{"id":31527,"date":"2025-09-15T08:52:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T08:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/?p=31527"},"modified":"2025-09-30T18:08:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T18:08:32","slug":"how-a-shul-rewrote-its-story-yosef-kirschner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/cover-story\/how-a-shul-rewrote-its-story-yosef-kirschner\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Shul Rewrote Its Story: Yosef Kirschner\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Yosef Kirschner\u2019s understanding of the start-up world made him a tremendous asset as a shul leader. Courtesy of Yosef Kirschner<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2010, a majority of congregants broke away from Golf Manor Synagogue in Cincinnati, Ohio. Shabbat minyan attendance plummeted from over one hundred to barely twenty, leaving a small and devoted but aging core membership. The shul cycled through various turnaround efforts, but nothing seemed to stick.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, Golf Manor tells a different story. The shul now counts more than one hundred families, with about eighty attending on a typical Shabbat morning. Roughly 35 percent of its members are under forty.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How did they do it?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most congregants credit Rabbi Yosef Alt, a dynamic personality who gained community-building experience when he was a member of the Atlanta Scholars Kollel before accepting his first pulpit role at Golf Manor in 2018. Cognizant of the need to recruit youthful leaders, he tapped twenty-five-year-old Yosef Kirschner, a gregarious \u201cpeople person,\u201d to join the Board of Directors in 2019. Kirschner, newly married, had grown up in Cincinnati attending the shul, and had returned to his hometown to work as an engineer in a medical device start-up.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYosef has been involved in a number of start-ups,\u201d says Rabbi Alt. \u201cHis positive energy and understanding of business structures and human resources in the start-up world made him a tremendous asset for our shul, which was in a start-up phase when he was onboarding,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen he joined the shul board, that was a pivotal point for our shul. His leadership has been fantastic.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The invitation came as a surprise to Kirschner. \u201cGrowing up, I never saw myself as a leader and never sought out leadership positions,\u201d he said. Nevertheless, he agreed to take on the role, and despite his limited experience as a shul lay leader, he managed to win over the shul leadership. And after only a few months of serving on the board, Kirschner became chairman of the Board of Directors.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI came with a mindset of I\u2019m here to learn as well as to contribute. The other board members had more experience and history; I tried to build the culture that we are partners,\u201d says Kirschner, who has three young children with his wife, Elka.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a few years of soul searching, we realized our biggest strength was not to fit in any box but to welcome everyone. This helped us absorb new people into the shul.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMy situation was unique. While I was very young, there was a big trust factor because people at the shul had known me virtually all my life.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRecruiting young leadership is a challenge for many shuls,\u201d explains Rabbi Adir Posy, OU national director of the Department of Synagogue Initiatives. \u201cYounger members are balancing careers and family life, leaving limited time for volunteer commitments.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Golf Manor was fortunate. Kirschner was able to step up. At the time, juggling his responsibilities, he often felt like he was working at two start-ups: his day job at the medical device company and Golf Manor. \u201cIn both places, you have to make everyone feel like a stakeholder,\u201d Kirschner says, \u201cand find ways for everyone to feel they have something meaningful to contribute.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As they worked to reimagine the shul, Rabbi Alt and Kirschner turned to Rabbi Posy, who consults with more than 250 shuls a year in his OU role. Rabbi Posy flew from Los Angeles to Cincinnati to help Golf Manor develop a clearer strategy, establish stronger governance and rebuild its lay leadership structure. \u201cThere was a palpable sense of pride in what the shul was\u2014and what it could become,\u201d he recalls.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shul Reboot Step 1: Solidifying an Identity\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cincinnati\u2019s Jewish community dates back to 1817, making it one of the country\u2019s oldest. In recent years, however, a growing number of Orthodox Jews have been drawn to the area\u2014especially during Covid\u2014attracted by affordable housing, generous school vouchers and the relaxed, welcoming vibe of a classic \u201cout-of-town\u201d community.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, Cincinnati boasts two day schools, separate high schools for boys and girls, a <\/span>kollel<\/span><\/i>, a <\/span>mikveh<\/span><\/i> and a range of kosher restaurants. Housing remains affordable, kosher food is readily available at major chains like Trader Joe\u2019s and Kroger.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a big family-community feel here, but also a strong infrastructure compared to other similarly sized communities,\u201d says Rabbi Alt. While the pace of growth has slowed, each summer brings a fresh influx of families relocating to Cincinnati\u2014creating a housing shortage in the Jewish community.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hoping to appeal to the growing number of younger Jews moving to Cincinnati, Kirschner made rebranding the shul one of his first priorities, overseeing the creation of a new website and logo. Still, the shul\u2014one of a handful in the area\u2014strove to define its identity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor a long time, we struggled to find ourselves. Our constituency didn\u2019t fit into a box. We were strategizing, asking, \u2018who do we want to be?\u2019 We couldn\u2019t even settle on our <\/span>hashkafah<\/span><\/i>, and we had to figure ourselves out so that we could create a vision. After a few years of soul searching, we realized our biggest strength was not to fit in any box but to welcome everyone. This helped us absorb new people into the shul. It\u2019s one of our core tenets, that we\u2019re all growing together.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shul Reboot Step 2: Identify and Fulfill Community Needs<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ironically, Covid presented Golf Manor with opportunities to grow. Boasting the largest sanctuary and building in the community, the shul, with its large main building and smaller second building with classrooms, invited the local <\/span>kollel<\/span><\/i> to host Shabbat services in the social hall, large enough for social distancing recommendations. The main Shabbat minyan had dwindled, so adding the <\/span>kollel hashkamah<\/span><\/i> minyan made the shul feel \u201cmore alive, especially with families and children,\u201d says Kirschner. \u201cWe\u2019d have thirty or forty people in the building instead of fifteen.