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Michael Bresler

Jun 7, 2026, 6:02 AM

AI Can Find Patterns. Leaders Find Meaning.

AI can help leaders see patterns in feedback, behavior, and operations. But patterns are not meaning. In communities built on trust, leaders still have to interpret what the data cannot fully understand. One of the things AI does remarkably well...

Yochanan Schimmelpfennig

Jun 5, 2026, 10:33 AM

The State Must Return

A poll is not a covenant, and a majority is not yet responsibility. Numbers may indicate a political opening, but they do not by themselves constitute repair. They become meaningful only when they are carried by a public act...

Jun 5, 2026, 6:21 AM

Beyond the Fringe (Shelach Lecha, Covenant & Conversation)

Our Torah portion ends with one of the great commands of Judaism – tzitzit, the fringes worn on the corners of our garments as a perennial reminder of our identity as Jews and our obligation to keep the Torah’s commands: The...

Jun 4, 2026, 9:41 AM

Land of Promise and Peril: Reflections on Parshat Shelach

This week marks my 205th blog—yes, I’m counting. Over time, I’ve tried, when possible, to connect the parsha with something personal or political. After all, as the saying goes, “the personal is the political,” a phrase popularized during the...

Jun 3, 2026, 7:59 AM

The Leaders Were Not Liars – Facts, Truth, and the Failure to See

A close family friend recently told me about something that happened to their twelve-year-old nephew at a football match in Australia. During the match, the boy was called a "baby killer." I found myself unable to move on from the...

Michael Bresler

Jun 2, 2026, 2:48 PM

AI Can Count. Leaders Must Judge.

AI is making it easier for leaders to measure more than ever. But counting is not the same as judgment. The real leadership question is not only what we can measure, but what our measurements teach. One of the promises...

Steven Windmueller

Jun 1, 2026, 7:37 PM

The Great Downsize: Challenges Facing Jewish Institutions

There is no single authoritative database that tracks “Jewish organizations” by bankruptcy, merger, downsizing, or closure across North America or globally. As we know, the Jewish nonprofit world is extremely decentralized: synagogues, federations, schools, advocacy groups, social-service agencies, camps,...

Michael Bresler

Jun 1, 2026, 6:50 PM

The Synagogue Is More Than a Building

Synagogues are not sustained by programs alone. They are sustained by relationships, trust, memory, and presence. In an age of AI and operational change, the real question is not how technology can replace synagogue life, but how it can...

May 31, 2026, 9:35 AM

The Next Knesset Must Be Earned, Not Inherited

Israel is approaching another election cycle at a moment of profound national exhaustion. After years of political paralysis, repeated elections, judicial battles, war, reserve duty, economic pressure, and a growing collapse of public trust, many Israelis across the political spectrum...

Michael Bresler

May 31, 2026, 8:40 AM

AI in Synagogues: Starting Small Matters

For many synagogue leaders, the challenge with AI is not interest. It’s scale. The conversation can quickly feel overwhelming: New tools.New terminology.New expectations.And constant pressure to keep up with change. For synagogues already balancing limited staff time and growing communal needs, it can...

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