FEBRUARY 16 • 2023 | 35

adapt and reimagine themselves. 
Raised on a sheep farm in 
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, 
Starr earned an undergradu-
ate degree in education and 
Judaic studies, a 
master’s in social 
work and a cer-
tificate in Jewish 
communal service 
from University 
of Michigan. She 
spent many sum-
mers on the staff of Camp 
Ramah in Canada. Starr and 
her husband, Rabbi Aaron 
Starr of Congregation Shaarey 
Zedek, live in Southfield and 
have two sons.
“We are in a moment of 
real challenge and opportu-
nity in the North American 
Jewish community,” she said. 
“The changing demograph-
ics, reduced affiliations and 
the rise of individualism all 
require a new approach to 
communal planning, educa-
tion and organization.
“This is not a time to throw 
up our hands and reminisce 
about how things used to be. It 
is a time to be creative and to 
reimagine a Jewish life that can 
be robust, supportive and acces-
sible with multiple entry points. 
“Our tents need to be more 
open, and our institutions will 
need to find more creative ways 
to work together and share 
resources,
” she said, adding that 
community leaders, educators 
and clergy will need support to 
share resources and try new ini-
tiatives without fear.
“We all need to recognize that 
our community in 50 years will 
look different, but we have the 
opportunity now to anticipate 
and plan for a bright future.
”

FINDING NEW WAYS 
TO ENGAGE
Many institutions and organi-
zations are already finding new 
ways to engage families and 

young adults.
With programs scattered 
throughout the country, Repair 
the World encourages people 
to “do Jewish” through service. 
Repair the World has had 230 
young adults working full time 
through its two-year fellowship 
program and another 740 who 
have completed a three-month 
Jewish service-learning pro-
gram. Since 2009, Repair has 
partnered with approximately 
2,800 service organizations.
In Detroit, The Well, founded 
in 2015, reaches beyond tradi-
tional congregational and orga-
nizational structures to build 
networks and relationships in 
Metropolitan Detroit. The Well’s 
official vision is that those who 
encounter it “will so love being 
part of Jewish community that 
they actively and wholehearted-
ly help cultivate community for 
and with others.
”
Founding director Dan 
Horwitz is now 
a rabbi at Adat 
Shalom Synagogue. 
Rabbi Jeff 
Stombaugh took 
over as director in 
2020. The Well is 
funded by the Lori 
Talsky Zekelman 
Fund at Temple Israel.
The Well sponsors varied 

activities, including monthly 
musical Shabbat dinners, inno-
vative holiday gatherings, week-
end retreats and travel trips, 
and “CSI” sessions, in which 
participants enjoy coffee while 
they study and interpret Jewish 
source material.
“Our mission is to create 
and foster accessible, inclusive, 
relationship-driven commu-
nity for young adults and 
young families that uses Jewish 
wisdom and ritual to help 
community members flourish 
as human beings,” Stombaugh 
said. 
“One of the greatest mea-
sures of our success in this 
regard is that we regularly and 
consistently engage new peo-
ple every month from a diver-
sity of Jewish backgrounds, 
while continuing to engage the 
same people across all differ-
ent life stages over many years, 
from being single, partnered, 
into the first four or five years 
of starting a family.”
Stombaugh has no worries 
about the Jewish identity of 
our children and grandchil-
dren. “The question that I 
think about is: What are the 
ways that I can foster curiosity 
about Judaism?” he said. “How 
can I empower and impassion 
the next generation of Jewish 

leaders to feel, believe and 
know the depth and value that 
this beautiful tradition has to 
offer?”
Hazon, founded in 2000, 
aims to “create new vision” 
in the Jewish community 
through outdoor and environ-
mental education. And Detroit 
Jews for Justice, started by 
Congregation T’chiyah in Troy, 
is “committed to being a social 
justice organization owned by 
the entire Jewish community 
of Metro Detroit.”
Several Orthodox organi-
zations, including Chabad, 
Partners in Torah and Aish 
HaTorah, have attracted unaf-
filiated young adults and fam-
ilies by sponsoring bar nights, 
retreats, seminars and trips to 
Israel. The Feb. 2 issue of the 
Detroit Jewish News had an arti-
cle about a summer day camp 
planned for Chabad’s Troy 
center next summer. “Camp has 
a tremendous ability to shape 
a child’s Jewish identity,
” said 
Rabbi Menachem Caytak. 
Temple Kol Ami is at 5085 
Walnut Lake Road, West 
Bloomfield. The Feb. 26 pro-
gram is free and open to the 
community. However, pre-reg-
istration is requested; email 
CSpektor@kolami.org or call 
(248) 661-0040. 

Rabbi Jeff 
Stombaugh

Rebecca 
Starr

