Jewish World Needs a Creative Infusion

There’s a reason so many people are afraid to stick their necks out with creative ideas. You’ll find the reason if you look up “stick your neck out” in the dictionary: “Take a risk; expose oneself to criticism.”

Why would anyone expose themselves to criticism?

I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen this subtle fear at work in meetings or strategy sessions. People are very comfortable reiterating problems, using lots of jargon or criticizing someone else’s ideas. But sharing an idea of their own? Why risk getting one’s head chopped off?

Here’s one good reason: Because the Jewish world right now is in desperate need of a creative infusion.

Our community has been dealing with familiar problems for decades, until the COVID pandemic accelerated a lethal problem: Millions of Jews are now happy just staying home, living the online life.

But, you say, if they’re bonding with their kids, learning how to make zucchini muffins, listening to fabulous Jewish lectures and participating in stimulating Jewish events, what’s wrong with that?

Besides the fact that it’s shattering revenue models and keeping us physically apart? I don’t know. You tell me.

After all, I’m one of the Jews I’m talking about. My online life is extraordinary, whether I’m doing a keynote speaker gig in Australia from my bedroom, watching the newest episode of “Succession” or FaceTiming with my child in Israel.

It’s so extraordinary, so comfortable, so safe and convenient, I have to make a major effort to re-engage with the real world.

But here’s the amazing part: Every time I do it, I never regret it. It reminds me that in-person connection and intimacy is both indispensable and irreplaceable.

Which brings me to sticking our necks out. Jewish structures across America, whether synagogues or museums or community centers, have seen sharp declines in attendance. I wrote about this development in our cover story two weeks ago, and got responses from across the Jewish world.

The basic message was: You’re right, but what can we do?

Well, for one thing, we can push ourselves to be more creative. Every Jewish center—religious or otherwise—interested in boosting attendance ought to have brainstorming sessions where no one will be afraid to stick their necks out.

The silver lining of this crisis is that it is forcing us to bring our creative A game… So, if you have some good ideas, please stick your necks out and send them along. We want to publish ideas; we’ll let you criticize them.

My friend Howard Zack, who is part of the leadership team at a Conservative congregation in Palo Alto, did just that. The key question that kicked off their brainstorming was: What can we offer that Zoom can never offer?

They’re already running with one of the ideas—the Ultimate Kiddush, which Howard wrote about in last week’s Journal.

Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn also shared her ideas about the synagogue becoming a “second home.” Over Shabbat I heard about a great in-person event organized by Temple Israel of Hollywood. The silver lining of this crisis is that it is forcing us to bring our creative A game, because we have no choice.

Speaking of A game, longtime communal expert Gary Wexler has a must-read in this week’s paper titled, “Can Synagogues Provide the Radical Disruption that the Jewish World Needs?” Wexler argues that synagogues “can and must be the entities that take the lead to re-conceptualize Jewish life and infrastructure, pulling us through the challenges and ravages of the pandemic.”

To meet that challenge, Wexler argues, the organized Jewish world must shed its risk-averse culture: “The radical disruption we now need in order to survive and thrive through the devastation of the pandemic is the creation of big, bold, new ideas. Ideas change the world. They move it forward.”

Since our cover story came out, I’ve been receiving more and more ideas around the challenge of the day: How do we inject enough real experiences into our communal lives to keep us sane, alive, and connected to one another in more authentic ways?

Since our cover story came out, I’ve been receiving more and more ideas on the challenge of the day: How do we inject enough real experiences into our communal lives to keep us sane, alive, and connected to one another in more authentic ways?

I sense that we’re past the point of complaining or even arguing about the problem. The beguiling power of the digital world to keep Jews away from physical spaces is no longer in question—it’s our new reality.

To address that reality, we’ll have to reimagine a Jewish communal life where in-person activity can still flourish. I can even imagine the Jewish Federation handing out In-Person Innovation prizes.

So, if you have some good ideas, please stick your necks out and send them along. We want to publish ideas; we’ll let you criticize them.