Jewish Emergent Network

The Jewish Emergent Network is a network of seven independent Jewish congregations that share a "devotion to revitalizing the field of Jewish engagement, a commitment to approaches both traditionally rooted and creative, and a demonstrated success in attracting unaffiliated and disengaged Jews to a rich and meaningful Jewish practice." The organization says that its term, "Jewish emergent," is taken from a series of articles by Shawn Landres, who developed the term by studying three types of non-traditional Jewish communities -- lay-led independent minyanim, "start-up" congregations that were still led by clergy, and "parashuls" (a Jewish spiritual community where religious worship activity is not the primary religious activity).

The various members of the Network have a wide range of religious perspectives, but share a commitment to reaching populations that are not addressed by traditional American synagogues and fighting "demographic free fall." The Network currently includes IKAR in Los Angeles, Kavana in Seattle, The Kitchen in San Francisco, Mishkan in Chicago, Sixth & I in Washington, D.C., and Lab/Shul and Romemu in New York.

The organization holds an annual conference, the "(Re)VISION Conference," as well as funding a fellowship for junior rabbis to be placed in multi-year fellowships at each of its member institutions. To date, the fellowship has placed 14 rabbis in its member institutions.

During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the network engaged in several creative approaches to online Jewish holiday observance including an all-night Torah study program for Shavuot, and an online program for repentance and reflection during the month of Elul.