Rabbi Einhorn’s SynaBlog is a new innovative blog that shares tips, tactics, strategies and best practices that enable Shul growth and promote Shul vitality.
Hi there! Welcome back.
On the West Coast – once a year we have an amazing OU Shabbaton. The function of the Shabbaton is to bring out some of the best Rabbis, Rebbetzins, Teachers and Lecturers on the OU circuit. These various scholars end up in all different locations. I’m not sure if your community runs an OU Shabbaton of this nature but I think it’s a good template to look at in terms maximizing benefit from the communal Shabbaton concept. This is what I mean. Sometimes with our own limited resources we can’t put together a program or weekend event that would have the impact we would like. But imagine if a community banded together. 3 shul’s, 3 different constituents pooling together their resources to bring out a scholar or develop a collaborative concept.
Thinking on a communal / collaborative level is so empowering for many reasons. For one, you get to split the costs. But secondly – the cross pollination is WIN/WIN. The notion of creating bridges between communities unleashes a synergy that ensures our program ideas are MORE impactful not LESS.
How each shul chooses to use their particular speaker is up to them. But what if one shul used speaker A for Friday night, one for Shabbos day, etc. And then ALL OF THE SHUL’S joined together for a Shabbos Dinner or a Motzei Shabbos Kumzitz? The options are endless. With achdus we can power the world.