A refreshed commitment - what Jewish networking SHOULD be all about

Here’s a thought for the beginning of 2010, based on a recent re-reading of an insightful, brief magazine column. In the July 2005 edition of FastCompany, author Marshall Goldsmith makes a bold proposition about engaging with other human beings. He suggests that the most vital aspect of human interaction is to be fully present, connecting in such a way that the other person feels like the only person in the room. What a fascinating idea this is to apply to the congregational world. Imagine what it would be like if we – rabbis, Jewish professionals, and lay leaders – worked to foster an environment in which every person who enters the doors of our synagogues and agencies, was embraced as if the only person at hand. These people thereby would come to feel as if they really mattered, and this would instantly elevate their experience, and transform our synagogue community.

We Jews are called to maintain that each and every person is worthy of being viewed through this lens of being someone who matters. And so in our best moments we remember our obligation to consider each other with the highest regard. One of my beloved teachers liked to say “we don’t have to love everyone we meet; but we can try to find one thing about them that is loveable.” This remains a powerful inspiration in my own career. As Jews we are to be actively involved as God’s partners in making right and just conduct the way of our lives. For Judaism to flourish, the treatment we desire for ourselves must be reflected in how we value the people around us. My life and work are enhanced when I am able to demonstrate that our tradition does not want us to live insular lives, as if Judaism itself can survive in a vacuum. I encourage Jewish practice also to enhance the world beyond the walls of the synagogue community.

A REFRESHED COMMITMENT (some might say “a resolution”):

To keep striving toward this goal, I have to continue improving myself. I need to take advantage of a continued commitment to talmud torah – a passionate commitment to life-long Jewish learning for personal enrichment. I also have to take care of myself physically (you know, the old healthy diet and exercise bit). Perhaps by truly bettering myself, I can then make others know that they are “the only others in the room.”

Tell me what you’re doing to better yourself, especially in how you relate to those around you.

(Marshall’s article, The Skill that Separates, can be found at http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/cim/FastCompany.php. It’s still the reason a continue reading FastCompany.)