Getting Started

May 20, 2013 | 11th Sivan 5773

The first steps are simple...

1. Make the commitment. At a meeting with your synagogue board, discuss your congregation's commitment to Reform people hood, make the decision about which project your congregation will support, and pass a resolution articulating your congregation's commitment to the project. Fill out the registration form available on this website and send it in to the Union along with a copy of your board resolution.

2. Start raising money. Ask each member of your congregation to donate $18/year to the project your congregation has chosen to adopt. The Union is aware of the financial pressures that congregations are facing currently and it is therefore very important that donations for the project are collected from congregants -- not taken from the synagogue budget. This is a grassroots effort on the part of the North American Reform Movement to support growing Progressive congregations around the world.

STEP-BY-STEP CHECKLIST

Step I - At a board meeting...

Make a commitment to a project in Israel or the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe;
Pass a resolution articulating that commitment; and
Tell us about your commitment to a project by filling out the registration form available on this website and sending it in to the Union along with a copy of your board resolution.

Step II - Follow this simple calendar...

January: Appoint a chairperson (or chairpersons) to manage the Hineini project. Order the video/DVD to show your members or use at an event.
February: Hold a Hineini project Committee meeting to discuss ways to get the congregation involved in this important initiative and create a system for collecting donations. Checks should be made out to and mailed to the synagogue. You may want to keep a record of those making contributions.
March: Announce the Hineini project in your synagogue newsletter, Shabbat services, Religious School programs, etc. Utilize samples on the website, as well as the wealth of resources on the Updates section - photos, stories, etc.
April: Send a letter, in conjunction with Passover, to congregants, asking each person to make a donation of $18/year using Yom HaAtzma-ut as the date by which donations should be received. As donations come in, keep congregants informed of about the congregation's Hineini progress.
May: Plan a special program to celebrate your congregation's success! Send a single check in the amount of the contributions to the Hineini project with the form from the Hineini Web site.

Step III

Use the educational materials created by the Union in your religious school, adult learning programs, services, holiday celebrations, and Introduction to Judaism classes.
Use the news updates, photos, stories, essays, and articles at your events, in your bulletin, and in your religious school.
Reserve the poster display about Reform Jewish life in Israel to show in your synagogue.