TIKKUN MIDDOT PROJECT Made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. s

Can faith communities create sustainable structures positively impacting their members’ lifelong character development?

A three-year study of 28 Jewish communities developing their members’ moral character through mindfulness and tikkun middot practice. Each community must be led by clergy or other leader trained by the Institute in mindfulness practice, who will engage in a personal practice of character development while implementing a parallel process within the community.

Cultivating mindfulness practice and attention to middot (spiritual/moral qualities) will help community members:  become more aware of and acknowledge negative behavioral patterns  transform challenging situations into opportunities to strengthen their character  respond in such situations with greater clarity, wisdom, and compassion

Participants will report an increase in  recognizing situations in which they typically react negatively;  responding to such situations by choosing to practice the middot; and  perceiving their religious community supporting and modeling positive moral character.

IJS-trained leader participates as individual in facilitated small group (4-5 participants) process over 10months, utilizing Tikkun Middot curriculum. Components:  Monthly 90-minute facilitated va’ad/group session via videoconference  Interim weekly sichat chaverim, text study in chevruta, mentoring sessions by phone  Kabbalot: specific actions  Cheshbon hanefesh journaling

Several months after beginning his/her own Tikkun Middot Leader Group, he/she will teach the Tikkun Middot curriculum to a small group (recommendation: no more than 12) key professional and/or lay leaders who are well-positioned to train/teach others in community and infuse tikkun middot practice throughout as many aspects of communal life as possible. 

Each community develops a Tikkun Middot Task Force (which should include, but is not limited, to participants in the Tikkun Middot Study Group) which will design, refine, and implement a plan to strategically integrate tikkun middot practice within community in a systemic, sustainable manner. Possible components of a plan might include:  Highlighting mindfulness and middot in communal prayer  Weaving tikkun middot into d’rashot and learning  Opening Board and/or committee meetings with mindfulness practice and middot study Posters for lobby etc. with middah, verse, and meditative phrase  Song or niggun of the month relating to middah  Monthly to community describing middah and scenarios in which it might be practiced 

Ten-unit “middah of month” curricula featuring text study, heshbon hanefesh (personal reflection), hevruta study, small group process, and exercises  Adult curriculum developed by Rabbi David Jaffe of Boston  Family (parent/child) curriculum developed by Miki Young (Philadelphia)

 hitlamdut, making what we learn deeply impact our lives  behira, discerning the critical decision point for our actions  anavah, humility  savlanut, patience  hesed, lovingkindness  kavod, respect  shtika, thoughtful speech  bitachon, trust  emunah, trustworthiness  seder, orderliness and integration

 Applications due by Friday, June 14  Selections announced by end of June  Communities begin promoting Tikkun Middot Project, especially during fall holidays in September 2013  Orientation retreat/conference in New Jersey (location TBA), Sunday-Tuesday, October  TIKKUN MIDDOT LEADERS GROUPS Nov.2013-June 2014  TIKKUN MIDDOT STUDY GROUPS Jan Dec  TIKKUN MIDDOT COMMUNITY PROJECTS Sept June 2015

 Applications due end of October, 2013  Selections announced mid-November 2013  Orientation retreat/conference February 2014  TIKKUN MIDDOT LEADERS GROUPS March 2014-Dec  TIKKUN MIDDOT STUDY GROUPS May 2014-April 2015  TIKKUN MIDDOT COMMUNITY PROJECTS Sept –June 2015

 Collaborative leadership team for planning and implementation  Advance “buy-in” from key community leaders  Past experience with mindfulness and/or tikkun middot practice in community  Systemic: integrates tikkun middot practice into as many areas of communal life and as many demographic categories as possible  Sustainable: creates structural changes in communal life which will continue to engage community in tikkun middot practice beyond the year  Size of community is a factor

 May NOT be used to defray existing operating expenses or pay for refreshments  May be used to support travel and accommodations at October retreat/conference for additional team members from participating communities  May be used for outside scholars/teachers, training, consultation, resources, additional curriculum development, and materials for implementing project

 Participating communities required to post resources and materials on community’s wiki webpage  A team from each participating community will share its project’s “best practices” and challenges via webinars  Each participating community must have a team representative on these monthly “best practices” webinars