“What have we accomplished? Eight synagogues - rabbis, educational directors, teachers, lay leaders – have worked together with the YJCC of Bergen County to create a valuable communal education experience that no single synagogue could have accomplished on its own.  The pilot demonstrated the power of the Kehillah Partnership to create community and share resources across institutional lines.  There is a buzz of excitement that has touched our community, particularly where it matters most, among our parents and children.” 
Rabbi Noam Marans, formerly rabbi of Temple Israel, Ridgewood; Community Development Director, Kehillah Partnership pilot

“The Kehillah Partnership reminded my son that he's part of a much larger community, and reminded my wife and me that we can be an even greater community when we work together.  The Partnership is the beginning of something that can make a real difference. Thanks to all those who made it happen. Please keep it growing.” 
Mark Botterman, Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley

“The Kehillah Project was great for both my daughter and for my wife and me. My daughter got the opportunity to learn about Israel in a creative and fun way.  Normally, she complains about going to Sunday School; she was very excited about the Retreat and spoke positively about the rest of the program. My wife and I found the parent education programs at the beginning and end of the program to be very helpful as we think about what we want to pass down to our children.”
Michael I. Starr, Temple Sholom, River Edge

“As rabbi of one of the Kehillah Partnership’s pilot synagogues, I was very involved in the planning and successful implementation of that program… Responses from my congregants were overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing an interest in participating further in more such activities at the community-wide level.” 
Rabbi Neal Borovitz, Temple Shalom, River Edge

“We believe that the Kehillah Partnership is an innovative, exciting new model for the organization of Jewish community. It builds on the strengths of the existing institutions and provides a road map for collaboration in order to better serve the wider Jewish community… A primary goal of the Kehillah Partnership is to create opportunities to engage Jews more significantly in the building of community. By providing engaging educational programming at the community level, and by rethinking how communityworks together to achieve its shared goals, the Kehillah Partnership can help revitalize the Jewish community as it strives to keep its members involved and committed.”
Howard Charish, Exec. VP and Daniel Silna, President, UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey

“Yours is an historic undertaking – one of the most exciting initiatives of its kind since the creation of the old New York Kehillah a century ago.  If your Kehillah Partnership succeeds as it should, I feel certain that it will serve as a model for Jewish communities around the country.”
Professor Jonathan Sarna, Brandeis University

“The model of communal partnership that you are developing is vital if we are to be successful in engaging today’s Jews, increasingly diverse and demanding, in enduring and personally meaningful educational journeys.”
Dr. Jonathan Woocher, JESNA