Cyber Santuary
The cover story for the summer issue of Reform Judaism is called CyberSanctuary. It is about how Internet technology is being used within congregations and within reform institutions, i.e., Union for Reform Judaism.
It was interesting that the magazine gave this topic the cover. I say this because much of what was discussed in the piece didn’t seem particularly new. Rabbis mentioned that they had been using podcasts for three years and blogging for two–that doesn’t constitute “new news.” Other uses of the Internet included posting monthly bulletins and using emails for death notices. Congregations are also providing their services online so that people who can’t make it to the synagogue can participate virtually–something Christians have obviously been doing for quite some time.
A couple of new ideas were mentioned: web sites that help track b’nai mitzvah students’ progress, video conferencing and social networking. This last was useful primarily for engaging younger congregants. One thing I thought was interesting is students practicing their Torah portion and uploading to a site so their tutor could review it before their next lesson. This is an effective use of the technology to further religious study and not one I had seen before.
The article is worth a look for a few pieces of interesting information like the last one mentioned above. In addition, it contains several links so you can see what various institutions are up to.