Rabbi Esther L. Lederman

Rabbi Esther L. Lederman (she/her) is the Union for Reform Judaism's director of congregational innovation and sits on the Central Conference of American Rabbis' task force on the experience of women in the rabbinate.

The URJ at 150

Rabbi Esther L. Lederman
January 17, 2023
2023 marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Union for American Hebrew Congregations - now called the Union for Reform Judaism. What should this milestone mean?

What Makes a Community? It's the People

Rabbi Esther L. Lederman
February 11, 2022
A few years ago, when my son was still pretty young, we were heading out to participate in Friday night services for families with young children. When he asked where we were heading, I said, "We're going to Temple Micah." We weren't going to the building on Wisconsin Avenue that is Temple Micah, we were heading to a local coffee shop and bookstore where services were being held. But to me, that was Temple Micah. The people we would see, the feeling we would get by being together - all of that was Temple Micah - not the temple building itself.

The 4 Best Principles of Congregational Governance

Amy Asin
Rabbi Esther L. Lederman
December 6, 2021
According to conventional wisdom, congregations will look different in 10-15 years. If this is the case, we need leadership that can come together to actively create our future. Otherwise, we will be reacting passively to forces and trends, and are less likely to be successful.

What is the Right Dues Model for My Congregation?

Rabbi Esther L. Lederman
Amy Asin
October 26, 2021
One of the requests we frequently get from congregational leaders, even more so since the onset of Covid-19, is for clarification about emerging revenue structures of Reform congregations. In particular, many want to understand the existing dues models. In this post, we highlight in broad strokes the dominant dues models, and then lay out some questions we believe leaders need to consider if they are thinking of adjusting or changing their current model.