Finalist—National Jewish Book Award Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice
Help sustain the Jewish tradition’s
legacy of community leadership
by building strong leaders today.
by building strong leaders today.
“Great Jewish leadership has helped
us survive slavery, guided us to the Promised Land, given us
hope through exile and oppression, helped us enjoy membership
in a nation of overachievers, and given birth to the State of
Israel. Great Jewish leadership generates vision and, as a
result, followers. It inspires us and helps us to stretch
higher, see farther, and reach deeper.”
—from the Introduction
Drawing on the past and looking to the
future, this practical guide provides the tools you need to
work through important contemporary leadership issues. It takes
a broad look at positions of leadership in the modern Jewish
community and the qualities and skills you need in order to
succeed in these positions. Real-life anecdotes, interviews,
and dialogue stimulate thinking about board development,
ethical leadership, conflict resolution, change management, and
effective succession planning.
Whether you are a professional or a
volunteer, are looking to develop your own personal leadership
skills or are part of a group, this inspiring book provides
information, interactive exercises, and questions for
reflection to help you define leadership styles and theories,
expose common myths, and coach others on the importance of
leading with meaning.
“Insists that our community can
nurture leaders for this generation and beyond; practical,
grounded insights inspire hope and confidence that we need not
despair of infinite and endless wandering in the midbar of
modern living.”
—Jeff
Swartz, CEO, Timberland Company
“Using the exercises, stories, and reflection questions in this book, readers can become better leaders and guide their organizations to better leadership.”
—Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter
“Passionate and inspired ... takes
the choicest wisdom from Jewish and business texts, and applies
it to the day-to-day challenges of Jewish organizational life.
Everyone in Jewish leadership—professionals, students,
and volunteers—should read and master this
volume.”
—Jonathan
D. Sarna, director, Hornstein
Jewish Professional
Leadership Program, Brandeis University
Leadership Program, Brandeis University
“The value of this book lies in its easy application to real-life organizations.... Will be useful to lay and professional leaders who are looking to strengthen their organizations.... Inspiring and insightful.”
—Congregational Libraries Today
“Eloquent insight into how Jewish
history and ideals cultivate a positive foundation for the kind
of leadership that inspires others to excellence.”
—Senator
Joseph I. Lieberman
“Insightful ... shares a nuanced understanding of leadership dynamics and sources of
Jewish meaning.... Thought-provoking and practical.”
—Jewish Book World
“Lucid, appealing, brilliant …
should be required reading for those concerned with Jewish
communal life today and tomorrow…. Touches the heart as
well as the mind.”
—Sylvia
Barack Fishman, professor of
contemporary Jewish life, Brandeis University; author, The Way Into the Varieties of Jewishness
“Deeply rooted in Jewish vision and
dreams, learning and literature, optimism and the possibility
of transformational leadership. This book will become the basic
textbook on leadership training in the Jewish
community.”
—Barry
Shrage, president, Combined Jewish
Philanthropies of Greater Boston
“Accessible…. Offers a range
of helpful ideas about leading Jewish organizations
today.”
—Shulamit
Reinharz, Jacob Potofsky Professor
of Sociology,
Brandeis University; founding director, Hadassah-Brandeis Institute
Brandeis University; founding director, Hadassah-Brandeis Institute
