Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

Rena Basch

Can we think of AARC as an “ecosystem”?  

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“Metaphors make the mind.”

By: Rena Basch

After having Rosh Hashana lunch at Zingerman’s Deli, the title of an article in the Zingerman’s newspaper caught my eye: “Replacing the Great Resignation with the Great Regeneration. New metaphors can change our minds and lives.”  

The concept of “regeneration” is what got me to pick up the paper, as it feels like our congregation is in a period of regeneration. Upon reading the article, however, I was truly moved by founder/author Ari Weinzweig’s proposal: when you change the metaphor in your mind, you change the world or at least change the culture of your organization. He proposes to change the metaphor of an organization to an “ecosystem,” and he calls the metaphor of Zingerman’s a “poetic organizational ecosystem.” 

When you change metaphors you literally change your mind and your ways of thinking.  Research shows that metaphors you use shape how you think, creating the frames in which you see things.  If you think of an organization as an ecosystem, it creates a holistic and generative mindset, more aligned with nature and natural processes.

With business, people inside and out of that world describe, think and speak about business organizations in metaphors of competition, sports, machines, and even war. These metaphors lead people to think primarily in terms of winners and losers, of efficiencies, of control, and creates a culture around these things.   Even non-profits and congregations tend to use similar metaphors, thinking of the organization as a business, team or family.  Even these metaphors of team or family still contain elements of control, competition and hierarchical thinking that influence culture and decision-making.

While it is true that both businesses and nonprofit organizations have to make some decisions based on the bank account or profit and loss statements, they could also consider other components and elements of the organization. What if factors that create and support the health of every aspect of the system could be equally weighted?  What if organizations could make measures of “success” more than just the finances, and more like the overall holistic nurturing and growth of the whole poetic organizational ecosystem? 

AARC is not producing Reubens or selling high quality foods, but we are growing people and cultivating community. We are growing the values of nurturing, support, care, spirituality, tikkun olam, kindness and love. Let’s try to embed the ecosystem model in our minds as we think about AARC, as we participate in AARC, as we make decisions about AARC. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Annual Membership meeting on Sunday, December 4 at 10 am!

-Rena Basch, AARC Board Co-Chair

Recruiting service leaders for Shabbat services! 

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The AARC Board expected that we would have a student rabbi or rabbinical intern to lead bi-monthly Shabbat services for the 2022-2023 year. Unfortunately, there were no fifth year Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) students interested in field placement in Ann Arbor. (Fortunately, there were RRC rabbi graduates interested in leading High Holidays services, so look for an announcement of our High Holiday service leader next week!)

For our Fourth Friday Kabbalat Shabbat and Second Saturday Shabbat services this year we envision a mix of lay leaders and visiting rabbis. We formed a committee to consider the Jewish holiday calendar as well as our current bi-monthly shabbat services schedule. We want to create a vibrant tapestry of services and events this year, spun by a variety of leaders. To encourage variety, we will set a limit that each person will conduct no more than four services during the year.

We have a committee led by Deb Kraus, Debbie Zivan, and Rebecca Kanner, who have begun the process of organizing and scheduling service leaders. We will have a network of support for anyone that is interested in providing this deeply important service to our community. You can volunteer here.  If you have any questions, or are curious about the possibilities, please email us. We look forward to hearing from you. Please sign up to lead!

Demographic Study of Jewish Washtenaw to Launch

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UPDATE: Washtenaw County Jewish Community Survey Begins November 7

Recognizing the need for valid and actionable data that serves the entire community, the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, in partnership with local Jewish communal organizations and congregations, is conducting a study of the Washtenaw County Jewish community.

This study is being conducted by an experienced research team at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University and NORC at the University of Chicago.

Starting in November, you may be contacted by letter, phone, or email with an invitation to participate in the survey. Invitation letters will have logos for NORC and Brandeis. Email messages will be sent from NORC at WCJCS@norc.org. Reminder phone calls will come from Brandeis University, with a phone number starting with 781-773-3535. 

Because this is a scientific survey with a defined sample frame, you may not receive one of these calls or emails; however, if you do, we encourage you to respond and participate in this important project to better understand our community.

