The Plan
Kehilot - JCI is founded on the principle that Judaism has to be
chosen rather than forced. Evidence and experience show that the
average Israeli would support Judaism that is explained to him
or her, that is relevant to his or her lifestyle, that provides
a standard that he or she and a persons family could live by, and
that he or she could freely choose in an non pressured,
de-politicized setting. Sadly, that opportunity has been
unavailable up until now.
Kehilot's mission is to create small, community-based centers of
Jewish life that welcome expressions of Judaism from those who
have rarely, if ever, experienced traditional Judaism. It will
do so in a manner consistent with Halachick standards while
motivating, integrating, educating and counseling individuals
and families who remain very much engaged in the contemporary
world and affairs of the day.
In practice, this means :
1. Identifying a local synagogue which is non-operational or
semi- operational, and offering a merger with Kehilot, which
would employ a rabbi and rebbetzin to cater to the surrounding
neighborhood.
2. The rabbi, rebbetzin and their family relocate to the
neighborhood.
3. Locating influential individuals - such as heads of schools,
heads of neighborhood organizations, teachers - are informed of
the endeavor and asked to lend their emotional support.
4. Advertisements are placed in local and national newspapers
stating that the synagogue has begun to offer religious
services, as well as other services such as marriage, burial,
bar/bat mitzvah, family counseling, divorce counseling,
parenting assistance and teenage counseling.
5. Parents are reached out to through local schools, where the
rabbi offers to teach.
6. Social activities are organized in local circles.
7. Neighborhood families are hosted at the rabbis home.
8. A network of families is established among those who identify
with the new approach
9. The synagogue, in addition to holding prayers, becomes a
center for locals to attend family events as: Shabbat, Bar/Bat
Mitzvahs, holidays- geared towards parents with kids, young
adult dinners, memorials, baby naming ceremonies.
10. Workshops are held regularly on such topics as drugs &
teens, parenting, guide to love life, self-esteem, meditation,
Kabbalah, etc.
11. After four years of outside financial support, the community
would be expected to establish self-sufficiency.
At the heart of Kehilot - JCI is a lifestyle experience that
transcends one-time ritualistic experiences. It provides a
setting for the Jew to view his or her rabbi as a positive force
in his or her life and as a potential role model for his/her
children.
The kehilot approach is to provide the foundations for a Judaism that
is....
Communal -- not based on bureaucratic rituals Guided --and followed up -- by dedicated, empathic
professionals
Explained and chosen -- not forced
Accessible -- not threatening
Compassionate -- not closed minded
Relevant -- not foreign
True -- to Orthodox, Halachick standards
Kehilot - First
Five Years
The creation of Kehilot will roll out in two stages over six
years.
Stage 1: Setup Year
Objectives in the Setup year include organizing and engaging the
above targets, and establishing the structure of a few model
communities up and running by September 2008.
The key initiatives in this first year can be outlined in the
following 10 steps:
1) Funding of seed money
2) Registering the Foundation in Israel
3) Creating awareness among key influencers in Israel
4) Finding ideological partners for the Foundation
5) Recruiting Rabbinic Staff
6) Training of Rabbinic Staff
7) Securing partners among the
established community, such as within schools,
the rabbinate, government establishments.
8) Fundraising for pilot endeavor
9) Locating and establishing the startup
communal centers
10) Engaging in public-relations and
marketing activities
Stage 2: Years One Through Five
As fund raising pushes forward, a new community will be
established once each unit of $100,000 in funding has been
secured. In order to establish a meaningful critical mass for
this project - a critical mass that can spark a broader movement
-- three, optimally five, centers should be established.
The first five years in the life of each community is critical.
This is a period when the rabbi who is contracted with the
Foundation establishes himself.
Such work would begin in securing a small core of individuals
who are willing to provide moral support for such an effort.
This requires the creation of a partnership with broader
communal figures, with schools and with other institutions,
sparking a dialogue between religious and secular.
In time, as community outreach is conducted, the core would grow
and Saturday services would regularly be conducted. The rabbi,
through his personal concern for the community and its
individuals, would quite naturally begin to play a role in the
life events of the community. The Jewish content he provides in
a personalized, caring, empathic manner would become part of the
fabric of the community and his center would expand - through
force of his ability to connect with people on an individual
basis and the his ability to begin to fill a vacuum that has
existed in the life of the community.
Post-Stage 2: Measuring Success
After three years of operations, the success of the program can
be measured.
It is anticipated that this would be achieved by examining the
number of members affiliated with the center and the degree to
which Judaism has become integrated into their lives, the extent
to which the larger public responds to the initiative; and, of
course, the ability of the community to attain financial
self-sufficiency.
SUMMARY
KEHILOT JCI is a revolutionary concept that will demonstrate
that Judaism has a coherent, irreplaceable role in play in the
lives of Israeli individuals who have long identified themselves
as being secular and religiously uninvolved.
Given the success of outreach programs in the Diaspora, even in
areas generally considered far flung, there is every reason that
such a program can thrive in Israel. The requirements for
success are dynamic rabbis and rebbitzens working within a
structure that enable them to establish personal bonds in a
manner that does not invoke the traditional fear and distrust
that secular Jews have of such figures.
KEHILOT JCI can succeed because it focuses on serving not only
the religious needs by the human, existential needs of a
community. The benefit accrues not only to those individuals who
move closer to Judaism. Rather, the benefit accrues to Israeli
society as a whole which begins to perceive Judaism as a force
that is no longer stereotyped as evil or corrupt but as
supportive, nurturing and imbued with meaning.
Donate to to KEHILOT Jewish Communities of Israel.
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contact us
directly for larger donations.
