|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
Sorting Things Out
Mark Beachy loves a big crowd. And he loves going to temple. A professional actor and the manager of a movie theater, Mr. Beachy is an Ellicott City resident who converted to Judaism from Catholicism a year ago. Like many new Jews-by-Choice, he tends to speak about his adopted faith in an effusive manner, and he's working hard on creating a radio program called "All Things Jewish," featuring rabbinic sermons and Jewish news and entertainment.
"As a child, I was more interested in a dreidel that someone put in my Christmas stocking than all of my Christmas stuff," he recalled. "So I don't feel like I'm a convert, because I've felt this way all along. I'm just very excited about Judaism." Mr. Beachy attends Temple Oheb Shalom in Upper Park Heights for Shabbat services three times a month, and usually spends the fourth Sabbath with a friend at Reisterstown's Temple Emanuel. "They're very different synagogues," he said. "Emanuel is much smaller and more casual, so I feel relaxed there. Oheb Shalom is much bigger and you're expected to wear a suit and tie, and I love to dress up. So I really like both synagogues and feel comfortable at both, although Oheb Shalom is my home. The nice thing about Reform Judaism is you get to have all these different perspectives." But Mr. Beachy, 31, admits he's disappointed that his enthusiasm for Reform is apparently not pervasive in Baltimore, and he usually finds small groups of older worshippers at services. "I don't really know why other young Reform Jews don't feel the way I do," he said. "I'm jealous that they got to have their bar and bat mitzvahs and years of study and culture, but yet it's not a culture or religion they seem to practice or know. I'm definitely much younger than most people in the congregation who go on a weekly basis, and I wish others would be more involved. "I always see all these empty chairs, and I really wish they were filled, especially with people my age. Maybe they just take it for granted," Mr. Beachy lamented. "It's very disappointing and baffling, and I'd love to have an answer." So would a lot of people heavily involved and invested in the local Reform movement. Despite Baltimore's pivotal and proud role in Reform's history Har Sinai is the nation's oldest continuously Reform congregation, and three of the four temples in town were founded more than 150 years ago and despite a flourishing national movement, Reform is experiencing serious difficulties and challenges here. Leaders and congregants at all of the area temples Oheb Shalom, Emanuel, Har Sinai in Owings Mills and Upper Park Heights' Baltimore Hebrew Congregation concede that declining membership, financial woes and/or in some cases a general sense of apathy plague their synagogues. As a result, BHC and Oheb Shalom, both large and older facilities located across the street from each other, recently held merger talks (and opted not to), while Har Sinai and Emanuel, with fairly new buildings and only a few miles apart in Northwest Baltimore County, are discussing the possibility of merging. "Reform in this town is going through a serious crisis right now, and that shouldn't be, because the Reform movement still has a compelling voice that should speak to a wide spectrum of Jews here," said one local Reform leader, who requested anonymity. "All of the shuls are losing members, and none of us are in a growth period. I'm just not sure that you'll see four, or even three, Reform congregations here in 10 or 15 years. We probably won't be able to support four synagogue buildings, and we'll probably be a smaller community. The infrastructure is now bigger than the community that chooses to use it. That's the reality of the situation." Because Baltimore Jews tend to be more conservative in observance and practice, Reform's approach to Jewish living has less appeal here, said several Reform leaders interviewed for this article. They also said the organized Jewish community's hierarchy and power base tends to be skewed toward Conservative Judaism. "Look at the Associated [Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore]," said one leader. "I don't see much Reform leadership at the Associated. We don't have as much influence there, and we don't really have the big money people in Baltimore. The tonal element of the Associated is Conservative, with a big C. The majority of their leaders are involved in Conservative synagogues. "There's just a cachet that's missing here for Reform Judaism. It's not fashionable in Baltimore." Of course, that's not a view to which everyone in the Reform community subscribes. In fact, with its emphasis on outreach and inclusivity (to interfaith families, gays and lesbians, converts and others), and acceptance of creativity and innovation with a healthy respect for tradition, some say Reform in Baltimore has a bright future. (About 36 percent of respondents to a 2000 demographic study conducted by the Associated identified themselves as Reform. Approximately 1.5 million Reform Jews live in North America, according to the Union for Reform Judaism.) "Reform has deep roots here. It's not falling apart," said Har Sinai's Rabbi Bradd H. Boxman. "This is just a time of change and developing synergies among the different facets of Reform in Baltimore. "From a national perspective, Baltimore is a conundrum," he said. "For years, Conservative Judaism has had problems nationally, but in Baltimore they're thriving. Reform is thriving nationally, but Baltimore [Reform] is going through a sorting-out period. It's not a crisis. We're not at a crossroads. That's too stark. It's just a redevelopment of identity along congregational lines. "Shifting sands." Radical Pays Off Rabbi Rex D. Perlmeter recently sat in his spacious, book-lined office at BHC and apologized to a visitor for needing to take a quick cell phone call from his daughter in college in Boston. The rabbi, who came to the congregation in 1995 and plans to leave next year to pursue other interests, seemed relaxed and at peace.
