We were ‘building-rich’ and ‘millennial-hungry’. Now, a reversal.
Now, I think we all appreciate that we were not too busy and nothing is guaranteed tomorrow. With that knowledge, there is no going back. Image by Yehuda Blum
As a Jewish community, we will hopefully soon dig ourselves out of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will look for meaning and opportunities from this unprecedented crisis. The Hebrew word for crisis is “mash’ber,” a word also used to refer to the birthing stool upon which a woman in ancient times sat as she gave birth. Crises, our tradition suggests, are frightening but also filled with potential.
Sam Yebri
As much as our instincts counsel us to work hard to get back to “normal,” the reality is that there will be a new normal. Every element of the Jewish community – from organizations and synagogues to professionals, volunteers, and philanthropists – will be weary and struggling. However, the qualities that are currently helping our community survive will drive a transformation of our community.
First, community organizations will need to innovate and evolve to survive. This crisis has been a laboratory for innovation, largely through technology. Despite the challenges, Zoom and other video communications have enabled professional productivity from home and have shown that technology can play a meaningful role in the future of Jewish education and even Jewish practice.
Virtual engagement is especially ripe for new creative ways to engage young Jews. In addition to transforming engagement and programming, innovation will also require new models for fundraising. For many organizations, expensive lavish galas may never return. Organizations will need to do more with less and find ways to inspire their supporters without the chicken dinner.
Second, strengthening our most vulnerable and supporting families with children must once again be seen as the Jewish community’s primary obligations. This “back to basics” approach requires strengthening social service organizations that serve as a safety net for elderly, disabled, and low-income Jews.
More importantly, we are seeing a new form of leadership emerge. Ordinary members of the community leading extraordinary initiatives to feed, serve, and educate our community. Having spent hundreds of millions of dollars on capital campaigns in recent years, our community witnessed that our most valuable assets were not our buildings or sanctuaries, but the spirit and heart of our people.
Finally, the spirit of community kindness and cooperation must become the rule, not the exception during extraordinary times. Opportunities for cross-denominational learning and synergies abound. Institutions (like synagogues with aging membership) that are “building-rich” but “millennial-hungry” must find ways to partner with the cutting-edge organizations reaching the next generation.
Institutions with overlapping missions should collaborate not compete, and potentially merge to succeed, rather manage to survive.
Jewish education has always been the key to the future of our community. Now is the time to massively invest in Jewish education, while concurrently finding more ways to cut expenses to make Jewish education accessible, affordable, and appealing to more families during the forthcoming recession. Otherwise, another generation of young couples will be forced to consider limiting the size of their families due to economic considerations.
Judaism remains a timeless, high-yield proposition. “Why” be Jewish is clearer and more relevant than ever. For some, Judaism means a connection to our people, our history, our land, our Torah, and our G-d. For others, Judaism embodies a call to service and justice.
But, what this pandemic may transform in the Jewish community is the “how” we do Jewish. During the last seven weeks, I have had the opportunity to remotely visit more synagogues and to learn from more rabbis and thinkers than I have done in several years. Prior to this crisis, these opportunities were there.
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Los Angeles traffic aside, nothing really stopped me from such Jewish exploration. Like many, I often believed that I was too busy or that there would be other chances. Now, I think we all appreciate that we were not too busy and nothing is guaranteed tomorrow. With that knowledge, there is no going back.
Sam Yebri is an attorney and activist in Los Angeles. He is the president and co-founder of 30 Years After, an Iranian-American Jewish civic organization. He also serves on the boards of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, ETTA, and the Builders of Jewish Education.
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