The Fourth Place: From Prayer to Power: The Urgent Case for Community Organizing in  Synagogues

In a time of rising antisemitism and hatred for Israel, gathering is no longer enough—Jewish communities must organize, mobilize, and act. Antisemitism is no longer a distant threat—it is visible, vocal, and accelerating. Jewish communities are gathering, grieving, and speaking. But they are not organizing. And without organizing, even the most passionate communities remain powerless in the face of a coordinated and growing challenge.

In 1989, sociologist Ray Oldenburg gave us the idea of the “third place”—those vital spaces beyond home and work where community is built. Cafés, parks, and bookstores became the heartbeat of civic life because they invited conversation, connection, and ultimately, collective action.

And today, the Jewish community must ask a harder question: where is our Fourth Place?

I have spoken at many synagogues about the rise of antisemitism. When I ask how many people are actively doing something about it, only a few hands go up. When I ask how many are using social media to speak out, even fewer hands rise. And when I ask how many are simply waiting—for Israel to end the war, for calm to return, for someone else to fix the problem—there is often a faint, knowing smile. That is the quiet truth: too many are waiting. Too few are acting.

Jews have long stood at the forefront of social justice movements around the world, yet when it comes to fighting antisemitism, the response is often restrained, fragmented, and far from urgent. In a world where social media shapes narratives, influences public opinion, and determines what is seen as truth, silence is not neutrality—it is surrender. The Jewish people are few in number. That reality demands full and forceful participation, not passive reflection. This is not someone else’s fight. It belongs to everyone.

Synagogues—long seen as spiritual homes—have the potential to become something more urgent, more powerful. Not just first places of family, or second places of professional networking, or even third places of social gathering. They must become a fourth place: where Jews organize.

Because gathering is not enough.

Across the Jewish world, synagogues are filled with talent, resources, and deeply committed people. There are lectures, holiday celebrations, celebrity speakers and social events. There is conversation. There is concern. But too often, there is no structure to turn that concern into coordinated action – especially when it comes to confronting antisemitism and anti-Zionism.

Community without organizing is sentiment. Organizing turns sentiment into power.

This is not a theoretical gap—it is one I have witnessed firsthand.

In my work with synagogues, and in countless meetings with rabbis and lay leaders, I have tried to impress a difficult but necessary truth: your congregations are not just communities—they are dormant movements. Yet too often, this reality is not fully grasped. The urgency is underestimated. The opportunity is missed.

And the consequences are real.

We are living through a moment where antisemitism is no longer on the margins—it is mainstreamed, normalized, and, in some cases, celebrated. Jewish communities are searching for responses. But without organizing structures, even the most passionate communities remain reactive rather than strategic.

We just have to convince other people that they also have power to act. And that they must participate, with their hearts, their hands and their feet- to make change happen not only in their community, but in our country.

Organizing is about trying to get people to lose their fear so they know that they have power, and letting them know they don’t have to go it alone—they can form a group and then a movement.

During elections on behalf of the candidates we support, we go door to door  talking to people, convincing them to vote – this is what we call  Organizing 101, and that is what is needed to fight hate and share Jewish Narratives. Door to door – Organizing 101

This is where leadership must evolve.

Rabbis and lay leaders cannot simply be caretakers of tradition; they must become architects of action. They must be trained—not only in theology, but in the craft of community organizing. They must know how to build teams, conduct one-on-one relational meetings, identify leaders within their congregations, and mobilize people toward clear, measurable goals.

Most importantly, they must inspire and engage.

Inspiration without engagement is fleeting. And inspiration with structure—that is movement-building.

This requires a shift in how we understand leadership in Jewish life. It is no longer enough to deliver sermons that move hearts; leaders must also move people to act. It is no longer enough to convene gatherings; they must design processes that translate those gatherings into sustained collective power.

Synagogues already possess everything they need: people, values, networks, and moral clarity. What they lack is not passion—but process.

Imagine a synagogue where every member is not just an attendee, but a stakeholder. Where community relationships are built intentionally through one-on-ones. Where leadership teams are developed. Where clear strategies are set, and victories—no matter how small—are celebrated.

That is not just a congregation. That is a movement.

The Jewish people have never survived on presence alone. We have survived on purpose, on responsibility, and on our ability to organize in the face of challenge.

The time has come to bring that tradition into our synagogues—not as an abstract ideal, but as a disciplined practice.

Because in this moment, gathering is not enough.

“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world”. She is also known for creating the rallying cry, “Sí, se puede”- Dolores Huerta, a legendary labor leader and civil rights activist.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)