One of United Synagogue’s most important goals under its strategic plan, at base, perhaps, its raison d’etre, is its commitment to provide resources and programs that strengthen the kehillot that make up the religious center of Jewish life in North America. The way we will meet that goal is through our new network of kehillah relationship managers.

Kehilla relationship managers are our grassroots support system. Fully devoted to our kehillot’s needs, they are the liaison between headquarters and the field. They can spot trends; they keep abreast of new programs that come from our continental headquarters or the field, and they share information that comes from every single one of our diverse group of kehillot.

What does this mean in practical terms? It means that the KRM’s job is to develop a very real relationship with at least one of the clergy, staff and/or lay leaders in every kehilla to which he or she is assigned. Your KRM’s task is to listen closely to you, to help you pinpoint and diagnose problems, and if necessary to get you the help you need to fix them. The KRM’s network encompasses all of the expertise United Synagogue has to offer, and it extends beyond United Synagogue to provide you with even more specialized help if you need it. The KRM’s detailed knowledge of your kehilla will allow him or her to tailor the help available to meet your kehilla’s specifications.

The KRM system is now firmly in place. Your KRM has been in touch with someone in your kehilla about Sulam, our multitiered leadership development program, and about completing a leadership survey. He or she is eager to learn as much as possible about your kehilla as soon as possible. We all look forward to a network of relationships that will strengthen each of us in so many ways – managerially, organizationally, spiritually, and Jewishly. We know that our new KRM system will do just that.

Hag Sameach,

Kathy Elias
Chief Kehilla Officer

Dr. Raymond B. Goldstein
Kehilla Relationship Team Leader

Meet the KRMs

Kehilla Relationship Team Leader

Dr. Ray Goldstein is our kehilla relationship team leader, overseeing the KRMs. He also serves a KRM for some kehillot in the Central district.

Ray joined United Synagogue’s staff as the central district’s interim director in 2010. He already had served the organization in many volunteer positions, capped by four years as its international president. He has been president of two kehillot and sat on the board of a third.  He has a long history of service on not-for-profit boards and has developed a keen interest and extensive background in board governance and management. Before joining the staff, Ray taught at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska for eight years, and he owned and ran a multifaceted technology firm in Rochester, Minnesota. Ray and his wife, Jody, an elementary school principal, live in Rochester.

Metropolitan New York (METNY) District

Nadine Kochavi, Metny’s senior KRM, comes to us from Congregation Rodeph Sholom, a prominent Reform synagogue in Manhattan, where she was membership coordinator; she’s enjoyed her experience there, recruiting, engaging, and retaining members, but she’s glad to return to the Conservative world in which she grew up as an active USYer. She has a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany and a master’s in public administration from Baruch College, where she concentrated in nonprofit administration.

Linda Sussman, Metny’s kehilla relationship manager, is an architect by training; she has had her own architectural practice and now works with Home Free Home, doing pro bono architectural work for disabled people and their families. An active member and former president of the Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation on Long Island, she is on Hadassah’s regional board. She lives in suburban New York.

Dear parents,

Shalom, I would like to share with you some quotes from a questionnaire we gave to your kids just before they left for home on Sunday. The question was: “If I had a chance to meet key leaders of the Jewish People, and they would ask me about my experience in Israel, I would tell them that:”

Our youth’s responses were:

• It was awesome
• It was an amazing experience that I will never forget
• It was amazing I feel at home here, I can’t wait to come back
• It was an amazing experience. I now have a better understanding about Israel
• The program opened me up to new options and a better idea of the culture in Israel
• I had a great time and I plan on coming back as soon as possible
• I had the best summer ever
• It was the most amazing summer of my life
• I had a great experience and can’t wait to come back
• It was amazing I met amazing people and saw more of Israel than I ever thought I would
• It was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to come back
• This is my first time in Israel and I had the summer of my life
• I love Israel
• The experience made me think more about Israel.
• Gadna was the most amazing experience ever that I have had!
• Best time ever!
• This trip changed my life
• I loved every minute
• It was fun
• I love this country, serving it will be an honor and a pleasure. I can’t wait to live here
• It was the best experience I have ever had. I learned so much and want to come back really soon
• It was a summer of a lifetime. It was so amazing and everyone should come on a USY pilgrimage summer program
• Gadna was amazing, it should be advertised more
• It was amazing, the best thing I have ever done in my life
• It is a magical country where; I felt very at home and very safe I hope to come back to help in the future and I will certainly return soon

What an amazing group

Be’shalom,
David Keren
Director, Youth programs in Israel

GreenFaith is excited to announce the release of a new energy conservation resource, specifically for Conservative Jewish synagogues.

This resource is the first of its kind in a series of resources designed for Conservative Jewish congregations. Energy Conservation- A Guide for Congregations and Households will provide you and your congregation with the necessary tools to become energy conservation leaders!

Click Here to find out more!

Shiva Assar B’Tammuz/The Seventeenth of Tammuz:  (in 2011: July 19) On this day in the year 70 CE the Romans broke through the walls of Jerusalem.  This victory marked the beginning of the end for the Second Temple.  Three weeks later the Romans burnt this central Jewish institution to the ground. In 2011, this minor fast (on a minor fast we fast from sunrise to sunset) is observed on July 19^th.

The Three Weeks: (in 2011: July 19 to August 9).  This period is remembered for its bookends, the Roman advance through Jerusalem’s walls (17 Tammuz) and the destruction of the Holy Temple (9Av). The memory of these tragic events, as well as all of the suffering in between, have imparted to these days a solemn character.  Many Jews do not get married during this time. Some refrain from parties with music. We impose these restrictions to prepare ourselves to remember the pain of exile and destruction.

