Innovation has certainly been a very popular buzzword over the past two years. Not just in the Jewish community, but in every aspect of promotion and advertising, we continue to hear about the benefits of innovation. Ranging from car commercials to the Presidents State of the Union, innovation is clearly seen as a huge benefit. The overarching question, however, is, What is innovation? Although I didnt think about being an innovator when I created Moishe House, I have since sat on many panels discussing the topic and we have even received generous funding targeted towards innovation. So, how can innovation be pushed and nurtured?

We often perceive Chanukah as a celebration of the triumph of maintaining what is precious and valued in the face of potential overwhelming, annihilating change. The Macabbees fought the Greeks and the Hellenists those Jews who were over-eager to abandon their own traditions and adopt new ones and they triumphed, restoring the Temple to what it was, saving Jewish values and culture.

Perhaps, though, we are actually celebrating the opposite of this traditional perspective. Perhaps Chanukah is a commemoration of the fact that we were flexible, malleable, and, yes, impressionable enough, to change, to grow, and, therefore, to survive.

Dr. Anita Friedman, Executive Director of Jewish Family and Childrens Services (http://www.jfcs.org/default.asp), the oldest charity west of the Mississippi, and one of the most innovative and successful Jewish organizations in the United States, was this months featured speaker at UpStarts Executive Director Round Table series. Bringing her stellar leadership experience of over thirty years, her sense of humor, and her honesty to the table, she wowed participants with her Yoda-like wisdom Your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness, I hated it so much that I decided to take it over, Its the difference between a Sushi Restaurant and a Cold Dead Fish Restaurant and with her genuine passion and phenomenal knowledge about making organizations thrive.

Here is her top-ten list of essentials for creating, or transforming, an organization:

Tonight, Jews across the world will pull an all-nighter. Some will sit in synagogue all night long; others will shul-crawl, going from one synagogue to another; others will sit in their homes, nibbling on cheese-cake and trying not to fall asleep on their couches; others will camp out on Mt. Tamalpais, re-living the ancient Israelites experience of receiving the Torah; while others still are undecided about how and where but are excited to greet the dawn.

Knock knock! Whos there? Interrupting cow. Interrupting Cow who MOO!

I always get a kick out of that one. My sisters preferred variation is interrupting starfish, which ends with an open palm smooshed into ones face.

In his June 29th post Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: Key Questions on Jewish Innovation, Interruption, and Sustainability, Seth Cohen raises the question: how do we ensure thatJewish innovation isnt interrupted?

But I wonder - what founder of an innovative nonprofit hasnt looked up from her desk and been stopped in her tracks by an interruption, hand smooshed into face and all?

In his article How PresenTense Defines Success for Ventures Launched, Ariel Beery explains that when PresenTense claims that 11 out of the 27 ventures that PresenTenses summer Institute launched in the first two years of existence are successes, we mean that 11 of those 27 ventures have received follow-on funding or merged into other organizations. Rigorous methods to determine and measure desired impact is critical for the overall growth and ultimate health of the Jewish community.

UpStart Bay Area, whose mission is to advance early stage non-profits that offer innovative Jewish engagement opportunities, applauds PresenTenses work, and encourages the Jewish community at large to think more about the elements of success for our communitys innovative ventures. If we use our burgeoning Innovation Eco-System, tapping into organizations such as Bikkurim, JumpStart, Joshua Venture, the Pears Foundation, and others that, like UpStart, offer ongoing support during these organizations identified vulnerability stage, we can work together to further increase PresenTenses impressive statistics.

The Jewish sages have given four predominant answers to the question of why we read Jonah on Yom Kippur. The first is that the book reminds us of Gods infinite mercy. SY Agnon, in his work Days of Awe quotes the Psikta DRav Kahana, which says: Israel said to God, Master of the Universe, if we repent, will you accept it? God responded would I accept the repentance of the people of Ninveh, and not yours? We read Jonah to be reminded that if God could forgive Ninveh, of course God can forgive us.

Gary Rosenblatt, in his article The Push & Pull of Jewish Philanthropy in this weeks Jewish Week, writes:

Start-ups look to federations and foundations for funding but dont want to be associated with federations (too old school for them); federations may support the new start-ups as part of their effort to attract younger donors and be innovative, but resent that the start-ups keep their distance; and family foundations may play in both camps but are seen as unpredictable, and maybe too independent. Meanwhile, these three key groups are interdependent as well at times, relying on each other for funds, ideas and/or credibility. And the dance goes on.

Its that time of year again the days are shorter and colder, and across cultures people huddle together with family members, and brighten the dark evenings with orbs of light. Chanukah is upon us. We eat latkes and jelly donuts to remember the oil that miraculously lasted in the ancient temple. We light candles each night, increasing light and holiness in the world. We remember the miraculous victory of the few against the many, and celebrate our religious and cultural freedom. And, of course, we play dreidel and teach our young and tender to gamble.

A recent article in the Business section of the Sunday New York Times, entitled 6 Months, $90,000, and (Maybe) a Great Idea, described the phenomenon of the Entrepreneur in Residence(EIR). In Silicon Valley, there is a growing trend amongst venture capital firms to give business entrepreneurs, many of whom have successfully started and sold companies in the past, the opportunity to use their office space, benefit from a generous stipend, and put on their thinking hats. The hope is that they will come up with the next Google or Facebook.

Michael Bauer is one such entrepreneur the article highlights: While the expectations are high for his ideas, Mr. Bauer maintains that the E.I.R. programs work precisely because failure is allowed in Silicon Valley. In other parts of the world, there is a big stigma on your rsum if you try and fail, he said. That doesnt happen here. Instead, people like the E.I.R.s are ready to keep on taking swings.

In the field of innovation, there is an inevitable spectrum of success and struggle. Entrepreneurs must balance and then thrive in a continuum of experiences that range from wild successes to setbacks and even failure. This is true in the general world, and it is true in the field of Jewish innovation as well.