Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

With the start of a secular new year, the usual new year’s resolution discussion is pervasive. Pervasive though it may be, I don't know anyone who takes it seriously or feels a sense of regret for resolutions unfulfilled. After all, it’s not Yom Kippur.

Yet, by luck, coincidence or beshert, we do have an opportunity to look at our Kol Ami vision for the future with renewed vigor and purpose. We have accomplished so much in carving out a new and much needed path for synagogue life and Jewish community. Our Kol Ami community puts relationships at the forefront of all we do — how we connect with one another within our Kol Ami family, and how we connect and concern ourselves with the broader community.

By being at the forefront of positive change in envisioning our Jewish future, we cannot forget that we are confronted with change as our ongoing reality. For our work to remain meaningful and impactful, we must continually reach out and get feedback on what we are doing and how we are doing it. Fortunately, we are part of a program that provides us the opportunity to design our future.

The Clergy Leadership Incubator (CLI) is a two-year program for rabbis from all over the country. As one of 20 rabbinic fellows in the program, I have the opportunity to learn different methods to get beyond stale models of synagogue life, and ensure that we are giving voice to everyone at Kol Ami in setting our future course. While, as rabbi, I am the primary participant in the CLI, this is really a program for all of us.

We have formed a design team as part of the project. In the coming days and months, they will be reaching out to everyone at Kol Ami to get feedback. Of greatest importance is your experience of Kol Ami — how you feel when you are part of a Kol Ami service, study session, social justice project, meditation, book club, or any other Kol Ami activity.

We are hopeful that many of you will want to lend your important voice, whether it be in one-on-one interviews with someone from our design team or by participating in a parlor meeting. Ultimately, it is our hope that we will create a renewed enthusiasm for all we do — that we have a community in which we cannot help but tell others about the exciting work of Kol Ami.

Thank you all for being a part of creating this very special Jewish community. As our president, Wynne Begun, has written, let’s see how we can evolve from good to great.