Community organizing training for New York seminary students in rabbinic, cantorial, and education schools. The class will take place both in person in Manhattan and on Zoom.
JOIN for Justice is currently accepting applications for its fall semester Community Organizing Course for seminary students in rabbinical, cantorial, and education schools in New York: Academy For Jewish Religion, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, Hadar, Jewish Theological Seminary, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Yeshivat Maharat, and Yeshiva University.
The course is offered in partnership with the Religious Action Center.
Three In-person classes in Manhattan, sites TBD:
- Sunday, Sept. 15th, from 1:00-5:00 PM
- Monday, Nov. 4th, from 7:15-9:00 PM
- Sunday, Dec. 15th from 1–5:00 PM
7 Virtual classes: 7:15 – 9 pm
- Monday, Oct. 28th, from 7:15-9:00 PM
- Monday, Nov. 4th, from 7:15-9:00 PM
- Monday, Nov. 11th, from 7:15- 9:00 PM
- Monday, Nov. 18th, from 7:15-9:00 PM
- Monday, Nov. 25th, from 7:15-9:00 PM
- Monday, Dec. 2nd, from 7:15-9:00 PM
- Monday, Dec. 9th, from 7:15-9:00 PM
Please contact Jeannie Appleman if you are interested at: jappleman@joinforjustice.org to schedule a phone call.
The class is interactive and has guest clergy from the field who have made organizing principles and practices a central part of their work, both for justice work and congregational development.
HUC-JIR students will receive 2 credits for the course and have the opportunity to work with RAC NY on a local organizing campaign.
The Seminary Leadership Project has trained over 1000 rabbinical, cantorial, and Jewish education students, helping them learn how to unite their communities around a common vision, develop leaders who can lead with them, not over or under them, and act collectively to realize their mission, both bringing new vitality to the Jewish community and working for social change that reflects Jewish values.
The course covers topics such as:
-
- Understanding the fundamentals of organizing: developing relational communities, building power, connecting people around their values and interests, and navigating between public and private life
- Learning leadership skills such as resilience strategies help clergy grow as leaders
- Identifying and developing other leaders and leadership teams and setting them up to lead on their own
- The relational tools of the relational meeting and house meeting
- Developing thriving congregations
- Identifying common concerns and developing a collectively owned purpose
- Moving beyond programming to run strategic campaigns that change the synagogue or change the world around us
- Bringing Jewish communities into partnerships with other communities to work together around common goals
- Building respectful relationships across lines of difference and showing up as partners
- Uncovering biases around race and abilities and how to address them in a way that integrates equity into all our work
- Organizing Jewish communities to make a difference, not just a statement
- Learning to undergird an organizing framework with Jewish wisdom, texts, and tradition
The course will utilize interactive and engaging training with discussion, role plays, small group work, and time for reflection on students’ current work. Sessions will be taught by experienced organizers, rabbis, and cantors using these tools in the field. Apply here.
To learn more and apply for the course, contact Jeannie Appleman at JOIN for Justice: jappleman@joinforjustice.org, 516-375-9150.
