Not Your Grandparents’ Judaism—Building a 21st Century Religious Experience Using Technology and Social Media

A Changing Community
Let’s paint a picture of an evolving Jewish community, one that is changing drastically. Rates of synagogue affiliation are dropping, and 21stcentury Jews often cannot fit Jewish communal life in traditional brick-and-mortar institutions into their busy schedules. Research shows that Jews stay single longer, have children later, and thus affiliate later and less often. They’re also increasingly mobile, thereby less likely than their parents to stay affiliated with one local Jewish institution for many years. Demographic data shows there are thousands of Jews who are geographically isolated or physically limited and therefore cannot attend synagogues. Many Jews are not in an economic position to participate in the organized Jewish community. Others simply don’t feel comfortable enough to walk into their local synagogue. Many can’t miss work and therefore are unavailable to attend High Holiday or Sabbath services. For these reasons and more, Jews are not flocking to traditional institutions as much as they once were.

Beyond the limitations and circumstances that prevent some Jews from attending traditional institutions and services, the definition of community has evolved as well. A community is no longer limited to the physical sense because connections are increasingly made online. The Internet provides tremendous potential for reaching the many who do not have a local connection to their Jewish community for whatever reason.

Rabbis Laura Baum and Robert Barr saw this transformation taking place and knew something needed to be done. Rabbi Barr is the founding Rabbi of Congregation Beth Adam in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has aided in its growth over the past 30 years; he first envisioned an online Jewish community.  Rabbi Baum is the founding Rabbi of OurJewishCommunity.org, and has split her time between the brick-and-mortar congregation and growing the worldwide community using social media.  Both Rabbi Baum and Rabbi Barr realized the need for adapting traditional Judaism to be relevant to a 21st century Jew.

Goals

The main business goals to tackle the problem at hand were three-fold:

  • Provide resources and a connection to Judaism to an evolving Jewish community
  • Create a new model of community and congregational life
  • Reach previously unengaged or under-engaged Jews while strengthening their Jewish identity

Judaism Meets Technology

The solution to the changing Jewish landscape was to embrace and leverage technology to keep Jews connected to their religion and to one another. Recognizing the changing needs of the Jewish community, OurJewishCommunity.org was created to reach out to progressive Jews throughout the world. Using the above research and insight, Our Jewish Community was designed to speak to Jews who may not have found a home in traditional institutions for a variety of reasons. The foundation of Our Jewish Community is to bring Judaism to people using several forms of technology and social media to adapt Jewish tradition to a contemporary lifestyle. OurJewishCommunity.org provides a worldwide online resource and a connection to a community for Jews to gather wherever they are using some of the same brick-and-mortar congregational features, such as access to rabbis, sermons, educational materials, social networking, discussions and more. With social media and other online outlets OurJewishCommunity.org has launched modern day versions of the traditional Jewish experience.  Passover seders, Shabbat services, Hanukkah candle lightings, and High Holidays are all broadcast live for the entire world.

Rabbis Baum and Barr use the following tools to produce live content:

  • Livestream
  • Online Materials and Resources for all Ages
  • Blogs
  • Videocasts on YouTube
  • Audio Podcasts on iTunes
  • Facebook Fan Page
  • Twitter Feed

The tools are used to offer resources about Jewish holidays, lifecycle and more. The tools also enable Our Jewish Community to create an online community on several platforms with lots of engagement and interaction. Ultimately, it allows for a truly 21st century Jewish experience.

The benefits of OurJewishCommunity.org are:

  • There are no geographic restrictions or boundaries
  • It provides a place for people who may not have a local, progressive synagogue to feel connected
  • It is convenient—available 24/7
  • It appeals to people who use technology regularly
  • It promotes individual autonomy
  • It offers the opportunity to be part of the future of Judaism

The New Jewish Community 

Through this unique approach, Our Jewish Community has connected Jews who have not previously been reached by the organized Jewish community. Gone are the days when Jews had to attend traditional services at a designated time and place. High Holidays and weekly services can be viewed (i.e. attended) when it’s convenient for people in the luxury of their home or office or on the go—anywhere they have access to a computer or smartphone.  People are encouraged to participate by “chatting” during services.

