Rabbi's Message

Rabbi Elyse Wechterman
Read about the Rabbi
December 2005
Becoming a synagogue of ministry?

Synagogues have typically been thought of as places for social gathering, religious services and educational programming for the Jewish community. They were created in a time when many of the other needs of Jews (social welfare, economic, familial, etc.) were met in a broader array of institutions and services provided in tight knit communities centered in Jewish "neighborhoods."

Many of our congregants have said to me: "When we lived in Dorchester (the Bronx, Brooklyn, Chelsea, etc) you didn't have to belong to a synagogue to be Jewish - you just stepped outside your door and everyone was Jewish!"

Today, those tight-knit geographically condensed communities no longer exist. And the Jewish contexts in which Jews live their lives have completely disappeared. Jews today are more spread out - "geographically diffuse" - then ever before. Our own congregation boasts 28 different towns and zip codes! Many of our children are the only Jews in their classes and schools.

Other changes are apparent as well. The definition of Jewish family has changed radically over the past half-century. We have families formed by adoption, interfaith families, one-parent families, blended families and multiple household families. We have families where people have fought long and hard to have children and others that, by choice or circumstance, do not now nor plan to have any children at all.

In a previous era, grandparents were at most, a car ride away and available to help with parenting. At the same time, grown children were near enough (and able enough) to help with the care of their aging parents. Today, we have older members who either have no family locally or whose family members are not financially or emotionally able to support them.

The biggest change of all in the American synagogue that I see is financial. It is not true that Jews have always been wealthy and in the upper echelons of society. But for the most part, synagogues were either blind to or oblivious of real financial hardships among its congregants (and in many cases, those with limited resources were simply kept out). Today, we have members struggling across the economic spectrum. (We have members who have been unemployed or underemployed for years and just can't seem to get a break).

We also have become sensitive to and open to the presence of illness, and mental or physical disability in our community and have welcomed in members who may previously have been unwelcome and kept out of the synagogue doors.
The expansion of our synagogue doors to include all Jews of different ability, financial security, family-make up, etc. is a good thing for the Jewish community! What an opportunity to do justice and to allow all Jews to participate and contribute to the creation of meaningful lives and, ultimately, tikkun olam b'malchut shaddai (repairing the world under God's rule). This is a change that I celebrate and am proud of.

But it is also a challenge.

For in that previous era, synagogues were places that people contributed to with money, time and energy and came to primarily for social connections and religious fulfillment. The other needs of Jews were taken care of elsewhere.

Today, our synagogue is a place where many people come for sustenance and support - of a spiritual and communal kind, but also very real material support as well - on a daily basis. We have members who have asked for help paying the bills. We have families seeking advice on care for their aging parents. We have parents struggling to raise teenagers in an ever-more threatening world. We have singles who long to create community and find meaningful partnerships in a Jewish context. We have individuals with mental disabilities who seek community connections and a chance to feel normal.

In short, the needs of Jews in our community have grown rapidly and the ability of the external Jewish community to respond has disappeared along with the Jewish neighborhoods and networks of the past. It is now the role and responsibility of the synagogue to provide for these needs in a way we have never been called on to do before.

I don't have any prescription or program for filling this void. I only know that we have a responsibility to step up and figure out ways that we can respond to these needs and help each other through the ups and downs of our lives. Our Caring Committee is a start - so is our Social Action Committee. But it isn't enough.

So the word "Ministry" keeps echoing in my head. Yes - it has Christian overtones and connotations. But at its heart it means "to minister." "To care for..". It also means to serve. If we are to meet the needs of the changing Jewish community, we need to become a congregation of service - a synagogue of ministry. I don't how to do it, but let me know if you would like to join me on a quest to find out.

Rabbi's Message Archive