One more week of the program to go!  There is a lot of energy at the hub now as all the fellows begin to prepare for Launch Night, the culmination of PresenTense’s 6 week program. The summer has flown by, and I am left with lots more work to do.  I feel like everyone that I talk to, every connection I make, gives me invaluable feedback and endless inspiration for my project and my greater vision for Cleveland.

Yesterday I had a meeting with Eli Gur, a leading expert in building Jewish Renewal and alternative spiritual communities in Israel.  Just like the independent Minyan movement is giving North American Jews a new way to identify with their spirituality, so to in Israel, where a large portion of Jewish society is considered secular, is the idea of reconfiguring one's Jewish identity gaining ground.  Initiatives like Bina and Alma, secular yeshivot in Tel Aviv, are paving the way for secular Jews to reclaim their textual heritage in a new framework of social justice and universal Jewish values.  Secular kibbutzim are introducing programs that offer alternative Yom Kippur services.  Tel Aviv natives are gathering at the Namal, the new port, to hold Kabbalat Shabbat services at sunset in front of the Mediterranean sea.  Something is brewing in terms of Jewish identity and spirituality the world over that isn't being met by institutional Jewish infrastructure.  People are asking "Where do I fit in?  How does Judaism resonate with me?"

The CYPminyan initiative was my own answer to such a question, but for Cleveland, it doesn't have to be the ONLY answer.  Setting an example of community empowerment is a strong component of what we at the minyan are about.  Educating and training Cleveland's next generation of Jewish Leaders in Jewish tradition is an important goal, but what fulfills my need, my vesion of how Judaism resonates with me, is not meant to be all and end all of independent Jewish Cleveland.  The idea for an independent Community Beit Midrash will help empower Cleveland Jews to then go out and answer those fundamental Jewish identity questions for themselves.  In the future, I see a number of grassroots indy communities sprouting up in the landscape of Jewish Cleveland.  I see the CYPminyan as exciting and educating people about what they can do individually to make Judaism a meaningful part of their lives.  I am hoping that the CYPminyan will play a mentoring role in the development of other independent minyans in Cleveland, even helping to found an Independent Jewish Spirituality committee to help pool resources.  In the end, Young Cleveland Jews need to find their own ways to reconnect to their traditions if we are going to be serious about Jewish continuity and growing the Jewish community.  There is plenty of room in Cleveland for us all to make the community a more personal and vibrant place.