With only a couple weeks to go before Rosh Hashanah, many Jews are contemplating synagogue membership. Thanks to a new infusion of spirit, the synagogue they join today could end up becoming much livelier in the next few years.
As our Page One stories indicate, American synagogues are in the midst of a much-needed transformation.
Congregations all over the country must make themselves more attractive to prospective members, and find new ways to retain current members.
Three national organizations are leading the transformation: Synagogue 2000, the Experiment in Congregational Education, and the Synagogue Transformation and Renewal (STAR).
In fact, STAR held a meeting with rabbis in Chicago last week and announced it would invest $18 million over the next five years to “help achieve systematic change of the synagogue.”
Some synagogues already have begun the transformation. Here in San Francisco, for instance, Congregation Emanu-El broke new ground four years ago by offering one-year, free trial memberships. That change has resulted in 200 new households joining each year compared with only 50 a year before the shift.
Other synagogues across the country are involved in changing the way they operate and conduct services.
At Congregation Agudath Israel in Caldwell, N.J., 100 members gather in homes twice a month to explore such issues as family peace and caring for the ill.
In New York’s Upper West Side, B’nai Jeshurun is so crowded on a Friday night that two services are needed. The atmosphere there is akin to a wedding reception, with the rabbi and cantor swaying and singing joyously, and strangers linking arms to snake dance through the aisles.
Such changes are needed to resonate with contemporary Jews. If our synagogues are to prosper, new energy is vital. It will be exciting to watch this transformation proceed.