As Rabbi Sid Schwarz, author of the just-released Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World, writes in this JTA op-ed:

[I]f the Jewish community made social action a signature part of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century — not in lieu of Jewish learning and practice, but as a complementary part of it — we have a good chance to capture a new generation of Jews with a legacy that traces back to our biblical ancestors.

In the absence of time-stopping pre-cogs who walk through walls and recover from any injury, this is a good start.

The JTA’s Sue Fishkoff, who wrote many of the articles in the recent (and excellent) “Extreme Shul Makeover” series (full disclosure: S2K and S3K make appearances), has launched her new JTA blog, The Pilpulist, by asking, “Should High Holiday services be free?”

Jewschool’s Yehudit Brachah considers the role of rabbis in emerging Jewish communities:

I assert and believe (and hope?) there are ways that the current generation of rabbis-in-training who are on board with and are in fact co-creating these independent communities can actually join with good holy souls to *gasp* bring these visions into the batei knesset of American Judaism (and further). The above qualities that are to describe these minyanim need not exclusively apply to unfunded minyanim that don"t own meeting space and lack a sisterhood.They are mistaken, those in the movements who, because they can"t hear the critique the minyanim are launching against the mainstream, are gleefully and ominously predicting the downfall of these independent minyanim once we grow a little older. But I challenge us: What are the next steps? What kind of shteiblach might we create — ones with all the qualities listed above, but in which we can mark life cycle events, raise kids, be cared for in our old age?

More to the stated topic of this post: What IS the role of the rabbi in the independent minyan movement? I truly hope that the rest of us who are creating these communities can think about ways that we rabbis-to-be and recently ordained rabbis can actually serve as resources for these communities. Because, just as one cannot learn quantum physics without a teacher, it is also extremely difficult to learn/create a spritual practice without teachers. I wouldn"t be the person I am today without important Jewish teachers who have changed my life (both with and without official titles). We are all teachers and learners.

It also happens to be true that some of us have spent 5+ years in school so that we can serve the rest of us as resources for building our Jewish lives. Please. Please! Use us as such. And help us all figure out a way that we rabbis don"t have to take a job in a large, impersonal, suburban temple in order to pay off our school loans.

Won"t you come to my small, spirited, lay-empowered, caring, justice-motivated, pluralistic store-front shteibl? Oh, and help me create it?

Sue Fishkoff covers the 2006 National Havurah Committee gathering and considers the impact of the next generation of the movement:

These younger Jews are bringing new sensibilities and priorities to havurah Judaism, while preserving the movement´s original egalitarian and counter-cultural nature. They want greater emphasis on music, social action, and traditional observance.

“There´s less fear of halachic practice,” notes [Rabbi Arthur] Green, adding that the founders of the havurah movement were fighting feminist and pluralist battles that today´s young Jews have moved beyond.

Maggid Sarah and I are having an interesting conversation over at Moshav HaAm…..

[UPDATE] A spin-off conversation with Mishkaneer Yoel Natan is developing here.

J-internet guru Dan “Mobius” Sieradski launches Jew 2.0 with a call to discontinue the continuity agenda. His manifesto:

Today, with the introduction of Jew 2.0, I declare the Jewish continuity agenda officially discontinued.

Jew 2.0 is both an attempt to redefine the Jewish institutional agenda and to empower Jewish professionals in this new paradigm. Most simply put, Jew 2.0 is a weblog which aims to explore Judaism"s intersection with marketing and technology.

Joshua Avedon and I are honored to have been invited to participate, so we’ll see some cross-posting there and here from time to time.

This week I corresponded with S3K Leadership Network member Craig Taubman about his upcoming appearance at Saddleback Church.

JSL: Why did you accept Rick Warren’s invitation to Saddleback?

CT: Quite simply, I do not get invited to church all that often. I find that experiencing the same thing over and over again with the same people in the same setting to be boring. I like change. I like to see and experience new things. For a nice Jewish boy, singing at church, especially a church with 20,000 people, is anything but boring.

JSL: Clearly he stands for a lot that you don’t agree with — so what’s the point?

