# Jewish Emergent Network > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jewish_Emergent_Network > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jewish_Emergent_Network.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Emergent_Network > Source revision: 1351234958 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Network of Jewish congregations in the United States Jewish Emergent Network Formation January 2016; 10 years ago (2016-01) Type Network of independent Jewish congregations Purpose Religion Location United States Members Seven (7) (2024) Director Justin Rosen Smolen Website jewishemergentnetwork.org The **Jewish Emergent Network** is a network of seven independent [Jewish](/source/Judaism) congregations in the United States. Founded in January 2016,[1] the network shares a "devotion to revitalizing the field of Jewish engagement, a commitment to approaches both traditionally rooted and creative, and a demonstrated success in attracting unaffiliated and disengaged Jews to a rich and meaningful Jewish practice."[2][3] The various members of the Network have a wide range of religious perspectives, but share a commitment to reaching populations that are not addressed by traditional American synagogues and fighting "demographic free fall."[4] The Network currently includes [IKAR](/source/IKAR_(Jewish_congregation)) in Los Angeles, [Kavana](/source/Kavana_Cooperative) in Seattle, [The Kitchen](/source/The_Kitchen_(Jewish_community)) in San Francisco, [Mishkan](/source/Mishkan_Chicago) in Chicago, [Sixth & I](/source/Sixth_%26_I_Historic_Synagogue) in Washington, D.C., and [Lab/Shul](/source/Lab%2FShul) and [Romemu](/source/Romemu) in New York. ## Background and critical response The organization takes its name, "Jewish emergent," from a series of articles by [Shawn Landres](/source/Shawn_Landres), who developed the term by studying three types of non-traditional Jewish communities: lay-led [independent minyanim](/source/Independent_minyan), "start-up" congregations that were still led by clergy, and "para[shuls](/source/Shul)" (a Jewish spiritual community where religious worship activity is not the primary religious activity).[5][6] Most of its member congregations describe themselves as re-inventing traditional aspects of [Judaism](/source/Judaism) to be relevant to the needs of their participants in the 21st century.[7] Some commentators, however, have noted that, despite this, the Network and similar independent Jewish communities have begun to re-institute many of the features more commonly found in traditional [American Jewish](/source/American_Jews) communities, such as membership and acquiring permanent spaces for worship and community services.[8] Others, such as historian of American Judaism [Jonathan Sarna](/source/Jonathan_Sarna), argue that the Network's approach is in line with American traditions of reinventing Judaism, such as American [Reform](/source/Reform_Judaism) congregations or the independent [havurah](/source/Chavurah) movement in the 1970s.[7] ## Current Activities The organization holds an annual conference entitled "(Re)VISION Conference." From 2016-2020, it funded a fellowship for a total of 14 junior rabbis to be placed in multi-year fellowships at each of its member institutions.[9] During the early phase of the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic), the Network engaged in several approaches to online Jewish holiday observance, including an all-night Torah study program for [Shavuot](/source/Shavuot)[10] and an online program for repentance and reflection during the month of [Elul](/source/Elul).[11] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Chernikoff, Helen (January 12, 2016). ["Non-Traditional Synagogue Network Launches, With Fellowship"](https://www.jta.org/2016/01/12/ny/non-traditional-synagogue-network-launches-with-fellowship-2). *[Jewish Telegraph Agency](/source/Jewish_Telegraph_Agency)*. Retrieved February 11, 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Jewish Emergent Network"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160610222023/http://jewishemergentnetwork.org/). *Jewish Emergent Network*. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2020.[*[self-published source?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published_sources)*] 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Dreyfus, Hannah (December 7, 2016). ["Election aftermath tests alternative synagogues"](https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/election-aftermath-tests-alternative-synagogues/#0GL8iDAkPFhcAug0.99). *[The Times of Israel](/source/The_Times_of_Israel)*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Thriving indie Jewish communities join forces to create rabbinic fellowship"](https://jewishjournal.com/judaism/182249/). *Jewish Journal*. February 8, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Emergence unbound"](http://shma.com/emergence-unbound/). *Sh'ma : A Journal of Jewish Ideas*. October 2, 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Emergent Jewish Communities and their participants: Preliminary Findings from the 2007 National Spiritual Communities Study"](https://www.bjpa.org/search-results/publication/2828%7C). *Berman Jewish Policy Archive*. Retrieved September 22, 2020. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_7-1) ["Rebooting Judaism Do the Innovative Communities of the Jewish Emergent Network Hold a Key to the Jewish Future?"](https://info.nmajh.org/uploadedFiles/_Common/Beacon%20Magazine%20Rebooting%20Judaism%20May%202017.pdf) (PDF). *National Museum of American Jewish History*. May 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["They tried to take Judaism out of synagogue spaces. Now they're coming back to them"](https://www.jta.org/2018/06/28/united-states/tried-take-judaism-synagogue-spaces-now-theyre-coming-back). *Jewish Telegraphic Agency*. June 28, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Jewish Emergent Network Rabbinic Fellowship to Sunset"](https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/jewish-emergent-network-rabbinic-fellowship-to-sunset/). *eJewish Philanthropy*. July 10, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Stay Up During Shavuot By Attending the Overnight DAWN Festival"](https://jewishjournal.com/judaism/holidays/316357/stay-up-during-shavuot-attending-the-dawn-festival/). *Jewish Journal*. May 27, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Edelstein, Jason (August 21, 2020). ["Jewish Emergent Network & Yavilah McCoy/Dimensions Launch Elul Project"](https://www.modernghana.com/news/1024450/jewish-emergent-network-yavilah-mccoydimensions.html). *ModernGhana.com*. ## External links - [Official website](http://www.jewishemergentnetwork.org/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jewish Emergent Network](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Emergent_Network) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Emergent_Network?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.