus@jesna.org — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 05:00:00 +0100

3RD ANNUAL ALLIANCE FOR CONTINUING

RABBINIC EDUCATION (ACRE) CONFERENCE

CRE: A FORCE FOR TRANSFORMATION

(IN A CONSTANTLY CHANGING WORLD)

5 Cheshvan 5771~ October 13, 2010

"תלמוד גדול שהתלמוד מביא לידי מעשה" מסכת קדושין � [...]

Taking a Break from the Lord's Work

skraus@jesna.org — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0100

In this article, New York Times columnist, Paul Vitello, writes:

Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans.

We invite you to read this article and comment on how or if this applies to the rabbinate

Transforming Professional Development into Student Results

skraus@jesna.org — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Allow me to quote the first page of a recently written book:

"Imagine that you received the following announcement from your local physician and hospital:

In a sharp break with tradition, we have decided to start using evidence to make our medical care decisions. We will evaluate carefully the available data and, in the future, engage in more of the practices that improve health and fewer of the practices that appear to kill people.

Would you fi [...]

The Rabbinic Forum at Moreh L'Morim

skraus@jesna.org — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:00:00 +0100

June 16, 2010

Dear Rabbinic Colleagues,

I am pleased to tell you about a wonderful opportunity for professional development and growth at the Moreh L'Morim Conference this summer. We have created a unique day of learning for rabbinic leadership, The Rabbinic Forum @ Moreh L'Morim, on Tuesday August 10, from 9am-5pm with the evening concert at 7:15pm. The cost for the day is $54 which includes lunch and dinner.

Following is the tentative program for the Rabb [...]

Technology and Jewish Education: A Revolution in the Making?”

skraus@jesna.org — Wed, 12 May 2010 05:00:00 +0100

We thought that you might be interested in seeing some of the discussion in the “blogosphere” that has grown out of last week’s conference on “Technology and Jewish Education: A Revolution in the Making?” co-sponsored by the Lippman Kanfer Institute and the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner. We encourage you to share your own thoughts about where we go next to take full advantage of the potential that technology holds for exp [...]

Growing Jewish Education in Challenging Times

skraus@jesna.org — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Quality Jewish education is our most powerful tool for ensuring a vibrant Jewish future. But, it can’t have an impact on those who don’t participate.

What can we do to make Jewish education more attractive, accessible and affordable, even under current conditions of economic pressure on both “providers” and “consumers”? How do the challenges of expanding educational participation play out today in specific arenas – [...]

An Insight to the Internet of Things

skraus@jesna.org — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

I found this 5-minute video ( http://omgzam.com/technology/video-an-insight-to-the-internet-of-things) thought-provoking. It does an interesting job of explaining what is currently happening when the digital world meets the physical and intellectual and the emerging trend of Internet of Things. What struck me most when thinking about the world of CRE is the pyramid of DIKW--Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom and how we will have to find innovative ways of using technolo [...]

Making Jewish Education Work: Professional Development for Educators

skraus@jesna.org — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

JESNA recently published the fourth volume in its series on Making Jewish Education Work. This edition focuses on Professional Development for Educators. Perhaps you, like me, when reading this report (found here) will ask yourself how the findings in this report relate to rabbis and CRE. You might even want to go back and read our latest research piece on CRE Evaluations (found here) to undergo a detailed analysis.

For now, I would like to quote several relevant [...]