Rabbi Perlmeter admitted that BHC, Baltimore's oldest Jewish congregation, has experienced some difficult times in recent years. The temple's membership has dwindled since the late 1980s from more than 2,000 families to approximately 1,400 today. In addition, BHC's day school which has suffered from personnel changes, inconsistent enrollment and communal perception problems regarding its quality has not drawn the volume of families to the temple's membership, or to the Reform movement, originally expected. "BHCDS isn't going anywhere," Rabbi Perlmeter said of rumors that the day school may close. "The budget is being worked on for next year, and recruitment is under way. We're on solid footing, academically and Judaically, We have a very good interim director and morale is good." There also has been constant speculation over the years that BHC may move or create a satellite operation in the Owings Mills/Reisterstown area, or Cockeysville. Rabbi Perlmeter said the congregation has explored opening a facility in other areas, but has decided to remain at its current location. "BHC is here to stay," he said. Furthermore, he said he believes the congregation which some local Reform leaders characterize as being "stodgy" and "corporate" has turned a corner after years of trying to stabilize membership and determine a new identity. "We've attracted some great candidates to succeed me," Rabbi Perlmeter said. "And we have energized lay leaders who feel empowered by what we're trying to do. We realize there are tens of thousands of Jews here who are not affiliated, and many of those are not members because they don't have the interest. But there may be a spark of interest, and we want to reach them. We're saying, The synagogue community has made itself undesirable to you. But we are here for you.'"
As a result, BHC has implemented new initiatives to increase membership. Rabbi Perlmeter said he considers the temple's "Rosh Hashanah Under The Stars" program at Oregon Ridge Park this year a watershed event for BHC, the local Reform movement and the Jewish community in general. The program was part of BHC's $1 million-plus outreach plan, called the Membership Enrichment Initiative. "Forty-five-hundred people came out for a service that was radically different," he said. "There's a momentum here. There were times we didn't try to reach out in new ways. We were caught for a while in our historical ways of doing things. This year, we tried to be radical, and it paid off." Recognizing that synagogue dues have reached a level over the years that deters prospective congregants, Rabbi Perlmeter said BHC has lowered membership rates across the board and waived religious school fees, while conducting fund-raising efforts to offset the costs. "We've got to find ways to make it affordable. Our cachet is going to be bringing in Jews who are not always financially capable. Synagogue life has just gotten too expensive to many Jews," he said. "We have tried to embrace the reality of the challenges and responded effectively, and I think we're on the right track." It's a track that all of the temples in town, in some way, need to replicate for survival, Rabbi Perlmeter said. In a Jewish community with a large and influential Orthodox community, and a pair of large and thriving Conservative congregations (Beth El and Chizuk Amuno), Reform here needs to remarket itself, he said. "The four Reform congregations have all lost membership, and that has financial implications," he said. "There's not a single reason for it, but lots of reasons. Broadly, there's a tonal issue of traditionalism in Baltimore. That has an imprint. We've tried to be traditional and non-traditional." The Reform movement's embrace in recent years of more traditional ritual and practice may have alienated some former congregants who preferred the old-line classical Reform, Rabbi Perlmeter conceded. "Some have left the synagogue as tradition has been embraced by Reform," he said. "But, at the same time, Reform isn't Conservative Judaism. We're still about change and shaking things up. The times they are a-changing. Reform Judaism can be the point of return for people, but we can't do things the same old ways. "We're at a time of incredible opportunity to rethink what we provide as a synagogue to the Jewish community, about what a Reform temple can offer. A synagogue has to be accessible and relevant to people. The sorting-out is happening." As the branch of liberal Judaism most appealing to unaffiliated, peripheral and progressive Jews, Rabbi Perlmeter said it's only natural that Reform would first feel the pangs of change within the general Jewish community. "The number of non-Orthodox members of the community has shrunk, and the liberal congregations are taking a hit from that. That doesn't only pertain to the Reform congregations," he said. "I think it has and will impact the Conservative community if we don't all respond to the changing nature of Jewish identity, the Jewish household, demographics. We're just catching up with the national rates of unaffiliation." Although BHC and Oheb Shalom recently discussed a merger, the former congregation decided that the time was not ripe, according to Dr. Edward L. Perl, BHC's first vice president. "These congregations have a lot of identity, and presently they don't feel the need to lose that," he said. "We felt that BHC is heading in the right direction. In the future, if there are demographic changes, if we feel the necessity, we'll re-approach it." At Oheb Shalom, membership continually dropped over a 20-year period until three years ago, according to the temple's Rabbi Steven M. Fink. Oheb Shalom now has approximately 850 families, he said, an increase of 20 to 25 family memberships annually. He also said the temple's religious school has grown 10 percent since 2004, and youth and adult education programs are thriving.
