On October 27, we had the opening reception for Cohort 2 of Leadership 615. The fellows had the opportunity to build connections and engage in small group discussions centered around community and Jewish identity.
On November 3, we had our first session with Janet Aronson, the Associate Director of the Cohen Center at Brandeis University. We discuss the issue of belonging to a Jewish community, and what a diverse community means. Where our community 'tent' starts and when it ends. Then we went over stats of the American Jewish Community and looked on different engagement and affiliation trends.
“Being a part of this incredible group of future leaders is a real honor. I’ve been involved with West End Synagogue for a couple of years, but I’ve never really given much thought to the Federation or its mission. This program has allowed me to zoom out in ways I never have before, thinking inter-congregationally and finding ways that Nashville’s Jewish community can move forward together,” said participant Alex Krew.
This year we are incorporating more reading materials and holding practice groups between sessions. This allows us to expand the conversation and dive even deeper into questions of Jewish identity, leadership, and our Nashville community.
Mark Goldfarb, the program’s generous sponsor, shared his motivations and hopes: “Although I moved to Park City, Utah, 5 years ago, I still feel very strong connections to Nashville. I raised my kids in Nashville and my daughter, son-in-law and their twin daughters now live there. Before I left, I was aware of an apparent gap between the prior generations who nurtured our growing Jewish community and the younger generations who seemed not as motivated, committed or involved. I was hoping to create a program that would engage and hopefully inspire younger Jewish Nashvillians. I was thrilled with the enthusiastic feedback from the first cohort and appreciated all their suggestions to enhance the second year of the program. Their advice — and, more importantly, their future leadership in our community — will prove invaluable.”
We have an excellent group that is motivated, engaged, and willing to commit time and effort to go through this process with us. We are grateful to have these current and future leaders in our community.
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