Mechon Hadar Guest

Mechon Hadar, together with Synagogue 3000 and Steven M. Cohen, has just released the first comprehensive demographic study of independent minyanim and other new spiritual communities. In the next few months, we will produce a detailed report on the independent minyanim in particular. Tell us you reactions to this preliminary report and what you would like analyzed for that study by commenting here.

by Audrey Jacobs This is the agenda for the first planning meeting for Sapir Minyan in San Diego. ...

Most minyanim see inclusivity as a key principle for at least two reasons: 1) It empowers people in their own Judaism 2) It minimizes the burden on any one person At same time, many face the question of how to foster inclusivity while maintaining high and specific standards for the quality and shape of the davening experience, in terms of the liturgy, tunes used, atmosphere and tone, divrei torah and leyning. Many minyanim have very distinct standards for davening and also understand that people get turned off by one bad experience. It is important for all these reasons and more to always have high quality. Therefore minyanim face the questions of which bars to set; how best to instruct daveners and leyners; and what happens when someone wants to lead but does not have the skills to do so.

Minyanim face particular challenges face when attempting to be environmentally conscious. These challenges arise from, among other things: transient space, that is often not used exclusively by the minyan lack of storage space and minyan-owned materials when individuals are purchasing (e.g. kiddush), cost can be a challenge

Hosting guests in one’s home for a Shabbat meal is a critical way to build community and make others feel welcome. Visitors feel valued and meet new people if they are invited to a meal, and minyan regulars appreciate invitations, which strengthen their sense of community and increase the chances they will host others in the future. Meal invitations provide the opportunity for both the guest and host to meet more people and thus feel more comfortable within the community.

Example of filing for recognition of exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code...

David Zvi Kalman Giving a Dvar Torah Outline Dvar Torah Resources

About 30% of the minyanim participating at the recent minyan conference employ paid staff to assist with minyan operations. The obvious benefit of having paid staff is that it takes the load off of volunteer and lay organizers and frees them up for longer-range visioning

Most independent minyanim do not have the resources, whether human or financial, to meet for all services. Minyan leadership must therefore decide which services to offer and how often. A number of factors can go into this decision.

At a discussion at the recent Independent Minyan Conference, there was a discussion on increasing the Jewish knowledge of minyan leadership. Overall, the founders of independent minyanim on the whole were very knowledgeable, while the new generation of leadership does not have the same knowledge base. New leaders described that they lack knowledge in many areas, including: leading services, kashrut policies, reasoning behind egalitarianism/non-egalitarianism/other ideological issues, Torah reading, creating new services/rituals.

Guidelines for leading services at Kol Zimrah

Developing a vision requires a conscious and explicit effort and a minyan needs to dedicate adequate time and resources in order to articulate one effectively

Guidelines for leading services at Minyan Segulah in Washington, DC/Silver Spring, MD

If you or your fellow minyan leaders use the following statements a lot, that is probably a sign that your minyan needs a more effective strategy to motivate volunteers:

When most of people think of organizing a minyan, usually the practical stuff like finding people to lead services is what comes to mind. Clearly, that's important and it's the core of what we do. But as an engineer, I also think a lot about how we can best use technology to maximize the connections within our community, improve effectiveness of our operations, and make our jobs as leaders easier. I encourage techies and the non-technically inclined to read on.

An important question facing independent minyanim organizers is whether to have formal membership.