Like BHC, Oheb Shalom does not plan to relocate in the near future, despite persistent rumors, Rabbi Fink said. "We put $4 1/2 million into our building in 2001, and another million since then," he said. "We're not leaving Park Heights. We're a metropolitan congregation, in a great location." Nonetheless, Rabbi Fink described Reform in Baltimore as being in a state of "flux. Communities wax and wane. That's the nature of Jewish communities. We're now attracting different people than we used to. People disenchanted with Conservative Judaism and looking for alternatives are now coming to us." But he agreed with other Reform leaders interviewed for this article that part of the reason for the local movement's diminution in numbers is likely the result of less of an emphasis on denominational adherence among synagogue-goers today. "For a lot of liberal Jews, ideology is not nearly as important as it once was, and the dividing line between Reform and Conservative is different today," he said. "Baltimore Hebrew is not necessarily Oheb Shalom's biggest competition. Beth El is. Besides kashrut, there's not a lot of difference between the congregations. So for a lot of people, it's about the particular congregation they affiliate with." But Rabbi Fink rejected the notion that more Jews do not join large congregations like Oheb Shalom because of their size and sprawling facilities. "Our facility may be like a mega-shul, but we're a haimish place," he said. "There's nothing corporate about us. There's a decidedly different culture at Oheb Shalom than there is at other large synagogues." Leslie K. Pomerantz agrees. A cantorial soloist at Oheb Shalom who grew up actively involved in the Reform movement in her native Fort Wayne, Ind., Ms. Pomerantz also belongs to Stevenson's Chizuk Amuno. "When I play guitar and sing at Oheb, I look down sometimes and see grown-ups crying when I play songs like Shalom Rav,'" she said. "People want that kind of thing, that kind of feeling." At Chizuk Amuno, Ms. Pomerantz said she enjoys the energy at Saturday morning services. "You see hundreds of people there, and everyone knows the Nusach and what it means," she said. "It's very, very inspiring. "On the flip side," she said, "the Reform movement does such an amazing job with its summer camps programming, with such ruach [spirit] and energy, and the temples in town have tried to bring that feeling into the congregations. Even adults want that kind of thing." Meanwhile, though, Reform grapples to forge a new identity, Ms. Pomerantz said. "People are looking for more traditional, and Reform is moving in that direction. There's a recognition that it's time for us to get back to our roots," she said. "But we walk a fine line because we want to be inclusive of everyone. That's what set us apart. How do you keep our tradition intact and be inclusive of everyone? It's a struggle. "In my heart of hearts, I am a Reform Jew." Hard Nut To Crack' Har Sinai's Rabbi Boxman would also like to see the spirit of the Reform summer camp infused into local temple life here. He said he feels it's a force that has helped shape many other Reform communities, and one that's greatly missing here, largely because there is not a mid-Atlantic summer camp program nearby operated by the movement.
"There's a magic that happens at those camps that creates a lifetime commitment," he said. "It's no coincidence that most of our rabbinic and cantorial leadership comes from that experience, and it also connects and resonates with the youth groups." Rabbi Boxman said Har Sinai's membership has increased in recent months, largely because of a new introductory fee deal, from 450 families to 520. But he said his congregation's greatest challenge has stemmed from serious financial problems, due to its move to Owings Mills from Upper Park Heights five years ago and costly legal battles with neighbors before the relocation. "Har Sinai positioned itself to come to Owings Mills. It was smart, daring and courageous," he said. "But there was an immediate drop in membership, and they bit off more than they could chew [financially] when they built this beautiful facility. For the past few years, Har Sinai has struggled financially, even at one point coming perilously close to being in serious trouble." But over the past year, he said the congregation has overcome major financial hurdles and appears to be on the road to fiscal health. "The difference between us and the Park Heights congregations was not about membership but a financial burden," Rabbi Boxman said. "The young people are out here. They're not interested in schlepping to the city and Pikesville. [In Park Heights,] they have a different demographic, they have an older core. I still believe that the vast majority of growth is out here. I see a bright future for Reform here. "The reality of life is there are demographic changes, and some congregations will survive and some will submerge. Expansion and contraction that's life. We're going through a period of contraction, but Reform Judaism is not in trouble. We offer something different than Conservative and Orthodox, and Reform has something to offer that large population of unaffiliated Jews out there." One longtime Reform lay leader, who requested anonymity, said he feels the movement's difficulties in Baltimore largely stem not necessarily from demographic or ideological reasons but because of the current