What is JIM?
Over the course of the program, participants will engage with Jewish life as something to remember, reimagine, and reclaim —not inherited wholesale, but actively shaped with agency and intention.
Remember
We acknowledge our inherited lineage, memories, even wounds, and our own life experiences, desire, and baggage —without judgment.
Reimagine
We encounter Jewish texts, practices, and frameworks with a broad lens of openness, creativity, and permission.
Reclaim
We experiment and play with embodying a Jewish life that is meaningful and sustainable on our own terms.
Through JIM, participants reflect on their individual relationships with Judaism—histories and ancestries, the stories and beliefs that shape us, and our encounters with Jewish texts, traditions, and community. We'll clarify what resonates, what feels unresolved, and how Jewish belonging and practice might take shape in our lives today.
Why JIM?
We envision a world in which every Jew has access to the support, tools, and empowerment needed to embrace their heritage—engaging in Jewish practice and community to the degree that is right for them, and in a way that is both genuine and personally meaningful.
Too many Jews today find themselves alienated from Jewish life—repelled by institutional models that feel rigid, outdated, or out of touch, or simply inaccessible. For others, Jewishness evokes emotional complexity: feelings of dissonance, ambivalence, or even pain, where the Judaism they’ve encountered feels out of sync with their values, lived experience, intersectional identities, or hopes for belonging.
JIM offers a third path: flexible, grounded integration that honors diversity of engagement over one-size-fits-all answers, supporting you in the quest for a Judaism that you can own.
Is JIM for me?
JIM is for anyone interested in exploring the complexities of their relationship to Jewish identity, including but not limited to:
I was raised Jewish but feel estranged from the tradition
I am dating or married to a non-Jew, seeking grounding in my own roots for the purpose of inviting my partner in
I want to engage in a meaningful Jewish journey—without dogma, shame, or pressure
I recently have or am about to start a family and am considering how I want to incorporate Judaism into my family life
I don’t see my cultural, gender, racial, or other identity reflected or affirmed in mainstream Jewish spaces
I am in the process of conversion or reclaiming ancestral roots
I am compelled to or repelled from Jewish life and affiliation due to recent events
I am an Israeli navigating Jewish identity in an American context
I am a spiritual seeker who knows very little about Judaism
About the Pilot
The 2026 pilot program will engage a cohort of 12 participants from diverse backgrounds to experience and evolve JIM. The pilot will include:
Seven Weeks
The pilot cohort will gather from April 7 to May 19, 2026, during a pivotal seven-week arc in the Jewish calendar between Passover and Shavuot—a period traditionally counted day by day and rooted in stories of origin and becoming, associated with reflection, growth, and chosen commitment.
Two-Hour Virtual Sessions
Tuesdays at 12:00 PM Eastern. Each two-hour session will integrate learning, dialogue, and reflective exercises. Themes will emerge from core program pillars as well as the lived questions and interests of the cohort. The sessions are designed to balance structured learning with space for interpretation, conversation, and shared discovery.
Weekly Reflections
Between sessions, you’ll spend one to two hours in guided reflection and integrative exercises designed to deepen your inquiry. The program will culminate in a self-directed project: an opportunity to experiment with and translate your insights into lived practice.
Program Input
As a member of the pilot cohort, you will play a meaningful role in shaping the future of JIM. Your reflections and feedback will directly inform the full program launching in 2027. This is not only an opportunity to participate in the program, but to contribute to its evolution.
Fully Subsidized
Participation in this pilot is fully subsidized, made possible through the generous support of Common Era.
Future cohorts will include
a program fee.
Apply to the Pilot
Submit the form below to be invited to apply to our pilot program.
About Us
JIM is organized by Kimu in conjunction with Common Era.
Common Era is an R&D platform working to make sure that the Jewish experience remains relevant and meaningful, both today and in the future. Common Era believes there is a vast, unexplored landscape of intersectional Jewish experience that takes place outside of traditional Jewish spaces. They seek to engage a wider audience of diverse experiences whose talents are leveraged in unexpected places.
Kimu exists to help seekers of all backgrounds feel at home in and empowered to fully own their inherited tradition. Its mission is to support individuals in enriching their spiritual lives through an authentic, joyful, and life-enhancing connection to their Judaism
Kimu is the brainchild of Adena Philips, a professional leadership consultant and coach. As the founder and CEO of Rhizome, Adena works across industries, from tech startups and Fortune 100 companies to nonprofit organizations. She also brings a deep commitment to Jewish communal life, coaching some of America’s most influential spiritual leaders and guiding communities through the complexities of contemporary challenges. Drawing on this professional expertise and her passion for transformative Jewish experience, Adena founded Kimu.
Raised Orthodox and deeply immersed in Jewish study and practice, Adena’s spiritual curiosity eventually led her beyond traditional Orthodox life and into exploration of the full spectrum of Jewish expression, as well as Eastern philosophy, mindfulness, plant medicine, and other wisdom traditions that inform her spiritual orientation today. Through reimagining her own Jewish identity and practice, she came to understand the importance of creating space for others to discover their own path and sense of belonging within Judaism.
From leading intimate study circles of Jewish text and wisdom to expansive festival-based Shabbat services attended by thousands, Adena creates containers for rigorous learning and embodied ritual in unexpected places—reimagining ancient practice for modern life.