CT: I don’t agree with a lot of people. This email is too short even to list my short list. But just because I don’t agree with them, does not mean I cannot associate with them. And, just because I associate with them, does not mean I endorse them. Furthermore, if my desire for dialogue and growth is real, then I must be willing to dialogue not only with the people I agree with but also those who do not share my values.

Rick and I do not see eye to eye on a number of things. However, it is much more productive for me to have this conversation with him then with people of like minds where we can sit in agreement all day and night. And unless I am in the same room with him I cannot have this conversation. I can engage him or ignore him. I feel the chance to engage such an influential personality is much more beneficial.

JSL: In your experience, what have you gained from engaging with people with whom you have strong disagreements?

CT: I have gained bruises, and hurts and pains. But I have also gained insight and wisdom. There is an expression in Hebrew; Kol hatchalot kashot: every beginning is difficult. Like a good run or workout, the beginning can often be tough (that’s why you stretch). If it were easy, the upside, would not be so …up!

I think it is important to acknowledge that while I do not support many of their views (the Iraq war, homosexuals, Jesus as savior, abortion) my guess is that I do share many of their values (I like to pray, gather in groups, minister to the fringes, help the needy).

JSL: Have you ever felt like you’ve compromised on your own identity or values at all? Has the experience ever clarified your identity or values?

CT: One of my core values is to be open to the ideas and experiences of the other. By visiting Saddleback I am not only honoring this value but creating an opportunity for others to learn more about me and my faith. I have never attended an interfaith gathering where I have felt less about who I am and what I believe. Interestingly, I cannot say this holds true about all the Jewish events I have attended.

So …In general, I think we all know what’s good for us and what is not. If we believe an idea or activity will lead to growth or pleasure, we adopt or adapt it and if not, we usually vote with our feet! I think this Sunday will lead to new ideas and new relationships and possibly even new perspectives for Rick and his people.

I’ll let you know in 10 years.

You heard it here first: Rick Warren, of Saddleback Church and Purpose-Driven Life fame, will be the featured guest at a special Friday Night Live Shabbat service on Friday evening, June 16, at 7:30pm, at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. Saddleback’s worship leader Rick Muchow will join S3K Leadership Network member Craig Taubman and Rick Warren will be in conversation with Sinai’s Rabbi David Wolpe following the service.

Apparently it will be Rick Warren’s first-ever speaking engagement in a synagogue.

Last year, both Ricks, accompanied by Saddleback chief of staff David Chrzan, met with the S3K Leadership Network’s Working Group on Spiritual Leadership for a 3-hour conversation, followed by dinner and singing. Video clips from that meeting are available via the sidebar on the lower right-side of this page.

Jconnect is an initiative aimed at “building Jewish community for post-college young adults in Seattle.” It “offer[s] regular weekly classes for Jewish young adults to enrich their minds and bodies. These courses are planned based on the interests of our participants and designed to be engaging, convenient and affordable.”

Here is the official listing for Dov and Dwight’s emerging conversation in Seattle, entitled “Seeking Common Ground”:

A Conversation with a Rabbi and a Pastor On Religious Identity and Belief in a Pluralistic World

Taught by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Pastor Dwight Friesen

Tue May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 from 7:30 pm to 9 pm at Hillel

$25 per person for 5 sessions - SIGN UP NOW!

Our first Jconnect Seattle class specifically reaching out to Jewish and Christian young adult participants, this new course will offer a unique opportunity for interfaith discussion on religious identity and faith in a world of diverse choices and religious contentiousness. Does my religious identity or lack thereof help or deter my relationship with others in a diverse society? Does a sense of religious choseness make sense in our times? What is religious conversion in pluralistic world? What does it mean to affirm your faith tradition in a world of multiple ‘truths"? This course will use dialogue, text, and film to spur discussion as we attempt to answer some of these emerging questions about the future of religious life. Do you have a Christian or Jewish friend who might be interested in this class? Email them a link to this description.

Rabbi Dov Gartenberg is the founder and rabbi of Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism, a pluralistic education and outreach organization which has received national attention for its innovative approaches. Dov is a Conservative Rabbi with a strong background in comparative religions.

Pastor Dwight Friesen is a local Christian theologian and leader of the emergent Christianity movement.