Resources in response to “The Third Place”
Hayim Herring, director of Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal, has written an essay (“Synagogue Renewal in an Age of Extreme Choice: Anything, Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere”) which is included in the recently published volume, Synagogues in a Time of Change (edited by Zachary I. Heller). The June 29, 2009 Alban Weekly feature (“The Third Place“), excerpted from Herring’s essay, explores Herring’s thesis that “synagogue-based Judaism must engage in a radical reorientation if American Jews, and the many constellations in which they come, are to perceive the Jewish religion as responsive to real-life issues.” (If you have not read the article yet, please click on the title now and read it.)
Herring points out that we live in an age when anything can be modified or created more easily than in the past; when anyone can be his or her own “expert” in many areas; when goods and services are increasingly available at anytime; and where multiple cultures can be experienced virtually anywhere. With these realities in place, questions of meaning inevitably arise: what is most important?; how do I exercise control wisely?; what community is most desirable?; how do I demonstrate respect and responsibility towards others?
He conceives of the public “third places” (between home and work) as venues for working through some of these questions, and challenges synagogues to become relevant, inspiring “third places” that speak to the hard questions people face in our postmodern context.
Resources that address the issues Herring raises are listed at the end of the article. For more information and insight, you might also consider the websites of two organizations: Herring’s own Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal and Synagogue 3000. Both organizations are among the resources included in our special report, “Resources for and from Jewish Congregations“—which covers a variety of topics and offers a resource index as well as options for providing feedback. And the special report is itself among the resources included in the “Judaism” section of the Congregational Resource Guide.
Let me also refer you to the “Small Groups” section of the Congregational Resource Guide. And for those interested in the congregational challenges posed by current technology, be sure to check out our “current focus” front page feature in the CRG, “The Networked Congregation.”
What are your thoughts about the potential of congregations to become vital “third places” in public life? And what resources would you suggest?
Shalom Rabbi Herring-
Thanks for an interesting article on the “The Third Place”. There is still another place=space that is becomimg increasingly significant in the lives of the Gen Xers, net Geners etc. and that is CYBERSPACE.
All of the wonderful work you are doing is limited to face-to-face ,bricks and mortar places. What about the world of virtual communities, augmented communities, cyberspace as a space for significant spiritual community, study,and communication and transformation.
There are many groups that are dealing with:
Online Religion,
Religion Online,
Cyber religion
Cyber spirituality.
Each oine of these is unique and offers another way of dealing with the spiritual quest we are all on.
If this seems so strange as a part of Judaism –just remember the vast literature dealing with the “Hechalot” -The heavenly mansions of the past Jewish religiosity.
Thanks for reading this
Rabbi
Moshe Dror
I think the combination of both real and virtual connective places is the connective tissue for Jewish community in the 21st Century. It is my experience that once people meet on the web, they begin to desire face to face connection as well. They live in both worlds.
I would add to the above, a trend toward identity fragmentation as well as comunity fragmentation. People are seeing “Jewish” as a piece of identity and not the whole of their identity. I think it would behoove the Jewish institutional world to open it’s understanding of what “Jewish” is these days and look toward an understanding that includes interfaith families on equal footing with other Jewish families. The spectrum of practice, participation, and engagement with “Jewish” living crosses these boundaries in a way that our own boundaries often negate or exclude. We include those with “proper” Jewish labels who might otherwise engage preipherally and exclude those who engage deeply but stand outside of our historic boundaries. Part of our getting with the program is engaging this identification shift as well as spacial shifts. We stand in a transitional moment worth openiing engagement with Jewish as Jewish holds some of the tools for supporting our world and moving it forward. History will determine what survives and what vanishes, we get to make the invitations to Jewish engagement, without knowing where it all leads. I find living in this time exciting and enlivening as one who looks to engage people with “Jewish”.
Hi, Rabbi Dror–One clarification: STAR has been at the forefront of working with rabbis and synagogues in virtual time, going back to 1999. But–you’ve offered an excellent insight about expanding our thinking to include online spaces as third place communities–fantastic addition! Can you say a little more about the parallels between the “Hechalot” literature and online spiritual communities? That’s an intriguing idea, too, and I want to make sure that I understand your point.
Rabbi Lev–agreed about your point about living in real worlds and virtual worlds as a healthy complement–at least for now. But what will happen when we move to Web 3.0 platform, with 3D images of people we’re talking to before us? My point is that today we can’t imagine someone living primarily in virtual reality or strictly virtual Jewish communities. But that may be a function of our imagination!