June 20, 2013 –  e-Jewish Philanthrophy

As a rabbi at a Conservative synagogue one of the challenges I face is in figuring out how to welcome people who are unaffiliated and lacking in Jewish background, knowledge, and communal connection. As a congregation we consider which barriers we should lower in order to attract people to our community and we think about the factors that will make our community a place that a novice would want to see as their spiritual address.

This past week, I participated in a groundbreaking panel that re-framed the question about who is an outsider. Along with Rabbi David Ingber and Rabbi Dov Linzer, the panel was organized by Footsteps, a 10-year-old organization that provides a range of social, emotional and practical services to individuals grappling with the consequences of leaving the ultra-Orthodox community.

Read the full article here.