The Chronicle
Fall 2011
Page 19
Visionary Leadership for the American Synagogue
Dr. Isa Aron,
Professor of Education, HUC-JIR/Jack H. Skirball Campus/Los Angeles; Founding Director, Experiment in Congregational Education
T
he 1990s was the decade of synagogue transfor-
mation. A 1998 study identified no fewer than
forty initiatives devoted to revitalizing one or another
aspect of synagogue life. Two of the oldest and largest
of these projects, the Experiment in Congregational
Education (ECE) and Synagogue 2000 (S2K), both
based at HUC-JIR, contributed the most to introducing
the language of innovation and inspiring many syna-
gogues to innovate. But how successful were these
projects in changing the day-to-day experiences of
congregants?
In 2005 Professor Lawrence Hoffman of the New
York campus (co-founder of S2K) and I recruited two
social scientists, Professor Steven M. Cohen (of HUC-
JIR) and Ari Y. Kelman (of University of California,
Davis) to help us find out. We interviewed 175 lay and
professional leaders of eight synagogues that had par-
ticipated in one or both of our projects and were
reputed to have
enabled
many of their congregants to
be life-long, year-round, thoroughly committed and
practicing Jews.
As we sifted through our data, certain patterns
emerged. The synagogues, whom we termed “vision-
ary” to distinguish them from the merely “functional,”
shared six characteristics in common. These charac-
teristics are discussed in depth in our book,
Sacred
Strategies: Transforming Synagogues from Functional to
Visionary
,
which won the 2010 National Jewish Book
Award in the category of Education and Jewish Iden-
tity.
Extrapolating from the six characteristics of the
visionary
congregation
,
one can delineate a parallel set
of six characteristics of visionary synagogue
leaders
:
Focusing on the Synagogue’s
Sacred Purpose
Many, if not most, American Jews join congregations
in order to receive a set of
services
(
e.g., religious
school, celebration of life cycle events). Visionary
leaders neither cater to nor settle for this consumerist
mentality, striving, instead, to create a sacred commu-
nity in which members care for one another, the
Jewish tradition, the world in which we live, and God.
Holistic Mindset
Resisting the natural inclination to view the synagogue
from their own narrow vantage point, thereby making
their work more manageable, visionary leaders see
Torah
(
Jewish learning)
,
Avodah
(
Jewish worship) and
G
’
milut Hasadim
(
Acts of Loving Kindness) as inter-
twined and inseparable. While different leaders may
take primary responsibility for each of these, they
remain mindful and proactive about the connec-
tions between them.
Working Collaboratively
In the 19th and 20th centuries (and even, to some
extent, today) it was common for synagogues to
be governed hierarchically, with the work of the
clergy sharply differentiated from that of the laity.
For visionary leaders, in contrast, a highly partici-
patory culture signifies not loss of control but
success in leadership.
Concentrating on the Meaning of
Traditional Practices
A major theme in American religion over the past few
decades has been the rise of seeking meaning. Current
and potential congregants choose to affiliate and to
become more or less involved in congregational life to
the extent that Judaism speaks to their most keenly
felt moral and personal issues. With the growing diver-
sity of American Jewry, congregations are challenged
now more than ever to provide environments and ex-
periences where meaning-making can happen.
Innovative
Visionary leaders view themselves as change agents
who promote innovation. Ric Rudman, former Presi-
dent of Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, CA,
said:
Every ten years or so you should take all the things
you really cherish and zero base them. What do we
know now? What’s the current reality? Where do
[
we] want to be in five years? And what changes do
we have to make in the current model to get there?
That will lead to new insights and improvements in
the system.
Of course, innovations don’t always succeed, as Susan
Wolfe, a Board member at the same congregation,
stated:
When you attempt change you have to be willing to
fail. It doesn’t all work. We’ve had failures – big fail-
ures. Then we step back and regroup and revamp
and try to do it better the next time. But if you don’t
make any mistakes, you don’t learn anything.
Reflective
In keeping with their sacred purpose to create mean-
ingful religious experiences, visionary leaders continually
take on new challenges; the only way they can do this
is by being reflective. Reflection is required to sort out
superficial desire from underlying need, and the
merely trendy from the spiritually significant. Reflec-
tion is required to keep focused on one’s own sphere of
influence while being mindful of other, related spheres.
Reflection is required to discern the talents of potential
partners and the promise of potential innovations.
Above all, reflection is required to improve one’s own
leadership capacities. Synagogue transformation and
personal transformation go hand in hand.
Rabbi Richard Jacobs, N ’82, one of the rabbis
in our study and the newly elected President
of the Union for Reform Judaism, told us: “We
need to empower lay people, because it is key
to having people lead meaningful Jewish
lives. I love when people are learning and
teaching, and I have partners.”
Dr. Isa Aron meeting with a Rhea Hirsch School of Education student.
