STAR helps synagogues deepen their connection with the American Jewish community. 

Join us in 2009 for innovative programming, training in key areas like volunteer engagement and assessment, and the support of STAR and the national Synaplex™ network.  All at no cost! Learn more.

Hear from Synaplex participants in their own words on YouTube.  Read about recent Synaplex experiences in Reform Judaism Magazine and Texas Jewish Post.

STAR Senior Program Officer Marsha Katz Rothpan was chosen to receive the Mark Meltzer New & Innovative Programming Award from Jewish Communal Professionals of Southern California (JCPSC).  

This award is based on Marsha's Synaplex Initiative work, starting almost five years ago when she coordinated the launch of Synaplex at Temple Aliyah and Temple Judea in S. California.  

What's Rabbi Herring thinking about?  Technology, rabbinical education, organizational change, leadership, and more. Read it all on his Tools For Shuls blog!   

Just released: Synagogues in a Time of Change: Fragmentation and Diversity in Jewish Religious Movements. Edited by Zachary I. Heller, associate director of the National Center for Jewish Policy Studies, twenty leading Jewish thinkers—rabbis, scholars, authors, professors, activists, and experts in the study of the American synagogue—have contributed to this collection of essays, (including STAR's Rabbi Hayim Herring). Endorsed by Jonathan D. Sarna of Brandeis University and author of American Judaism, the book seeks to provide a framework for personal reflection and public discussion on the past, present and future of the American synagogue.

If you are interested in purchasing 25 or more, please contact Wendy Clyman at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for a special price.

Synaplex congregation Am Yisrael has received a USCJ - Midwest Region's Chana Rosen z”l Synagogue Excellence Award.   As Joel Brown the (now past) President commented, ""The award was bestowed for our Synaplex program, now a mainstay of our annual programming...Perhaps more so than any other programming at Am Yisrael, Synaplex draws its strength from contributions made by many different constituencies within our congregation.  It is the quintessential group event, and I am so pleased to see our communal efforts meriting recognition from our umbrella organization."  

CO-STAR Blog
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