“Shalom” is one of the most powerful Hebrew words that I know. Our use of it in the vernacular is as a welcoming greeting or fond farewell. We could be saying “hi,” or “hello,” but instead we greet people with Shalom. And when we say “Shabbat Shalom” we are saying much more than welcome to Shabbat. The word itself greets you with a blessing from God. A blessing that comes with peace, completeness, well-being and perfection. What a meaningful idea to greet someone with Shalom! How much better it would be if we understood the meaning of Shalom.
Whether it is our Hebrew language or the traditions of our organization, we need to understand the words’ meaning and impact on members and prospective members. Everything we do should be viewed through the filter of the “drive by Jew.” And many of our members are in this drive-by-Jew category. As active Jewish leaders, we quickly lose sight of the high bar of entry into our organizations. I for one think we should lower the bar to the ground, and instead think about building connective bridges.
Our unintentional day-to-day living through our Judaism can lead to barriers that make it difficult for other Jews to join us. We need to make it easier to see and appreciate the value of our Jewish organizations. And our websites should lead this effort. Our websites enables us to integrate and engage with our members. No longer should a website be a stagnant provider of information; it should be as much a part of the day-to-day life of the Jewish community as our brick and mortar buildings.
A website can provide your membership with a full and rich:
- calendar experience that includes sign-up and payment opportunities
- religious school collaboration between parents, teachers and students
- private committee blogs for the community
- a public blog for the rabbi
- Judaica shopping experience
- education about our Holidays and traditions
- webinar opportunities
- and on and on...
Shalom
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