rabbinate. "I don't think we have the kind of rabbis that we had in the '60s and '70s, the Murray Saltzmans or the Donald Berlins," he said. "I just don't think it's the cream of the crop out there right now in the rabbinate. Congregations grow with their rabbis. Sometimes, change is good." Rabbi Batsheva Meiri, who is leaving Temple Emanuel in January, said she still grapples with the reasons that Reform is having problems in Baltimore. When she first came to Emanuel seven years ago, the Owings Mills/Reisterstown corridor was experiencing a strong influx of Jewish families, she said. "That's really leveled off," said Rabbi Meiri, whose 250-family-member congregation has had a drop in membership of approximately one-third in recent years. "People are moving to the center, to Pikesville. There's been a subtle demographic difference, and now that there's not that influx of people, we've been trying to reach out to Carroll County, which is a harder place to reach because we're not their neighborhood shul." She said she also feels "there is a fluidity to the Reform and Conservative communities here. In general, liberal Jews in America don't carry the differentiations that are carried by their teachers. I think the ideological differences don't translate to a comfort level in which Conservative Jews wouldn't be comfortable in a Reform temple, and vice versa. "I think a lot of people are making their choices on shuls based more on where their friends attend services or on the day school at the shul or if it's in their neighborhood, more than on ideological perspectives." Alan Katz, a past president of Emanuel and a member for 42 years, said he believes Reform's problem lies in the fact that young Jews are not joining synagogues in general, or if they do, the families eventually pull out after the b'nai mitzvah experience. "I go to some of the other Reform congregations, and you just don't see young people," said Mr. Katz, 66, who grew up at Oheb Shalom's Eutaw Place Temple. "It's a very hard nut to crack. It seems there's a lack of commitment and a failure of people to introduce Judaism to their kids as an important value. "My concern is that Judaism in general is in crisis in the U.S.," he said. "Maybe there won't be four Reform congregations in Baltimore in 10 years, but that's not really about Reform. That's about Judaism in America today. It all comes down to commitment and economics. People are not as committed, and they don't want to pay expensive memberships." The key to survival, for Reform temples and other Jewish congregations, will be to create ways to reinvigorate synagogue life and help congregants feel that they're not simply going through the motions, religiously and spiritually, said Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen, BHC's associate spiritual leader. "It's all a guessing game," she said, "a perception that the Reform congregations are old-line, institutional, and that may be true on some level. But being a mega-shul doesn't dictate what kind of mega-shul you are or become. Each of the temples have very passionate members. You have to take risks and go outside the box. Also, people come to services when they feel connected to the people next to them. Jewish observance is not a solitary practice. "We're all feeling the pinch, but we also see opportunities," Rabbi Sachs-Kohen said. "This is a wake-up call. And if we don't pay attention, it will indeed be a crisis." Timeline Of Baltimore's Reform Community 1830: Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, originally known as Nidche Yisroel, is chartered. The congregation's first facility, the Lloyd Street Synagogue in East Baltimore, opened in 1845. Originally Orthodox, the congregation gradually became a Reform outfit in the early 1870s. BHC moved to its current location, at 7401 Park Heights Ave., in 1951. 1843: Har Sinai, a splinter group from BHC, is chartered. The congregation's first permanent temple, on North High Street, was dedicated in 1849. Har Sinai is the oldest continuously Reform congregation in the United States. Its first senior spiritual leader, Rabbi David Einhorn, fled Baltimore in 1861 when a pro-slavery mob threatened to tar and feather him for his abolitionist views. 1853: Temple Oheb Shalom is founded by 21 German Jewish immigrants as a "conservatively Reform" congregation. First services were held in Osceola Hall, at the northeast corner of Gay and Lexington streets. Its first ordained spiritual leader, Rabbi Benjamin Szold (father of Hadassah founder and Zionist leader Henrietta Szold), led Oheb Shalom from 1859 to 1892. Oheb Shalom's home for the past 47 years, at 7310 Park Heights Ave., was designed by world-renowned architect Walter Gropius. 1955: Originally known as the Liberty Road Reform Temple, Temple Emanuel is formed by 70 families. Formerly located at 3301 Milford Mill Road in the Liberty Road corridor, the congregation moved to 909 Berrymans Lane in Reisterstown in 1995. 2002: Har Sinai moves from its domed Upper Park Heights home of 43 years to its current location, at 2905 Walnut Ave. in Owings Mills. Sources: "Synagogues, Temples And Congregations of Maryland, 1830-1990" (Jewish Historical Society of Maryland) by Earl Pruce, "The Making Of An American Jewish Community" (Jewish Historical Society of Maryland) by Isaac M. Fein, and assorted congregational Web sites |
|
|
Copyright ©2007 the Baltimore Jewish Times
