STAR’s Rabbi Hayim Herring, a member of S3K’s Synagogue Studies Advisory Board, notes in JTA that

“[T]he vast majority of rabbis are aware that they must continue to pursue ways of engaging members, reaching out beyond the core community and including participants who have historically been sidelined by the synagogue….What is most apparent is that many synagogues are seeking ways to change the fundamental assumptions about membership and participation. Rabbis are honest about the problems that synagogues exhibit and know that critiques are often leveled at them — they are still not shaping enough people"s lives and often are perceived as out of touch and parochial.

However, with their heightened willingness to rethink their roles and congregations, rabbis are hopeful that they will overcome challenges to make Judaism more relevant in the lives of American Jews beyond the High Holidays.”

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