Rabbi Moishe Steigmann believes Jewish organizations are doing great work, but he sometimes sees needs unfulfilled. He’s supplementing the work of other Jewish organizations, not to pull Jews away from them, but to help them feel fully at home in Judaism.
“I want to make sure they have space,” he said. “I ask what are you looking for in your Jewish life that you’re not yet finding? And how do we build community around it?”
He asks and answers such questions through the Milwaukee-based nonprofit he founded, Own Your Judaism.
Steigmann first launched Own Your Judaism as The Spark Wisconsin in 2016. After several years of building the vision and piloting programs, he rebranded when it became clear that the work was reaching beyond Wisconsin and that the original name did not describe the mission.
He sees two main groups gravitating to Own Your Judaism. One is Jews who are disconnected from, or not engaged with, organized Jewish life and may respond to a personal connection. The second is people who are already active in synagogues or other institutions but find that “not all of the needs have been met,” and are looking to supplement and complement what they already receive.
In one case, a longtime synagogue member joined an Own Your Judaism cohort to explore a single area of her Jewish life that was not addressed at her congregation. After about a year and a half, Steigmann said, she reported feeling more connected to her synagogue, seeing it as meeting many needs while turning to Own Your Judaism for that one additional strand.
A major part of the work is small, purpose-driven communities. Steigmann brings together people with similar passions, interests, fears or inhibitions, giving them a focused space to express their Jewish lives. He also does lifecycle work — such as b’nai mitzvah, weddings and baby rituals — for families seeking highly tailored, personal experiences that may fall outside typical synagogue norms, while emphasizing that he is not trying to compete with congregations.
Own Your Judaism also offers Jewish life coaching for individuals, couples and families. Steigmann has worked, for example, with interfaith couples where the Jewish partner wants language and confidence to share more about their Judaism and to build a home that honors both partners’ traditions.
The organization operates on a fee-for-service model, which Steigmann sees as consistent with a broader trend of targeted giving and support. At the same time, he said, “money should never be a barrier,” and he invites people to reach out if cost is an obstacle.
Since the pandemic pushed his teaching online, Steigmann’s reach has become global. What began as local Wisconsin cohorts have grown into weekly online classes and cohorts with participants from around the United States, Canada, Israel and beyond. He has also hosted livestream conversations with Jews “from across the world” about how they have owned their Judaism in diverse settings and styles.
Through it all, Steigmann returns to a simple conviction: Jews are more capable and knowledgeable than they often believe. His goal, he said, is not to tell people how to be Jewish, but to help them see what Judaism can offer and to support them in making their own authentic Jewish choices.
Steigmann likes it when rabbis act as teachers, helping people with their personal Jewish journeys.
“I consider it a privilege and an honor and a joy to be able to be part of those journeys,” he said. “That’s the idea because it’s your Jewish path. But it really is your Jewish path.”
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