Serving Jewish Singles in Suburbia
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Conventional wisdom held that Jewish singles programming couldn't thrive in suburban settings - until a groundbreaking two-year initiative in northern New Jersey proved otherwise. Building upon Rabbi Steven Listfield's successful model at Adas Israel in Washington, D.C., the initiative created a rotating network of Friday evening services and oneg shabbat programs spanning seven counties. Through strategic age-stratified groupings (18-24, 20-35, 30s, 35-55, and 50-69) and coordination across multiple congregations, the program addressed diverse demographic needs while overcoming the structural limitations of individual suburban synagogues. Regional coordination, shared funding mechanisms, and dedicated rabbinic leadership yielded remarkable results: over 4,000 Jewish singles joined the mailing list, with regular attendance of 100-200 participants per event across five monthly programs. The success definitively established that substantial populations of Jewish singles not only reside in suburban areas but actively seek religiously-centered social opportunities. Key elements of the replicable model include rotating locations, homogeneous age groupings, regional coordination, and professional rabbinic oversight. The initiative also revealed an emerging rabbinical specialty - community singles coordinator/chaplain - representing an innovative response to contemporary Jewish communal needs.

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Published 1985
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Alan Silverstein