Author Archives: joshuarabin

At the end of the synagogue programming year, many leaders find themselves depressed at missed opportunities and financial targets, and an anxiety as to whether or not the coming year will bring more of the same. But in that moment, … Continue reading →

This Shavuot, we need to recommit ourselves to telling our story, to constructing a worldview of meaning and transcendence that can redefine what synagogues mean in the twenty-first century.  Yes, if our synagogues and institutions were lost to the world, … Continue reading →

Today, as the Jewish Community struggles under the weight of financial, political, demographic and institutional constraints, there may be nothing more important than to take seriously the idea that we choose whether or not our institutions will become enslaved by … Continue reading →

Today, the words “Conservative Judaism” and “interfaith marriage” are seldom seen in-print without a story about some controversy.   As a result, not enough time is spent in reflective conversation about the most important current trend affecting synagogues.   This morning, eJewishPhilanthropy … Continue reading →

In the Purim story, Esther and Mordecai had every reason to give up in face of Haman’s cruelty when it seemed as though no God would save them.  Yet in spite of no divine intervention of the kind experienced by Noah, Abraham … Continue reading →

Today, too many synagogue leaders with whom I work serve under the shadow of a depressing equilibrium, where they know that the model they inherited is unsustainable, yet fear the disruption of even a step towards radical change. But the … Continue reading →

The big questions facing the Jewish community are not tedious; they are complicated and consequential.  Today, The Times of Israel published a post I wrote in preparation for Tu B’Shevat about whether or not our organizations value the deep work necessary to … Continue reading →

I am honored to have been selected for the second class of the Wexner Field Fellowship.  The fellowship is a three-year intensive professional development program. Together with a cohort of Jewish professionals from across North America, Wexner Field Fellows will … Continue reading →

Like many rabbis, I grew up worshipping the iconic images of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marching together in Selma, Alabama. Few historical moments made me more proud to be a Jew and a rabbi. … Continue reading →

Conservative Judaism is a legacy brand that thrived in the 20th-century through world-renowned scholarship, bustling suburban synagogues, high-quality educational brands, and a religious message that resonated with Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.  While no one can claim to predict the … Continue reading →