In April of 1998, the Alban Institute—in partnership with the Indianapolis Center for Congregations and the support of a generous grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.—began to develop a guide to the best resources to help congregations address the most pressing and critical issues they face. This guide began as a simple listing of what congregations have found to be the most useful resources (books, websites, videos, consultants, and other congregations) on the dozen issues we found that congregations ask about most often. Since 1998 this guide has grown to include over 650 resources in more than 100 topic areas, shared with the public through an interactive web site (www.congregationalresources.org). Yet, in spite of this growth, the Congregational Resource Guide has retained its original purpose: to recommend to congregations the best resources—from whatever source—on those issues congregations tell us are most pressing to them and to help guide congregations in the use of those resources.

We have been pleased at the great diversity of people who have come to us for recommendations about resources. However, this diversity has also been a challenge. It has reminded us both of the need to expand the guide to serve a greater range of congregations and that all these diverse groups not only need specific resources but also have resources to share with other congregations. As part of this work to broaden the Congregational Resource Guide, in the summer of 2001 we commissioned two special reports: this report, concerning resources for and from Jewish Congregations, and a second concerning resources for and from African American congregations. For each report a partner worked with us to collect what we already knew about such resources and to consult with many others regarding both the most pressing issues and the best resources to address them.

We have been pleased indeed by the resources uncovered in areas both expected and unexpected. And yet these reports are only a beginning. Indeed, the primary purpose of this first public version of these documents is to let colleagues see what we know so that they can tell us what we have missed. Like the Congregational Resource Guide as a whole, we expect these reports to be living, growing documents. So, please let us know whether you have found this report useful. Let us know what we have omitted. And let us know how we might further develop this work to better serve the congregations you serve.

We would also like to thank all those who have worked on these reports. For this Report on Resources for and from Jewish Congregations we would like to thank especially the author of the initial draft, Rabbi Sue Stone. Her enthusiasm, energy, and creativity made this project a joy. We thank the staff of both the Alban Institute and the Indianapolis Center for Congregations who helped guide the projects and who contributed their knowledge about resources. We thank the Alban STAR (Synagogue Transformation and Renewal) consultants: Robert Leventhal, Jerry Garfield, and Suzanne Stier. We thank the many people across North America with whom we conferred in the process of this work. And finally, and most especially, we thank Lilly Endowment Inc. whose generous support made the development of this free resource for congregations possible.

Ian Evison, Research Director
The Alban Institute
(ievison@alban.org; 301-718-4407, ex. 246)

Claudia Greer, Research Associate
The Alban Institute
(cgreer@alban.org; 301-718-4407, ex. 234)

Aaron Spiegel, Director of Information Technology
The Indianapolis Center for Congregations
(aspiegel@centerforcongregations.org; 317-237-7799)