This study is made possible by collaboration of all local Jewish communal organizations, with financial support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Ann Arbor, the JCC of Greater Ann Arbor, Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County, Temple Beth Emeth, Beth Israel Congregation, Jewish Federations of North America, and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

For more information about this study, visit the community study webpage at jewishannarbor.org/communitystudy. If you have any additional questions, please contact McKenzie Katz at mckenzie@jewishannarbor.org or 734-677-0100.

Thank you for your participation!

Greg Saltzman

ORIGINAL POST:

Repost of Washtenaw Jewish News article by Rachel Wall. (Note: more info on the study to come from AARC.)

The Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, in partnership with the Jewish communal organizations and congregations in Washtenaw County, is pleased to be launching a demographic study of the Jewish community in the greater Ann Arbor area. The goal of this study is to collect, analyze, and report accurate and actionable data to inform community planning and enhance the vibrancy of Jewish life in greater Ann Arbor.

Studies like this are conducted by Jewish communities all over the country to estimate the size and characteristics of the local Jewish community. The data then serve to assist Jewish communal organizations to make well-informed, data-driven decisions for the benefit of the entire community. Results can also assist organizations like Jewish Family Services (JFS) in applying for grants and funding that require detailed projections of the reach of their programs. Because of the present lack of data, these funding sources may not be available to our community at this time, but could significantly enhance the work done by JFS in Washtenaw County.

Following an extensive and competitive search process, the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies/Steinhardt Social Research Institute (CMJS/SSRI) of Brandeis University, the preeminent academic research center for the social scientific study of Jewry in the United States, will be conducting the study on behalf of the greater Ann Arbor community.

The Cohen Center team is in the process of conducting nearly a dozen similar studies in other communities around the country and has assessed large cities like Boston and Orlando, as well as cities more comparable in size to Ann Arbor, like Long Beach, CA.

According to an article published in the online publication eJewishPhilanthropy in April of this year, the Cohen Center has developed an “index of Jewish engagement” that identifies Jews by their activities, no matter how nontraditional they may seem, rather than creating demographic categories like Jews who have married someone not Jewish.

“We want to talk to the folks for whom doing Jewish is about volunteering…or eating your ham and cheese sandwich on Yom Kippur,” Matthew Boxer, assistant research professor at the Cohen Center, told eJewishPhilanthropy in the April 6th article titled “U.S. Jewish communities are commissioning a flood of new population studies — and figuring out how to use them.”

While informal estimates suspect around 8,000 Jewish individuals in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and the surrounding areas, there has never been a formal investigation into how many people are part of the local Jewish community, nor is there empirical evidence of our community’s priorities for Jewish life. There is much to be learned from an endeavor like this to benefit those who may not feel particularly connected with the local Jewish community; this study is an opportunity to share how Jewish communal organizations can better meet their Jewish needs.


The study will be conducted in the fall and winter of 2022-2023, with results distributed publicly in mid-2023. The researchers will work closely with local Jewish institutions to ensure that diverse perspectives are represented. Survey responses will be confidential and findings will be reported only in the aggregate. The more households that participate, the more information will be available to help Jewish organizations in the community make data-driven decisions about the future.

For questions about the community study, please contact either AARC’s representative on the community – Greg Saltzman at gsaltzman@albion.edu or Federation’s Executive Director Eileen Freed at eileenfreed@jewishannarbor.org

Announcing Jewish Congregations Organized for Resettlement (JCOR)

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Most of our family histories include stories of caring people who stepped up to help our great-grandparents, grandparents, or parents resettle in this country.  Today we are challenged to step up and help another generation of refugees.

You have seen the news:  The United States initially expected to admit 125,000 refugees this year.  Then 80,000 more arrived from Afghanistan. Now, an additional 100,000 Ukrainian refugees are expected.

Jewish Family Services (JFS) is working tirelessly to do its share here in Washtenaw County and is requesting OUR help.  

To this end, representatives from Beth Israel Congregation, Temple Beth Emeth, the Jewish Cultural Society, the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation, Pardes Hannah, and the Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan have come together to form Jewish Congregations Organized for Resettlement (JCOR), whose purpose is to support resettlement of a refugee family.  Also, the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor will provide fiduciary oversight for all funds donated and disbursed in support of this purpose.  And now we need YOU!

