Mamash

Mission

Mamash’s mission is to provide people with compelling and accessible Jewish community and engage them in conversations that elevate them beyond the quotidian details of daily living. Mamash’s aspiration is that its customized discussion groups, which focus on the intersection of secular daily life and Jewish thought and tradition, challenge and inspire participants to become more reflective and thoughtful people, and help them to find more meaning in their lives.

Mamash targets the Jewishly unengaged, who find Mamash an easy Jewish entry point, and also those who have some Jewish affiliation but are looking for Jewish community and increased personal Jewish relevance.

Name

Mamash is an expressive Hebrew word used in conversations to convey authenticity and emphasis. It means REALLY! TRULY!

How

Mamash convenes groups that meet in the greater New York area in homes, offices, coffee shops (really, anywhere convenient) for conversations led by a facilitator in a format resembling a book group (with no reading expected in advance). Mamash groups use Jewish texts as the ‘book,’ and engage in regular and ongoing discussions integrating Jewish text, tradition and history in ways that are relevant, provocative, intellectually stimulating, meaningful and informative of Jewish values and tradition. No Hebrew or prior Jewish knowledge is necessary, and participants come from a variety of backgrounds, knowledge levels, denominations and affiliations.

The groups choose the discussion topics and the time and place  most convenient for them to meet . Some possible topics are: money and work, business ethics, medical ethics, family, parenting, home, beginnings, power and justice, love and relationships, gender and sexuality.

You can gather together some friends to start your own group and we’ll provide the facilitator, or we can join you to an existing group. Groups can organize themselves themselves by age (20′s 30′s 40′s etc),  life stage (e.g. single, parents, couples, empty-nesters), by neighborhood, by profession, or in any other way that brings people together. There will be a suggested fee for each  series of conversations.

One of the members of a Mamash group recently remarked: “Most people laugh when they hear we are doing Torah study on a Saturday night, but for me this is one of the only ways my husband and I can connect on something together other than mundane household chores and childrearing issues. It’s something we do together, which is a rare opportunity in the midst of our crazy lives.”

Mamash also works with synagogues and other organizations to facilitate Mamash groups for their members.

Interested? Contact us