The Nine Days:  (in 2011: Aug.1 to Aug. 9).  August 1^st is Rosh Hodesh Av, or the beginning of the new month of Av. The mourning practices of The Three Weeks, mentioned above, intensify during this period. For example, many Jews refrain from wearing new clothes, getting a haircut, shaving, and eating meat. We do not eat meat [except on Shabbat] because of its association with celebration.  There’s also an element of humility. During this pensive time, we think twice about taking life, shedding blood, for our own needs, including nourishment.

Tisha B’Av/ The Ninth of Av:  The fast begins on August 8 at sunset and continues for 25 hours through the evening of August 9. On this day in the years 586 BCE and 70 CE, the Holy Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and Romans respectively. The Temple existed as the sole religious and spiritual home of the Jewish people; there was no other home for formal Jewish worship. The destruction of the Temple, the House of God, was hard for  the Jews of antiquity to imagine. While the Temple’s absence created a void in their lives, at the same time came the hardship of war. Jewish soldiers died protecting their families, their homes and the Temple. Jewish women were raped. Jewish children were sold into slavery. Countless thousands died and survivors were exiled. To remember these events and many other others throughout the centuries, we begin the day by reading the short book of Eicha, Lamentations.  On the ninth of Av, we refrain from eating, drinking, wearing leather shoes, taking showers and putting on makeup and expensive jewelry.  Married Jewish couples are supposed to refrain from intimate contact on this solemn day.

And, in contrast to the sadness, Tu B’Av/ The Fifteenth of Av:  (in 2011: Aug.15) The Talmud tells us that each year the single women of Jerusalem would go out to meet suitable spouses on this day. They would dress in their finest clothers and attend outdoor celebrations. While the source of this day remains a mystery, Tu B’Av is supposed to be a fun day.  Take advantage of it! Have a picnic! Send flowers to someone you love. Many Jewish camps have Sadie Hawkins Day programs.

As we are sure you know, we are in the midst of a restructuring that will result in a United Synagogue that is better adapted to serve you, the leaders of our kehillot. The process is painful and exhilarating. We have had to say goodbye to some of our employees as the kinds of jobs we are creating demand new skills, and we are reconfiguring our work to make it as efficient and effective as possible.

The most central of all our goals is to focus on strengthening and transforming our kehillot. We are replacing our district or regional directors with kehilla relationship managers (KRM), who will be our kehillot’s ombudsmen, representing United Synagogue on the international level to each kehilla and representing each kehilla to United Synagogue. After the transition is complete KRMs will not collect dues or oversee programs; instead, they will build and maintain relationships with kehillot and among them.

Each kehilla will be assigned its own KRM, who will work with you, develop real relationships with your kehilla leaders, and understand your specific strengths and challenges. We are working on that part of our plan now and will let you know who your KRM will be as soon as we can.

Rabbi Charles Savenor, who had done such a good job in METNY, will be transitioning to a new position; we are recognizing his talents by asking him to work toward one of our prime goals, strengthening and transforming kehillot. And Rabbi Moshe Edelman, who has done such a good job, made so many friends, and deepened the Jewish lives of so many people, is leaving United Synagogue. We ask you to join us in wishing him much joy. We have begun the process of searching for two new KRMs; until they are in place Rabbi Savenor and Rabbi Paul Drazen, our special assistant to the CEO, will work with you.

Dr. Ray Goldstein, who has been interim Central district director, is our new KRM team leader, overseeing the work of all the KRMs. He is friendly, knowledgeable, accessible, and a wonderful resource for all kehilla leaders. He will report to Kathy Elias, who was the director of our Mid-Atlantic district, has many years of kehilla-strengthening experience under her belt, and is now our chief kehilla officer.

Although much of this necessary restructuring has been wrenching we are excited about the future. We look forward to moving forward together.

B’shalom,

Richard Skolnik
International President

Rabbi Steven Wernick
Executive Vice President and CEO

In Parshat Hukkat the story of the Children of Israel jumps ahead to the final years of their time in the wilderness. The first thing we learn is that Miriam has passed away, and the very next verse tells us that the people have no water to drink.

The Midrash asserts that the juxtaposition of these two items is no accident. Since Miriam’s merit enables the people to find water wherever they went, with her passing the well runs dry.

A complete mess ensues. The complaints and conflict escalates until Moses and Aaron seem completely overwhelmed and even angry. The episode concludes badly with Moses hitting the rock instead of speaking to it and with Moses and Aaron being told they will not lead the next generation into the Promised Land.

What is so strange is that this episode has happened before! Right after leaving Egypt the people lacked water and Moses and God responded beautifully.

How did Moses and Aaron drop the ball in this familiar situation? What went wrong?

Commentaries vary from anger management to burn-out, from leadership ego issues to miscommunication.

I believe that the leadership breakdown comes from Miriam’s death. It is strange that there is no record of mourning for this prophetess. As soon as she passes on a crisis emerges.

We may imagine that Moses and Aaron were distracted by their loss. How could we expect them to think clearly, let alone lead a nation, in the face of such loss.

This episode underscores the importance of shiva practices that allow us to make and take time to mourn. During this painful period we held by the community and are able to focus on our loss.

Thankfully, there is evidence that the people learn about the need for mourning. At the end of this parsha when Aaron dies, the text tells us that the people mourned his loss for 30 days.

In this week’s Torah portion the torch has been passed to the next generation. In light of what happened with Miriam and Aaron, this group will now enter the land and build community with a little more wisdom and compassion than they had before.