Volunteers are needed for committees that will work in partnership with JFS staff to help refugee family members reestablish their independent lives here and orient to American culture.  With training from JFS staff, we will do this by helping refugees with:  housing, transportation, and employment; healthcare and financial planning; and childcare, schooling, and adult ESL classes as necessary.  We also need a cadre of on-call volunteers to help with short-notice critical needs, like last-minute transportation or child care coverage. 

Altogether, we are seeking 30 to 50 volunteers, who can be available up to three hours per week during the first two months after the family’s arrival. The time commitments will decrease gradually as the family members become more independent during their first year in the United States.

Of course, we need help with fundraising.  JFS recommends collecting $7,000 to $20,000 over the course of the family’s first year.  Of this, $4,000 should be available upon the family’s arrival to help cover initial costs. 

No one congregation will be singularly responsible or individually committed to provide a specific number of volunteers or a specific amount of funding.  But we believe that collectively our Jewish Community can make a difference for our new arrivals and help JFS meet its decades-long dedication to resettlement.

Click here to access JCOR’s on-line volunteer sign-up form, where you will find more information about the volunteer committees and choose the one in which your expertise, your experience, and your passion for Tikkun Olam will have the greatest impact.  

Additionally, all JCOR volunteers will complete the JFS volunteer form which will facilitate the required background check for all JCOR volunteers. Please complete the JFS form now. 

Click here to access the secure Federation/JCOR donation website.

Thank you!  The family members we help resettle today will be the grandparents of tomorrow.  As a volunteer in this effort, YOU will make a difference to their future generations!

For more information, please contact our AARC lead on JCOR: Alice Mishkin at alice.mishkin@gmail.com

Meet Armin Langer

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AARC hosted Armin Langer for the weekend of April 8 – 10 for a Shabbaton. Armin will graduate from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in May 2022 .  He also received a PhD in sociology from Humboldt University of Berlin in January 2022.  Since 2020, Armin has served as the student rabbi for Congregation Am Haskalah, a Reconstructionist synagogue in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania.  He was a visiting cantor for the Egalitarian Synagogue of Malmö, Sweden, from 2017 to 2020.  Armin previously led the Salaam-Shalom Initiative in Berlin, a Jewish-Muslim group combating antisemitism and Islamophobia together.

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Shabbaton with AARC rabbi candidate Dr. Armin Langer took place
Friday, April 8 – Sunday, April 10

There will be a membership meeting on Tuesday, April 19 at 7 pm via Zoom to vote on extending an offer to Armin. RSVP here, and the Zoom link will be emailed to you.

Opportunity for AARC co-sponsorship of refugee family

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Co-Sponsorship Program for resettlement and support of refugees – initial call for AARC volunteer(s)!   

We have the opportunity to participate with Beth Israel Congregation (BIC), Temple Beth Emeth, Jewish Cultural Society (JCS) and Pardes Hannah to sponsor a refugee family through Jewish Family Services’ (JFS) Co-Sponsorship Program.

JFS was established to support community resettlement efforts, and since 1993 they have resettled more than 1,000 refugees and other types of immigrants from all over the world.  JFS is the only resettlement agency in Washtenaw County.  It is one of very few resettlement agencies that provide a continuum of services from pre-arrival all the way through naturalization. The JFS services are holistic and focused on addressing all critical needs and long-term success of each client.

The Co-Sponsorship Program matches community sponsor groups with newly arriving Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders, refugees, and humanitarian parolees.  Community sponsor groups will provide resettlement services in partnership with JFS with the goal of establishing a robust community of volunteers and a mechanism for refugees to develop long-term (12-month) supportive co-sponsor relationships.

Committed co-sponsoring groups will provide reception and placement services to new arrivals, which include: securing and furnishing housing, welcoming families upon arrival and ensuring basic needs, finding employment, conducting cultural orientation, and more.  Upwards of 30 volunteers will be needed for the first 2 months of the family’s arrival.

Organizing for this co-sponsorship is just beginning, and at this time we are looking for one or two AARC members to serve on the initial organizing committee.  If you are interested in serving as a point person for AARC, please contact Rena Basch (rena.h.basch@gmail.com).  Also, please note if you are interested but not able to serve on this initial organizing committee there will be many other ways to get involved, many support committees and volunteer roles to fill.

Today the words of the Haggadah are as poignant and vital as ever. “In every generation, a person is obligated to see themselves as though they came forth from Egypt.”  

Image from Antoine Merour