The Jewish People desperately need new thought leaders.

Too much of what passes today as Jewish “thought leadership” is utterly useless to Jews who need real answers amid skyrocketing antisemitism, political uncertainty, and social insecurity.

photo: Renato/Unsplash

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A reader recently sent me a new essay written by a well-known Jewish journalist.

The essay was typical: sophisticated wording, lofty metaphors, theoretical frameworks, and a tone that suggested deep wisdom.

It read beautifully, but when I finished it, I realized something unsettling: It said nothing. There were no solutions, no actionable ideas, no courageous calls-to-action — just another polished lament about the state of Jewry and the Jewish world.

And that is a massive problem. Too much of what passes today as Jewish “thought leadership” is smart, well-packaged, and utterly useless to Jews who need real answers amid skyrocketing antisemitism, political uncertainty, and social insecurity.

Without daring, innovative thought leadership, we risk diminishing the imagination and passion of the next generations of Jews. People aren’t inspired by institutions that cling to the past or recycle stale ideas; they want vision, valor, and the profound feeling that they are part of something dynamic and alive.

For millennia, Jewish life has been sustained by voices that challenged, provoked, and inspired. Prophets, sages, poets, entrepreneurs, and visionaries shaped our collective identity and propelled us forward. But today, too many of the voices that dominate the “leadership” space are trapped in outdated paradigms — focused on managing decline instead of inspiring renewal, guarding the past instead of building the future.

We don’t need more philosophers safely tucked away in ivory towers, producing ideas so abstract they never touch the ground. We don’t need rabbis, bureaucrats, government officials, or nonprofit executives whose primary skill is mastering the politics of staying in their jobs. We don’t need academics fixated on footnotes while our communities hollow out. And we certainly don’t need those who are more concerned with being politically correct than with being courageously true.

What we need are builders. Innovators. Practical dreamers. Voices that combine depth with action, vision with execution.

The Jewish People have always reinvented themselves in moments of crisis. After the destruction of the Second Temple, the rabbis of Yavneh reimagined Judaism as a portable religion centered on study, prayer, and community. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Haskalah (Jewish enlightenment) opened the door for Jews to thrive in modern societies while holding onto their identity. Zionists in the 19th and 20th centuries dreamed a return to our indigenous homeland into existence when the idea seemed impossible.

Over and over again, we have proven that, when survival is on the line, reinvention is in our DNA.

Now, again, the Jewish People are at an inflection point. The age of safe leadership is over. Demographic shifts, rampant antisemitism, geopolitical instability, and cultural disconnection are all converging to form a perfect storm. And yet, the majority of Jewish “leadership” is still stuck in the slow, incremental mindset of the late 20th century: issuing press releases, holding conferences, and launching campaigns that are more about optics than impact.

Safe leadership is seductive because it avoids risk. It doesn’t offend donors. It doesn’t make enemies. But it also doesn’t inspire anyone. And that is the crisis: We are trying to solve existential challenges with small, timid solutions. Fear has crept into every layer of our institutions — fear of backlash, fear of failure, fear of change — and it is suffocating our ability to act boldly. The leaders we need will have the courage to take real risks, because the cost of playing it safe is losing the next generation.

True thought leadership will not necessarily come from rabbis, professors, or nonprofit CEOs. It may come from technologists building platforms that make Jewish learning available at scale, from entrepreneurs reimagining philanthropy, from artists and storytellers crafting narratives that resonate with the next generation. What matters is not their titles but their orientation:

• Builders, not Talkers – They don’t just write reports; they launch products, build platforms, and create movements.

• Fearless Truth-Tellers – They are willing to challenge the status quo and call out failure, even when it’s uncomfortable.

• Deeply Rooted, Radically Innovative – They understand Jewish history and values, but they translate them into modern experiences and solutions.

• Global in Scope – They see the Jewish People not as isolated communities but as a connected network of opportunity.

• Action-First Visionaries – They understand that thought leadership isn’t just about what you say, but what you build that others can see, touch, and experience.

These leaders will need to think beyond the confines of existing institutions. They’ll build tech platforms that make Jewish education and ritual accessible in a digital age. They’ll launch new media outlets that tell our story with honesty and power. They’ll create incubators that fund and mentor Jewish startups, and new spaces that blend tradition with modern culture to draw younger Jews back into meaningful Jewish life. These aren’t dreams; they’re necessities if we want a future worth inheriting.

The next wave of leadership must also be generational. Boomers and Gen X built the infrastructure we have today: schools, federations, advocacy organizations, and countless nonprofits. But Millennials and Gen Z must chart the next phase. This is not about discarding what exists; it’s about building on that foundation and evolving it to meet new realities. The baton has been passed. Now it’s up to younger Jews to take ownership of the future.

We cannot ignore the stakes. Decline is not theoretical; it’s already happening. Synagogues are merging or closing. Young Jews are disengaging from traditional religious and communal life. Enrollment in Jewish schools and camps is shrinking. If we do not act boldly, we won’t just lose influence; we risk losing identity.

The good news is that we know how to empower new leaders. It starts with funding and mentoring risk-takers instead of critiquing them for stepping outside the box. It means removing institutional barriers that suffocate innovation and creating fellowships, accelerators, and seed funds for big Jewish ideas. It requires celebrating experimentation — even failure — as a sign of courage and vision, not treating it as a career-ending liability.

The Jewish future won’t be secured by another strategic plan or a carefully worded op-ed. It will be secured by boldness: by those willing to take ownership of our collective story and write new chapters.

We need people willing to build new educational platforms that compete for Jewish attention in a digital age. We need entrepreneurs who can reimagine philanthropy and Jewish giving. We need artists and storytellers who can communicate our story in ways that resonate with the next generation. We need doers who understand that the Jewish people have always survived and thrived by creating, not by waiting for permission.

The Jewish People are not in decline; we are in transition. The old guard will not lead us where we need to go. And that’s fine; history has never been shaped by committees or consensus. It has been shaped by people who saw what could be and refused to settle for what was. They emerge because they see something broken that must be fixed, or something possible that must be built. They will not ask for validation from institutions; they will create new ones.

This is the call of our time — not to manage decline, but to ignite a renaissance. The Jewish People need new thought leaders, and I have no doubt we are a people who will rise to this latest challenge.

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