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Jewish World Review Sept. 19, 2000 /18 Elul, 5760
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
Chicago | Peter Himmelman, the Jewish rocker, was supposed to provide the musical entertainment at
a two-day conference here this past week launching a new multimillion-dollar effort to revitalize American
synagogues of all streams. But his humorous remarks underscored the crisis in synagogue life as he
spoke, between songs, of his personal quest for holiness and meaning outside of the synagogue, whose
emphasis, he said, is on raising money “for a new carpet for the sisterhood — and that’s just not
exciting.”
Perhaps it was only fitting that most of the 150 or so participants in the conference — launching a
national effort called STAR (Synagogue Transformation and Renewal) — had gone to bed by the time
Himmelman took the stage late in the evening and missed his performance, and critique. For one theme of
the conference was the need to engage, listen to and understand the needs of the majority of American
Jews, many of them young people, who do not belong to or frequently visit synagogues.
Easier said than done, as evidenced by the remarks from Jory Rozner, a CEO of a Jewish dot-com
company and, at 32, one of only a handful of participants under the age of 40.
Echoing the sentiments of many non-affiliated Jews of her generation, Rozner told the impressive group of
rabbis and educators invited from around the country that “there’s no way I’ll be transformed by a
synagogue if you don’t get me in there.” The key to reaching her, she said, was “in building a relationship
and finding out what I might possibly want from a synagogue, and knowing something about me and my
life.”
That’s the challenge for STAR’s founding philanthropists — Charles Schusterman of Tulsa, and Michael
Steinhardt and Edgar Bronfman of New York — who have pledged a minimum of $18 million over the
next five years to fund programs geared toward transforming synagogues into dynamic centers of Jewish
life. The funds will be used for challenge grants for innovative projects, offering consultants for
synagogues, and providing rabbis with technology training in such areas as pastoral care, management
and business.
But it became clear during the conference that for all their good intentions, the leaders have few specific
ideas about how to go about combating the complacency of most synagogues, and determining how to
reach and inspire unaffiliated Jews without alienating those who already attend. The funders have
contracted to work with the highly respected Alban Institute of Bethesda, Md., which has been doing
similar work with churches for years, and Rev. James Wind, president of the institute, told me “we’re all
struggling with what transformation means.”
Michael Steinhardt angered some of the participants when, during one session, he derided the quality of
non-Orthodox education and described the Conservative and Reform movements as “historic accidents”
doomed to disappear. And Bronfman asserted that “rabbis don’t own synagogues.”
Steinhardt, who is not Orthodox, later apologized for “ruffling some feathers” but defended his remarks, saying he and his fellow
funders believe American Jewish religious life is in real crisis, with the majority of American Jewry never
joining a synagogue, the heart of Jewish life for centuries.
In the halls and in private conversations, some rabbis and educators voiced resentment of the notion that
synagogues are doomed unless rescued by efforts like STAR. And there was frustration that the critique
was coming from philanthropists who, admittedly, are not deeply involved with synagogue life.
“But we can’t say it out loud,” one rabbi told me, “because we know where the grants are coming from
and we’ve got to play the game.”
In addition, there was some confusion about duplication, since Synagogue 2000 is a project begun five
years ago to “advance the vision of the synagogue as spiritual center of Judaism” by emphasizing
organizational development within individual congregations. But STAR organizers say the two groups will
complement each other, with STAR serving as a kind of think tank, taking a national focus and exploring
deeper infrastructural and cultural questions.
To their credit, the philanthropists in question are genuinely committed enough to Jewish survival and
revival to spend large sums of their money to try to improve the situation. But the issue here, in part, is
who should be driving the agenda of the American Jewish community — philanthropists, communal
leaders or activists? Ideally, it should be a combination of the three, but there was an element of
miscommunication at the STAR conference, with the invited participants assuming the agenda was going
to be told to them at the outset, while the funders seemed to hope specific solutions would emerge from
the discussions.
The content of the conference was less impressive than the caliber of rabbis and educators in attendance,
many of whom are doing innovative and important work in trying to broaden and deepen the synagogue
experience. What the conference underscored, though, is the significant shift taking place in our
community, with philanthropists leading the way in calling for a strengthening of religious life.
But can spirituality be marketed? Is there no difference in approach to addressing change within
synagogues of different denominations and ideologies? Are we over-emphasizing technique?
Maybe younger people like singer Peter Himmelman and business woman Jory Rozner would be more
respectful of and interested in synagogues that focus more on substance than
Can funding save synagogues?
By Gary Rosenblatt
JWR contributor Gary Rosenblatt is editor and publisher of the
New York Jewish Week. Comment on this article by clicking here.
