Empowered Judaism , livre ebook

P RAISE FOR Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities
This is no ordinary book. This is a call to revolution a passionate and brilliant manifesto [that] sets out a new course for Jewish life in America . For an American Jewish community despairing of its future, this book is a prophecy of hope and new vision.
- Rabbi Edward Feinstein , editor, Jews and Judaism in the 21st Century: Human Responsibility, the Presence of God and the Future of the Covenant
This moving book reveals a critical new development in the lives of younger American Jews. Not often does one have the opportunity to read such an inside story on dramatically positive Jewish history in the making. Elie Kaunfer s vivid account of participating in the creation of Mechon Hadar, an Independent Congregation community that fosters Jewish liturgical and intellectual rigor, egalitarian ethics and group responsibility, and spirituality at the same time is compelling. His analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of conventional American Jewish congregations is spot-on, and will surely provoke lively and important conversations within and outside those congregations. Equally gripping is Kaunfer s own story of initial resistance to encounters with the Divine, and his eventual immersion into a passionately religious path of Jewishness.
- Sylvia Barack Fishman , chair, Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and professor of contemporary Jewish life, Brandeis University; author, The Way Into the Varieties of Jewishness
A roadmap to the future. His incisive understanding of the mindset of early twenty-first-century Jews (especially young ones) informs this accessible and eloquent treatise on building resonant, inspired communities. Kaunfer argues persuasively that transformations in contemporary culture mandate changes in Jewish communal and spiritual structures-and that such innovations have always been integral to the evolution of the Jewish people.
- Felicia Herman , executive director, The Natan Fund
Accessible yet sophisticated . The practical suggestions about worship are valuable not only to the world of independent minyanim but to synagogue minyanim and sanctuary services as well . Will challenge both those who want to follow in Kaunfer s footsteps and those who disagree with him.
- Rabbi David A. Teutsch , Wiener Professor of Contemporary Jewish Civilization at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; editor, Kol Haneshamah Prayerbook series; author, Spiritual Community: The Power to Restore Hope, Commitment and Joy
Practical, highly readable . Read this book to understand the spiritual impulses of a generation of seekers who are not ready to give up tradition and not ready to give up on their own empowerment within Judaism either.
- Dr. Erica Brown , author, Spiritual Boredom: Rediscovering the Wonder of Judaism and Inspired Jewish Leadership: Practical Approaches to Building Strong Communities
Takes us on an inspiring insiders guided tour of the new independent minyan phenomenon, which is rejuvenating the Jewish landscape. Egalitarian, joyous, upbeat, participatory, spiritually alive-no wonder young people find a home in the minyanim! Enjoy this testimony to the vitality of Jewish life and the enthusiasm of young people to make it their own.
- Rabbi Marcia Prager , ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal; author, The Path of Blessing: Experiencing the Energy and Abundance of the Divine
Essential reading for anyone interested in twenty-first-century life of Jewish prayer, study, and community . A great read and a wonderful contribution to the Jewish bookshelf.
- Riv-Ellen Prell , professor of American studies, University of Minnesota; author, Prayer and Community: The Havurah in American Judaism
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer has emerged as an insistent and compelling voice for enhanced Jewish life in the twenty-first century. The minyanim of which he speaks are symbolic of a deeper vision: an entire community that is empowered, knowledgeable and committed to the richness of the Jewish tradition. Nothing short of a manifesto for the next generation, a challenge to the Jewish community about what we are likely to fall into by default if we do not take Kaunfer s book seriously.
- Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman , professor of liturgy, worship and ritual, Hebrew Union College; co-founder, Synagogue 3000; editor, My People s Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries series
Taps into the spiritual yearning of a generation that hungers for a Jewish religious practice that is rich, meaningful and unapologetic. Captures the remarkable phenomenon of a newly emergent movement to reclaim vibrancy and vitality in Jewish life. [An] important and valuable contribution to the Jewish future.
- Rabbi Sharon Brous , founder, IKAR
Remarkable. A must read for people trying to understand this vital new phenomenon as well as for individuals seeking to connect to Judaism in a new way-be they lay people, scholars, or leaders of the American Jewish community.
