Greetings from the cold but lovely midwest! This February I was privileged to be hosted by five Reconstructionist synagogues in Illinois and Michigan (plus four other shuls, including Chicago’s Anshe Emet where the late Rabbi Ira Eisenstein served a half-century ago). It’s always a pleasure to meet, learn, pray, and compare notes with fellow Reconstructionists, and to see how other synagogues work. Such visits inevitably offer new ideas for our own community, along with affirmations about all that we do well. I offer a short summary, followed by a few observations:
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, IL, is similar to us in size, location, demographics, activity, staffing, and devotion to Reconstructionist ideals. Our communities have much to learn from each other. Spending Tu B’Shvat with 120 of their members was a real treat, and representatives of their board and building committee found our meeting together quite helpful. JRC’s leaders were interested in every detail of our own recent design and building process, especially the environmental enhancements for which we are widely known. Building on our experience, they may yet outdo us as they prepare to rebuild their facility.
Kehillat Israel in Lansing is the only JRF (Jewish Reconstructionist Federation) synagogue in Michigan to have its own building and a rabbi in residence. Home to numerous Michigan State professors, the conversation there was incredibly wide-ranging — and that’s a lot of credit for this Wolverine fan to give them! Other programs with the Reconstructionist Congregation of Detroit, Congregation T’chiyah of Royal Oak, and the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Havurah were equally interesting in their own way.
The diversity within our movement is astounding, even as the commonalities are noteworthy. Though differing widely in resources, size, number of children and median age of members, each of these communities felt a bit like home. This was because of (a) having met people from nearly all of these shuls before at national JRF conventions and events; (b) each sporting friends or family (including parents!) of Adat Shalomers; and (c) striking parallels in the personalities and interests of members in various Reconstructionist settings.
These visits only deepened my sense that we should drop in on other Reconstructionist communities whenever possible, including joining them for Shabbat while we’re traveling. The hospitality will be sincere, and the experience meaningful. Too few of us attended the recent regional JRF-Chesapeake shabbaton, a remarkable weekend when members of all seven Washington-Baltimore Reconstructionist shuls gathered for learning and friendship. We can make it up, however, later this month — on Sunday March 21, at 7pm, those same seven shuls will come together at Savage Mill to honor key volunteers from each community, including our talented treasure, Vicki Bremen. I hope to see many of you there. And save the date now for the biennial JRF convention this Nov. 10-14 in Portland, Oregon — Being on the planning committee, I can assure you that it’ll be well worth the trip!
As Reconstructionists we wear our Jewish identity with pride but not conceit, remaining rooted all the while in the larger world. We should treat our Adat Shalom identity the same way: we enjoy something wonderful, and are delighted to be where we are, though we know that we can learn much from others even as they can from us. And just as our special connection with the Jewish people need not distance us from the rest of humanity, so may we pursue special connections with our fellow Reconstructionists amidst the entire house of Israel. Speaking of which, look for a post-Pesach posting from the Holy Land.
Fred Scherlinder Dobb, Rabbi (on sabbatical through June, but still around).