Rabbi Scott Sperling
New Year/New Beginnings
Our High Holy Days bring us to gates that swing open, at the entry to a New Year. For the most part, we cannot know what that year will hold for us. However, sometimes we do have the opportunity to approach the New Year with a clear understanding of at least part of what is in store for us.
I am fortunate to be in just that situation. As some of you already know, the Mid-Atlantic Council is one several regions in our Reform Movement that are part of important pilot projects that grew out of the Task Force On The Delivery of Union Services in the 21st Century. These projects will play a critical role in shaping the future of the Union for Reform Judaism. In our pilot, each of the regional directors of the MAC, the Pennsylvania Council (PAC) and the New Jersey-West Hudson Valley Council (NJWHVC) will take on a new professional specialty that will be shared across all three regions. Concurrently, the assistant regional directors will take on most of the day-to-day administrative responsibilities in their respective offices. The regional directors will continue to be deeply enmeshed in their key roles—including leadership development and placement with congregations.
Rabbi Rex Perlmeter, regional director of the NJWHV Council, will focus on large congregations. Pennsylvania’s regional director, Rabbi Sue Elwell, will provide spiritual direction and training to congregations and their leadership. Because technology has been an area of engagement and profound interest for me over the course of many years, I am pleased that my consultancy will help congregations explore the benefits of communications technologies. These tools include conference calls, internet-based seminars and meetings (popularly called webinars), social networking programs such as Facebook and MySpace, video and audio streaming via the internet and a variety of email tools. I am delighted to have this remarkable opportunity to directly impact so many areas of congregational life.
The world around us is changing as these technological tools radically change the style and speed of our communication. What makes me especially pleased, though, is the clear recognition that all of these tools must be used to serve the core mission of synagogues and of the Union. None of these technological wonders is an end in itself, but each is a means to those ends–bringing our members closer to Jewish life and values, strengthening our congregations and reinforcing and deepening relationships that we form within and between congregations and between our congregations and the Union.
As our pilot project rolls out over the coming months, I look forward to updating you on our progress. In the meantime, please accept my best wishes for a sweet and happy New Year. I hope to see you many of you in October at the MAC Regional Biennial.
L'shalom,
Rabbi Scott Sperling
