200+
shul consultations
90+
rabbanim took part in our Rabbinic
Chaburah Program
OU PEPA AND JOSEPH KARASICK DEPARTMENT OF SYNAGOGUE INITIATIVES
SUPPORTING THE PILLAR OF JEWISH LIFE
The OU conducts over 200 shul consultations per year addressing topics that range from crafting mission statements and strategic plans for membership growth; adults and youth program development; board and committee development; fundraising and budgeting; and marketing and offi ce management.
Our interactive workshop, “The 10 Commandments of Shul Boards,” is customized for each synagogue at which we present and has been facilitating a productive dialogue between staff and lay leaders since 2020. This program is often used for onboarding new board members and veteran leaders and includes topics like managing the dynamic among lay leaders and paid staff, governance, strategy and operations and more.
In the weeks following October 7th, we led a trip to Israel in support and solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel.
To help rabbis find guidance and company, the OU pioneered a Rabbinic Chaburah, which we launched this past summer. Rabbis participated from Edmonton, Alberta; San Antonio, Texas; Mount Kisco, Albany and Poughkeepsie, New York; Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia; Louisville, Kentucky; and Orlando, Florida. The rabbis enjoyed a day of chizuk, inspiration and education at OU headquarters in Manhattan and formed meaningful connections with one another that will certainly extend far beyond this event.
For rabbis of small to midsize Orthodox communities, professional life can be marked by solitude. Often the sole Orthodox rabbis of their towns, they have few colleagues to turn to when seeking advice about spiritual matters impacting their communities, including the eruv, kashrus, mikvah, chevra kadisha and conversion.
For the past three years, over 300 people have joined the OU’s daily tehillim and chizuk call to connect and pray with others from around the world.
After the October 7th attack in Israel, calls expanded to feature prominent American and Israeli rabbanim offering chizuk. During this time, listenership has doubled.
It’s a 15-minute oasis of inspiration and spirituality. New this year is a tehillim list that will be regularly updated when new names are submitted.
