“What are you trying to accomplish with this magazine?” “Who is your target audience?” “Why don’t you just start a podcast like everyone else?”
I recently had the opportunity to work with the OU’s Center for Communal Research, which guided me through the process of creating something called a logic model. Used in many fields, a logic model creates a visual map of what an organization does and what it expects to accomplish.
As Kol Echad reached its first anniversary, it was a wonderful opportunity to crystallize our underlying assumptions, clarify our overall objectives, and ensure that we have the resources and capacity to strengthen and expand our efforts.
It occurred to me that each of us should create a logic model for our own lives, especially at this time of year. What are my overarching objectives? What assumptions are guiding the choices I make in pursuing them? Do I have everything I need, financially, psychologically, and spiritually, to reach these goals?
We all have a general sense of what we are trying to accomplish in life, but how often do we stop to put it down on paper and connect the dots between our aspirations and our reality?
It is something I hope to do during this Yom Tov season.
But back to Kol Echad’s logic model.
We set out to create nothing short of a revolution in the way communities interact with the singles population. We believe, to borrow a phrase from the Kuzari, that the community’s “intentions are there, but the actions are not matching up.” The community wants to help, organizations want to do more, and shuls want to be more inclusive. But there are many obstacles that prevent those values from being fully realized.
Kol Echad is primarily focused on creating better communal systems that communicate that everyone belongs. One example is our recent Makom Kavuah initiative. Tens of shuls participated by adding a simple line to their Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur seat mailing:
“If you are a single parent with a child who does not have someone to sit with, please notify us and we will find an appropriate adult to sit with your child.”
It is a small addition, but it lets every single parent know that they are seen.
This magazine you are holding serves an even more important role. For change to take place, the challenges of singlehood and the opportunities to address those challenges need to be on people’s minds. Change does not only happen through leaders. It can also happen through the actions of every one of us, single or married, rabbi or layperson.
Our hope is that when you read about shidduch resumes, the best ways for singles to meet, or the appropriateness of official meal programs, it will spark conversations at your Yom Tov meals and perhaps even inspire new ideas or local initiatives.
Our hope is that when you read about single men who want to wear talleisim – if you are a single man, you will have more knowledge, and if you are not, you may better understand the mindset of those sitting next to you in shul.
Our hope is that when you read Billy’s story, you will consider how your own life circumstances might be transformed into something that changes the lives of others.
Our hope is that when you read Yehudis’s reflections, you will come away with a deeper appreciation and greater respect for the single men and women in our community.
May this year be one of thoughtful, strategic change, both in our personal lives and in our communal life.
Rabbi Yisrael Motzen
Director, Kol Echad
