Warm and Welcoming: How the Jewish Community Can Become Truly Diverse and Inclusive in the 21st Century

by Warren Hoffman

Warm and How the Jewish Community Can Become Truly Diverse and Inclusive in the 21st Century is the first book to tackle institutionalized biases and barriers to inclusion, offering not only stories and context about the issues facing Jews of all backgrounds, but more importantly offering practical and concrete advice that Jewish institutions can implement right away to change how they engage with diverse populations. The book features 17 chapters written by some of the most knowledgeable individuals in the Jewish community around the areas of diversity and inclusion. From senior leaders in the field to young innovators who are helping to change the ways that Jewish institutions create community, Warm and Welcoming offers fresh perspectives, best practices, and new ideas to transform Jewish institutions regardless of their size, resources, or number of years in existence.

Genres: Judaism

256 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2021

Reviews

[char · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful. A fantastic collection of essays from a range of voices, all full of great personal stories, practical tips, resources for further learning, and more. Of course not all issues can be covered (I felt the absence of Ashkenormativity and Jews by choice), but the editors make it clear that their book can only cover so much. I do worry about the innate disadvantages of gathering this information into a static publication, which is that this information will eventually become outdated (especially with all of the COVID references!), but we can only hope for second, third, and more editions in the future. I also worry that the people who need to read this book will not.

This is why I am trying to encourage all Jewish professionals — and anyone working in any sort of community or cultural organization that calls itself inclusive or welcoming — to read this. The book, of course, is deeply situated within Jewish culture. However, so much of this book, such as disability inclusion or outreach to millenials/Gen Z, or even thinking about inclusive and effective marketing strategies, has a much wider reach.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the editors on a podcast and was so interested. The book was very enlightening. I really appreciated each chapter was written by the expert in their area. Highly recommend!

[Mark W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great resource for anyone who is a member of a synagogue, and especially for those who serve (or plan to serve) as leaders. I read it as part of a Presidents Circle - an Associated program that brought together presidents of 9 congregations in the greater Baltimore area over the past year to share experiences and issues.

Overall, it is well-written and very understandable. I hope to get copies for all of our Temple Board Members, and have certain chapters where we can use the most help be a topic of discussion at Board Meetings during the upcoming year. With most chapters only 15-20 pages, this should not be a burden to Board Members, and I hope lead to some great discussions and creative ideas.

My only complaint with the book is that the typeface was small and the inter-line spacing seemed condensed. A larger font and a bit more space would be greatly appreciated if there's ever a next version.

[Charles Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many ways for Jewish organizations can be more welcoming, more open. Most of these essays weren't all that novel or eye-opening (luck of doing the work I do), except for Miriam Brosseau & Lisa Colton's (but they're brilliant and everything they write is gold, so that's unsurprising).

The biggest frustration I had with the book was how so many of the essays were simply people pushing their orgs, or how awesome their programs are. Which, great, you should be proud, but if you want me to take your essay collection seriously, it shouldn't read like the "sponsored" links in a Google search window.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for anyone looking to make any of their public programs warm and welcoming. I will use this book as reference as long as I have a job creating public programs.
A great resource whether you are Jewish or not.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all edited collections, some essays are better than others, but many of the pieces in this book are really good and provide helpful advice to Jewish organizations about how to celebrate and welcome in the wonderful diversity of Jews.

[Joelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable book, but I do agree with others that there was a lot of talk that seemed like ads for organizations. However the central reason I rated it 3 stars is because the section about disability inclusion was written by the parent of a disabled person rather than the disabled person themselves.