The Full Story

About

In Los Angeles, there are many Jewish organizations and temples doing great work in various ways. However, a recent survey revealed that a significant 50% of the population is not connected or being reached by any of these organizations. More surprisingly, around half of them expressed a considerable interest in Judaism but remain disconnected from the community, such as temples and events. The lack of personal connections to Judaism is a significant factor contributing to this disconnection. To address this issue, an innovative approach called Jewish Ambassadors was developed to ensure that every Jew in the Greater Los Angeles area can have a personal connection and never be alone in connecting to their Judaism.

What Is An Ambassador?

The method involves recruiting individuals who are proud of their Judaism and willing to share it with their friends who are waiting for someone they know to help them connect. These individuals will serve as ambassadors and designate at least three of their friends or relatives as the people they will serve as an ambassador to. As a starting point, we will give each ambassador mitzvah touchpoints to gift to their designated people throughout the year (x5), such as Chanukah candles and Passover matzah. Additionally, ambassadors will be encouraged to invite these people to various holiday events, such as the Passover Seder. By doing this, the ambassadors become the personal connection of these people to their Judaism.

Our Vision

The results of this approach would be:

Through the ambassadors' efforts in gifting the mitzvah touchpoints, the designated people and their families will be involved in Judaism at a minimum level of five times throughout the year, with a high chance of being involved in more Jewish opportunities and events as the ambassadors consistently look out for them and they become themselves more comfortable with their Judaism.
The designated people will feel that they have someone ready to help them advance their Judaism even if they are not part of a temple or do not have a rabbi. For instance, if they are inspired to put a mezuzah on their home, they will feel comfortable reaching out to their ambassador for guidance.
The ambassadors themselves, even if they are not fully observant, will grow in connection and motivation as a result of working on encouraging others.