- Rabbi Irving Yitz Greenberg , founding president, Jewish Life Network; founding president, CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
Empowered Judaism
What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
Foreword by Prof. Jonathan D. Sarna
Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities
2010 Quality Paperback Edition, Second Printing 2010 Quality Paperback Edition, First Printing 2010 by Elie Kaunfer Foreword 2010 by Jonathan D. Sarna
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information regarding permission to reprint material from this book, please mail or fax your request in writing to Jewish Lights Publishing, Permissions Department, at the address / fax number listed below, or e-mail your request to permissions@jewishlights.com.
Selections from the glossary of My People s Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries, Vol. 8, Kabbalat Shabbat 2004 by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing). Permission granted by Jewish Lights Publishing, www.jewishlights.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kaunfer, Elie, 1973- Empowered Judaism : what independent minyanim can teach us about building vibrant Jewish communities / Elie Kaunfer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-1-58023-412-2 (quality pbk.) ISBN-10: 1-58023-412-7 (quality pbk.) 1. Fellowship-Religious aspects-Judaism. 2. Minyan. 3. Prayer groups- Judaism. 4. Kehilat Hadar (New York, N.Y.). 5. Kaunfer, Elie, 1973- 6. Prayer- Judaism. 7. Judaism-United States. I. Kehilat Hadar (New York, N.Y.). II. Title. BM720.F4K38 2010 296.7-dc22
2009044920
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Manufactured in the United States of America Printed on recycled paper.
Cover Design: Jenny Buono Cover Art: Michael Merck, by iStockphoto.com
Published by Jewish Lights Publishing A Division of LongHill Partners, Inc. Sunset Farm Offices, Route 4, P.O. Box 237 Woodstock, VT 05091 Tel: (802) 457-4000 Fax: (802) 457-4004 www.jewishlights.com
For my parents, Rabbi Alvan and Marcia Kaunfer, who have always empowered me, and for Lisa:
Contents
Foreword by Prof. Jonathan D. Sarna
Introduction: My Journey to Empowered Judaism
1. Kehilat Hadar: A Model of Empowered Judaism
2. Independent Minyanim Nationwide: Significance and Impact
3. The Diverse Landscape of Independent Minyanim: Voices from the Field
4. Engaged Davening: How Empowered Jews Pray
5. Yeshivat Hadar: Fostering a Generation of Empowered Jews
6. Empowerment and Meaning: A New Frame for Jewish Life
7. Pathways Forward: The Real Crisis in American Judaism
Appendix: An Empowered Judaism Approach to Understanding Prayer
Acknowledgments
Notes
Glossary
Suggestions for Further Reading

About Jewish Lights
Copyright
Foreword
I n 1825, a group of young New York Jews seeking to promote the more strict keeping of their faith formed an independent society called Hebra Hinuch Nearim, the society for educating young people. Fired with the spirit of revival, they expressed in their constitution and bylaws an ardent desire to promote the study of our Holy Law to extend a knowledge of its divine precepts, ceremonies, and worship among our brethren generally, and the enquiring youth in particular. To this end, they transformed their worship service, abandoning the age-old Sephardic patterns in which many of them had been raised, and introduced such innovations as explanations and instruction, as well as a different style of leadership and a more democratic congregational ethos. Their goal, they proclaimed, was to encrease [ sic ] the respect of the worship of our fathers. 1
Hebra Hinuch Nearim was the first in a long series of movements in American Jewish life pioneered by young people that aimed, in different ways, to empower Jews and transform Judaism. Each of these movements revitalized and energized Jewish life, responded to a perceived crisis driving Jews away from Judaism, and left a lasting impact.
Consider:
The late 1870s witnessed a great awakening led by young Jews who worked for the perpetuation and elevation of Judaism in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York. 2 They created a wide range of Jewish educational institutions for men and women alike, and many of them eventually became leaders of the nascent Conservative movement.
The period around World War I saw the growth of the Young Israel movement, designed to bring about a revival of Judaism among the thousands of young Jews and Jewesses whose Judaism is at present dormant. 3 Modern Orthodoxy was shaped by these early Young Israels. They helped to tra