Going Where the People Are
Written by Rabbi Avi S. Olitzky
Traditional Jewish liturgy refers to our biblical ancestor Aaron with high praise, that he was a lover of peace (ohev shalom) and a pursuer of peace (rodef shalom), a lover of God’s creations (ohev et habriot) and drew them all near to Torah (u’mkorvan laTorah). That notion of drawing people near elicits a gentle and sweet image of tender comfort. But that is where we are challenged to look deeper at both sides of this expression: Keruv and Torah.
The Jewish community uses the word keruv (the same root in u’mkorvan) to mean outreach. Keruv means to draw near—that is, to bring someone close, just as we describe Aaron’s strengths. Implicit in the word itself is one approach to nurturing and developing community. Keruv implies that one plants their feet, reaches out their arms and draws others near to them. Interestingly, some suggest that this is precisely what Aaron did wrong in placating the Israelites with the Golden Calf—he planted his feet and drew them near, instead of meeting them and understanding where they were, so to speak.
Applying this to a synagogue setting, for example, the synagogue as an institution often has its “feet” planted and hopes that the programming within its walls will develop “arms” to draw people closer. In some cases, this is successful. In other cases, neither those already connected to an institution, nor those not yet connected, draw near. The synagogue can go from good to great reframing their understanding of what it means to be warm and welcoming, inclusive, and exemplary of strong outreach.
Radical institutions of the past two decades embraced Public Space Judaism. But it is no longer as simple as programming in the public sphere. Antisemitism and safety have been a hindrance for some. Worse, the pandemic has further underscored the urgency of this reframing, increasing the physical divide between institutions and constituents. Virtual platforms have helped bring institutions into one’s home. However, streaming worship services (or lectures or study groups) is still planting one’s feet and hoping that the arms do their work. We must go where the people are—we have to actually program in their homes, in their neighborhoods, in their community spaces.
Second, Torah—a word intrinsic to Judaism and yet a concept that is relatively ambiguous. It is not simply the Five Books of Moses and it is not simply Jewish learning or wisdom. Torah is anything within a Jewish context that a person engages to learn more deeply about themselves and how to enrich the world around them in doing so. This means that the Torah our institutions provide must reflect the recipients of the Torah far more than the recipients of the Torah reflecting the Torah provided. Or, better stated: Torah should be bespoke and curated to meet the desires and needs of the audience. Synagogue programming should be more a “wow, how did I find myself at this amazing program—it feels so natural that I ended up here” and less a “I know you’re busy but you really should come!”
When consulting with institutions, we map not only their current population, but also understand where the underserved population centers are located. We understand how these cohorts spend their professional and leisure time. We understand what interests them and what they reject and avoid.
With robust accuracy, we can determine where an institution needs to move its feet—whether to relocate their building, to develop satellite operations, or simply to deploy engagement professionals and programming. And we understand how to meet people where they are and help them immerse in Torah fitting for them.
The clarification of both Keruv and Torah lead us to the stumbling block for all synagogues: membership. Synagogues often misstep regarding outreach because their goal is usually quantitative: how do we get more members to belong to our congregation? The work we do helps a synagogue begin to reframe its philosophy. These institutions instead begin to ask qualitatively: how do we get more people to feel that they belong to our congregation? Previously they believed that if someone paid to belong, they felt that they belong. But paying membership dues does not translate into the feeling of belonging. And yet, the feeling of belonging does indeed translate into membership. The shift, then, is from membership to engagement. These institutions evolve into engagement centers instead of membership organizations.
Today’s synagogue needs to progress and change to remain relevant. The Jewish community (and beyond) is voting with their feet. We would be shortsighted to think that they are solely moving in our direction.
Our holy work is to run toward them with open arms, ready to walk the long and winding road of life together.