\u201d Giving up the social hall was sometimes logistically challenging when the shul had an event, but it infused the building with energy. There was a <\/span>kiddush<\/span><\/i> and a<\/span> shiur<\/span><\/i> afterward, and community members began coming to shul events. It turned out to be a winning strategy.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The invitation came as a surprise to Kirschner. \u201cGrowing up, I never saw myself as a leader and never sought out leadership positions.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The <\/span>kollel<\/span><\/i> minyan drew not only <\/span>kollel <\/span><\/i>families but other community members due to its appealing 8:20 start time, social distancing spacing and faster-paced <\/span>davening<\/span><\/i>. After Covid, the <\/span>kollel<\/span><\/i> stopped organizing the minyan, so Golf Manor hired the minyan\u2019s unofficial rabbi, Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Meissner, as its associate rabbi. He has continued to lead this minyan and offer expanded learning opportunities, boosting shul membership. Rabbi Alt and Kirschner agree that adopting the <\/span>kollel <\/span><\/i>minyan under Golf Manor\u2019s roof was a turning point. \u201cIt familiarized people with Golf Manor,\u201d says Kirschner. \u201cIt built vibrancy. It helped build community.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Filling the shul space with activity from other pockets of the community continued to upgrade Golf Manor\u2019s profile. The shul rented space to a Jewish Montessori program and the boys\u2019 high school for about three years, bringing a welcome injection of youth to the campus and \u201cattracting community members who might not otherwise have visited,\u201d says Kirschner. The boys\u2019 high school had a <\/span>beit midrash<\/span><\/i> program that drew additional people to learn with the students. Not only did this arrangement show Golf Manor as a community-minded organization, but the rental income supported additional programming that would otherwise have been unaffordable.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, the shul began organizing larger-scale events, positioning itself as a broader community resource. Among its early initiatives was a community-wide <\/span>hachnasat sefer Torah<\/span><\/i>, marked by an elegantly catered dinner. It was also the first local shul to host a <\/span>simchat beit hashoevah<\/span><\/i>, a celebration that has since become a rotating event among neighborhood synagogues. Other offerings included a Chanukah party\u2014complete with hired entertainment and co-sponsored by neighboring shuls\u2014and a Mother\u2019s Day brunch, both open to the entire community free of charge. Rabbi Alt and Kirschner deliberately sought to identify and respond to unmet communal needs, helping reposition the shul in the local landscape. Their efforts introduced programs such as a <\/span>Shabbaton<\/span><\/i> for older singles and a lunch-and-learn series tailored to seniors.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to think about the pulse of the community\u2019s needs,\u201d says Kirschner.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unexpectedly, Kirschner\u2019s role at Golf Manor has boosted his career. \u201cI learned what I could do, gained confidence and started to use the same skills at work, facilitating meetings, working with different stakeholders, trying to align people in a direction. Failures and successes go hand in hand, and learning from them boosted me into a real leadership role in the company.\u201d Kirschner is now the technical lead at his company, overseeing about a quarter of the staff.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During a Shabbat <\/span>kiddush<\/span><\/i> about a year ago, Kirschner looked around the social hall filled with kids running around, fathers sharing a few <\/span>l\u2019chaims<\/span><\/i>, and young mothers catching up about their week. He went over to Rabbi Alt and said, \u201cLook,<\/span> shep <\/span><\/i>some<\/span> nachas.<\/span><\/i> The \u2018stroller parking lot\u2019 is full.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Judy Gruen is an award-winning columnist and author of the memoirs <\/span><\/i>Bylines and Blessings<\/span> and <\/span><\/i>The Skeptic and the Rabbi<\/span>. She is also a book editor and writing coach.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In This Section<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Building a Community: Stories from the Ground Up<\/span><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Getting It Done, and Doing It Right, in Houston: Yakov Polatsek<\/span><\/b> by S. Schreiber<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Warmth Beyond Sunshine in Phoenix: Shaun and Gary Tuch<\/span><\/b> by Sandy Eller<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Living Together in Linden: Andy and Samantha Van Houter <\/span><\/b>by Sandy Eller<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Putting Springfield, New Jersey, on the Map: Ben Hoffer<\/span><\/b> by Judy Gruen<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

How a Shul Rewrote Its Story: Yosef Kirschner<\/span><\/b> by Judy Gruen<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

The Accidental Activist: Avi Apfel<\/span><\/b> by Merri Ukraincik<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Modeling Leadership in Memphis: Noam and Dr. Deena Davidovics<\/span><\/b> by Rachel Schwartzberg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Where is Tennessee? <\/span><\/b>By Rachel Schwartzberg<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Lessons in Community Building\u2014From Israel: How a Religious Community Took Root in Ariel<\/span><\/b> by Carol Ungar<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Snooker and Second Chances: How OU Israel’s Teen Center Is Changing Young Lives in Ariel<\/span><\/b> by JA Staff<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Inside Ariel\u2019s Jewish Campus Scene <\/span><\/b>by JA Staff <\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Building a Community: Pointers from the Pros<\/span><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The invitation came as a surprise to Kirschner. \u201cGrowing up, I never saw myself as a leader and never sought out leadership positions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":31661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199,26,172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-story","category-jewish-living","category-profile","issues-fall-2025-5786"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow a Shul Rewrote Its Story: Yosef Kirschner\u00a0\u00a0 - Jewish Action<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The invitation came as a surprise to Kirschner. \u201cGrowing up, I never saw myself as a leader and never sought out leadership positions.\u201d\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/cover-story\/how-a-shul-rewrote-its-story-yosef-kirschner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How a Shul Rewrote Its Story: Yosef Kirschner\u00a0\u00a0 - 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