The end of 2022 was filled with quizzes about how well one knew the news cycle that year. Now, I didn’t even try this year (because I knew I would fail) but I did take the New York Time’s How Strong Are Your Relationships? quiz and read their other short pieces along the same theme, including this particulary good one. Tips included “small talk has big benefits”, “don’t cancel those plans”, “talk to strangers”, “assume people like you”, and “embrace the power of the casual check-in.”
As for the quiz? Despite moving to a new city in the past year, I am proud to say that I aced it. I have strong connections locally and far away, close family connections, a lot of acquaintances, and more. Now, I am not telling you this to brag about how great my life is (I have a toddler who regularly wakes up at 5am – it’s not that great on those days), but to tell you why you should consider signing up for Tribe 12’s first ever Engagement Collaborative.
Our Engagement Collaborative is a cohort experience where we will share the secrets of developing stronger relationships with the people around you. These are the seemingly simple, essential skills that form friendships, build strong intimate relationships, make us succeed at work… and they are really, really, REALLY hard to master. We will kick off with 2 sessions on 1 on 1 relationship building. These sessions will include how to approach strangers, what questions to ask to get to know someone, and how to figure out what matters to people and connect based on those things. These are skills that you can use in every aspect of your life and work.
From there we will head to the Jersey Shore for a weekend of community building! Our engagement collaborative will be joined by folks in other Tribe 12 cohorts as well as our 2023 Fellowship class. This weekend will be a chance to put new skills to the test while enjoying a carefully crafted community-building retreat designed for you. Together, we will welcome in Shabbat through a variety of activities, meals, and participate in meaningful learning and discussions. We will also feature some fun tribe-like electives (yes, very Jewish summer camp of us, we know). After the retreat, collaborative participants will have a chance to choose between two tracks: a deeper dive into community building with me (Rabbi Megan) or matchmaking training with our matchmaker, Danielle.
In the community building track with me, you will deep dive into learning how to take a group of strangers and make them a group of friends over dinner, how to balance inclusion with an ideal group size, ways to open and close a gathering, and more! You will emerge better equipped to invite friends and strangers over to dinner, ready to take the lead at family reunions, and of course ready to take leadership roles in the Jewish community, at Tribe 12 and beyond!
And yes, relationships include romantic ones too. If helping people find love and connection is a secret or not-so-secret passion of yours, this is an amazing chance to learn from Danielle, the creator of Tribe 12’s matchmaking program. We currently have more demand for intakes with Danielle than she has time for, so we are hoping a few folks will be interested in apprenticing with Danielle after the Collaborative. Even if not, you will still be more ready to set up your friends!
If you are looking for ways to deepen your relationship in 2023, Tribe 12 is here to help you! Sessions are Tuesday nights unless noted otherwise, starting February 21st in Old City. We are really excited to bring people together over something truly essential and so fun. Learn more and sign up here!
