Here's what I found out.
1. Conservative Judaism has six generations under one roof. In addition to the usual five age-based demographics that we talk about - (Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, and Generations X, Y and Z) - we have another one that crosses almost all boundaries: the "Camp" generation. USY and Camp Ramah have created a shared experience that is as powerful as the cultural and political dynamics that molded people based on the time period in which they grew up. Camp created peak Jewish moments, connections, relationships and pure joy that former campers yearn to find in their congregations, but can't.
The retreat experience rekindles that spirit. Here's an example of a spontaneous eruption of celebration on Saturday night at Sulam for Presidents as we ended two long days of learning, prayer, reflection and bonding and realized we had to leave the next day.
2. Peak Jewish experiences don't just happen. Every group is different and a meaningful moment for one person or group might never be repeated with others.
Here is an example: Our closing ceremony for Sulam for Presidents has two simple components. Before we say tefillat ha derech, the prayer for travel, participants are asked to say how they have changed during the weekend. A tallit is passed from one president to the next, and when it's your turn to speak, you wear the tallit. The symbolism in the moment is that this tallit has been passed from president to president in every Sulam program for several years, and when it is on your shoulders, you are the next in a line of hundreds that have worn it before you. The tallit wraps one person, but no Sulam president is alone.
One year, our group included two women who had never worn a tallit before. Moving into the presidency of their synagogues was adding weight to their decision about whether or not they would begin this mitzvah. They realized during the tallit ceremony at Sulam that this was the moment when they would make that change in their practice and identity. They asked if they could pass the tallit to each other, and the group shehecheyanu was said with tears of supportive joy.
Knowing that we can't force inspiration, spirituality or meaning, we have only one rule at any of our retreats:
The "recipe" for every day must have three ingredients, the same that are the foundation of our kehillot: Learning, Worship and Community.3. Our new kehilla presidents don't need to be taught about Generation X. They are Gen X. Fourteen of the 40 presidents at our Sulam retreat were between the ages of 33 and 45, and their eyes are wide open. During a large group conversation about change that led to mentioning sisterhoods and men's clubs in synagogues, one 43-year old president said, "Women my age smoke cigars and men my age like to cook. How will our Sisterhood and Men's Club adjust to that?"
4. Collaboration, mergers, sharing space, and sharing staff are going to be considered signs of visioning and planning, rather than foretelling the doom of a community. From the growing community of young families in Congregation Shaarei Kodesh in West Palm Beach, using a small space as their base and renting a large space during High Holidays, to Beit Reyim Synagogue in Ontario that has moved into the Jewish Community Campus, leaders are looking at their vision of 21st Century community first, rather than how to sustain buildings from the 19th and 20th Centuries.
In the last two months, I didn't find much support for the tired narrative of the decline of the Conservative movement. Instead, I saw how Conservative Judaism, born 100 years ago in North America during a time of unprecedented change, gives us the framework for continually creating meaningful Jewish identity and experience. There are signs of fresh thinking, fearlessness and a commitment from a new generation of leaders whose shared experience will build the Jewish community of tomorrow.
If you havent seen much support for the decline of the Conservative movement then I suggest you look a bit harder. It's really easy to find. To make your life easier here are a few examples. Here is exhibit A. My checkbook. I stopped being a member at our local Conservative kehilah because Jews that are considered more "right wing" are made to feel there is no place for them by that kehilah's leadership. How about exhibit B. The clergy the movement sends our local conservative kehilah are really poor quality. Who knows what they really believe? One speech they say they want to raise the bar (in observance). But then they also support actions where observance is very much ignored. How about exhibit C. My local Conservative kehilah has to now take in non Jewish children into its preschool to keep itself in business. The orthodox community by us has gotten smart and opened day care in its school to earlier ages and has no need for the local Conservative preschool anymore. Do you want more? Glad to share them with you anytime. But for a bonus here is exhibit D. This post and others like them that I have sent to others over the years to leadership in the Conservative movement to warn them that my exhibits A-C are about to happen or would get worse. Frequently these posts never get posted on blogs like yours or I get defriended by Conservative rabbis and movement leadership from their facebook and twitter accounts. So who knows if this post will ever see the light of day as a response on your blog. It seems like you only want to surround yourself with a bunch of yes men and yes women. It doesn't seem you have ongoing discussions with people who have left the movement or are seriously thinking of leaving the movement. And at the very least you don't discuss them on your blog. If you ever want to find me I am really easy to find. Sincerely, Jonathan Loring Pittsburgh PA
ReplyDeleteJonathan,
ReplyDeleteI can assure you I spend a lot of time talking to people who are critical of the Conservative movement. They are the first to get quoted in the Jewish media, so it’s also very easy to read what they have to say.
I created this blog to chronicle what I see as I move around the continent in a very unique role as chief kehilla officer at United Synagogue. I get a chance to notice trends, commonalities and a big picture that very few people have the opportunity to see. Is each blog post the whole picture? No. The whole picture is complex and a reflection of the changing dynamics of North American Judaism. What I find tiring is reducing it to a simple narrative that Conservative synagogues are different than they were 50 years ago, so Conservative Judaism is irrelevant.
Leaders of Conservative kehillot - lay leaders, clergy and other professionals - are the people I interact with most. I find them inspiring. They’re the ones on the front lines of coping with how the world has changed. They make complex decisions, like opening up their preschools to non-Jewish children, hiring and firing clergy and staff, merging their schools, or selling their buildings. Many times, they suffer criticism or, worse, they painfully lose relationships with people who take a stance one way or another and move the fight from the communal conversation to the personal attack. I’m not sure that I would have the stamina or commitment to manage what I see some of our leaders facing every day.
I prefer to write about the stories of the people I meet and my experiences with how Conservative Jewish leaders navigate the complexity of contemporary Jewish community without completely scrapping tradition. I believe that while it’s really hard to do that, the struggle of the journey itself has been and will continue to be the main strength of Conservative Judaism.
-Kathy