Surely this website will save Conservative Judaism! Probably not.
Well, not by itself. Does it really need saving?
Exploring Judaism was born from the core idea: there needs to be a place for the Torah of Conservative Judaism on the internet. Yes, there are many websites for the many institutions within the movement. They do good work, and they serve valuable roles.
But there has not yet been a digital space just for our Torah. Until now.
Why this, why now?
More than a million Jews are likely to ascribe to Conservative Judaism’s practices or ideology. It is time to build a strong foundation for Conservative Judaism on the internet. We must utilize every tool available.
This project is a step in that direction. Making our Torah, resources, ideas, and connections more accessible is more important than ever.
This Should Hit Different
We want to try something new here.
We want to invite you into the process as we grow.
We want to make it accessible.
We want people to share their wisdom and their experiences.
There is so much to learn from one another.
We also know that this cannot be done just from a top-down process, ready-made. This will take each and every one of us contributing to the whole. Including you. Yes, you.
This website is not “done.”
There are so many things we want to include on this website.
We’ve got an enormous list.
But we also know that we cannot just work in the background, building and building as the world changes around us. We need to just get out there and get started.
That’s what you are seeing. The first brick in the road we are traveling together.
What have we done, and what’s next?
Since the beginning of the year, we have spent our energy collecting valuable materials, reflections, and how-tos for Passover. We focused on creating the minimum viable version of this website so that we could launch.
Next, we plan on gathering your input along with more content on Shabbat, prayer, and lifecycles. While that is happening, we will also be looking ahead to Shavuot and Tisha B’av.
We have plans that stretch even further, but we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. This is why we need your input and feedback.
We are thinking big.
We take inspiration from this quote from Pirkei Avot 5:22:
בֶּן בַּג בַּג אוֹמֵר, הֲפֹךְ בָּהּ וַהֲפֹךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹלָּא בָהּ
Ben Bag Bag says: Turn it over and turn it over, it is all within.
As we continue to add more and more content, the more powerful and useful this will be to you and Conservative Judaism as a whole. It is our hope that you will be able to come back again and again.
How can you help?
There are a few ways you can help, and we’re going to need all of your support.
- Share the posts that are meaningful to you. If you read something and it helped you, please send it to someone else.
- Let us know how we’re doing by sending us feedback.
- Consider sharing your Torah with us and pitch a piece. We’ll help you craft something.
Signed,
The website that will surely save Conservative Judaism. 😉
April 4th, 2022
