Kehilla Legacies

In an eJewish Philanthropy blog post yesterday, Are there too many Congregations? Debunking a "Polite Fiction,"  Rabbi Aaron Bisno, from Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh, comments on the question of whether or not there are too many congregations. His thoughtful response is that we need to ask a different question: “Ask rather, how collaborative and creative, our thinking?”

Rabbi Bisno encourages our synagogue leaders to change the mindset of competition with their neighbors.  And, as he argued in an earlier post, we will all have to learn how to have “courageous conversations” where we discuss challenging and difficult realities rather than avoid them until it’s too late.

Rabbi Bisno calls for congregational leaders to enter into dialogue that focuses on community rather than their own congregations:

Clearly, the most important work and biggest tasks we have before us can only be accomplished by our all working as partners across, within and between the traditional lines. The old way of thinking about our work is yesterday’s news.

This not only holds true for synagogue leaders; it will need to be true for Jewish organizations, as well.

Coincidentally, it is the Pittsburgh area where courageous conversations are being convened in August by a new collaboration that brings together the Conservative and Reform movements and Jewish Federations, sparked by the Jewish Community Legacy Project.

The Jewish Community Legacy Project works with small synagogues in communities with declining or changing populations. JCLP’s executive director, David Sarnat, is eloquent in describing congregations he has worked with that look beyond the bricks and mortar of their synagogue buildings and cemeteries. They courageously plan for a quality of Jewish life for their remaining members, and they archive the history of their communities while establishing a legacy that benefits the greater Jewish community through the disposition of their buildings and assets. They set up scholarships for Jewish youth to attend college, donate Torahs to burgeoning communities, or support new Jewish educational programs.

JCLP has identified nearly 100 small synagogue communities across the country of all denominations that fit their criteria for declining or changing communities: fewer than 75 members, member age rising, consistent reduction in membership over a period of at least five years, demographic data that does not predict growth in the Jewish community.

David’s vision is for these communities to be proactive and intentional about their legacies. With guidance and support from the entire Jewish organizational spectrum – and this is where the movements and Federation come in – their legacies can build the foundation for emerging Jewish communities in the 21^st Century.

So on August 26, The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Union for Reform Judaism, Jewish Federations of North America and Jewish Community Legacy Project will convene a courageous conversation for very small synagogue communities: the conference, Congregations in a Changing Environment. 

Hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, we will look at how we view growth, stability, and quality of life in very small communities. We’ll explore how to focus energy towards the people remaining in a community, and beyond the preservation of buildings, stained glass windows and plaques.  

We expect that a number of the participants at the conference will be steadfast about the stability of their communities. We hope they will begin to think about ways to share or collaborate with their neighbors to continue the quality of their Jewish lives. We expect that we will also motivate others to take a realistic look at their futures, begin a relationship with Jewish Community Legacy Project, and accept help and support from their movement and Federation.

This conference is the beginning of a partnership that will continue nationwide. As the work expands, we expect to find kehilla - sacred community - across the generations as declining communities create legacies that support new ones, and, as JCLP says, “assure that the past has a place in the future.”