Quantitative Results

  • Since its inception, 42,000 people have visited www.OurJewishCommunity.org coming from all across the US and 150 other countries
  • OurJewishCommunity.org began video streaming High Holiday services in late 2008 and saw 1,200% increase in viewers in 2009; a large increase is expected in 2010
  • Over 3,660 computers attended the 2009 online Yom Kippur service
  • OurJewishCommunity.org and its rabbis have been featured in more than 100 major articles, blogs, news shows, and radio shows including The New York Times, Jerusalem Post, Huffington Post, Air America Radio, BeliefNet, Back Story (on NPR), Miami Herald, Tablet Magazine: A New Read on Jewish Life, Jewish Woman Magazine, and WCPO news
  • There have been more than 28,000 views on the OurJewishCommunity.org YouTube channel
  • Rabbi Baum was recently named one of the fifty most influential female rabbis in the United States by the esteemed Jewish Forward because she “she works to engage Jews via technology and social media”
  • In 2009, 1,100 unique viewers attended the streaming of Rosh Hashanah services and 3,465 unique viewers attended in 2010 (from 62 countries)
  • OurJewishCommunity.org had 2,556 unique visitors on Rosh Hashanah in 2009 and 4,157 in 2010 (a 63% increase)

Facebook Ads

Facebook provided Our Jewish Community with the first method to effectively reach Jews online. Through Facebook ads, Our Jewish Community built an online base of 5,257 fans from over 18 different countries including Israel, Columbia, and Malaysia.

  • Ad copy: “Free live-streamed holiday services from the comfort of your own home.  Click “like” to join fellow Jews from all around the world.
    • Keywords: Alpha Epsilon Pi, American Jewish World Service, Annie Hall, Christopher Hitchens, Hebrew, Hillel, Israel, Jerusalem, Jew, Jewish, Jewish Comedy, Jewish Food, Jewish Hospitals St. Mary’s, Healthcare, Jewish Daily Ideas, Jewish Internet Defense Force, Jewish National Fund, Jewish Studies, Jews, Religious Action Center Reform Judaism, Richard Dawkins, Sigma Alpha Mu, Sigma Delta Tau, Torah, Union for Reform Judaism, URJ Crane Lake Camp, or Zeta Beta Tau
  • Ad copy: “Become a fan and celebrate Passover with the largest online synagogue in the world!”
    • Keywords: Hebrew, Hillel, Israel, Jerusalem, Jew, Jewish, Jewish History, Jews, Judaism, Passover, Religion, Religious Books, Richard Dawkins, Temple, or Torah

Content Results

  • We produced and posted 44 video podcasts and 110 audio podcasts.
  • We developed over 430 pages of content.
  • We hosted a Twitter Seder two years in a row and an interactive Seder using webinar technology most recently
  • We have video-streamed High Holidays for three years and Shabbat for one year; we have recently added mobile-accessible streaming
  • We now also video-stream children’s services on holidays
  • We have an interactive Facebook app where people can build their own Matzah Ball character

Let’s Hear From the Congregation

While we think the numbers speak for themselves, we can’t ignore the volume of positive feedback we’ve received since our creation. From Facebook fans to Twitter followers to visitors to our website, here is a sample of what our congregation thinks:

“I was moved, inspired, and felt part of an incredibly large community.”

“…this can unite Jews across the globe, give services to people who cannot get to a service, give an affiliation, a sense of belonging…”

“Those who say this can’t survive have never spent a service or two on here.  We are a community”

“My husband is a disabled veteran… I cannot tell you how wonderful it was… participating even though we sat in our own living room.”

“Your Memorial Service brought tears to my eyes and heart remembering those dear to me… thank you for the scrolling pictures of those sweet memories!”

“The Memorial Service with the photo display was profoundly moving.  At the moment I saw my Mom’s picture, I knew that I had found a home for my beliefs, my hopes, and my dreams.  Thank you for helping me to keep Humanistic Judaism in the forefront of my life.”

“It has been a while since I felt comfortable in a synagogue…. Thank you.”

These numbers and stats make OurJewishCommunity.org one of the biggest ‘congregations’ in the world and we believe strongly that technology and social media made it so.