Our congregation does not look like it did 10 years ago. Ten years ago, we had a full-time ordained Rabbi leading us, committees that functioned in the areas of fund-raising, social functions, and adult-education, and a large segment of our population that was in their 70's. Times have changed, we are now led by a lay-leader, our committees have been defunct (although there are hopes to revive them) and many of those who were active members and in their 70's are either in their 80's (or older) or no longer with us.
It seems to me that change is inevitable. There are always births and deaths, people moving in and people moving out of Jewish communities like ours. Such changes are situational. The question is not how to stop such changes, but how to incorporate these changes into our Jewish life in Lincoln, NE. In many ways we have already begun to reorient ourselves, change our self-definition. We have become participants in the Lincoln Jewish Community School, recognizing that it is better for our children to have 4.5 hours of consistent learning time with a larger group of Jewish children than to maintain our own 6 hour school with fewer children. We have started celebrating various holidays with the larger Jewish community (i.e. the South Street Temple). We have found ways to gather together on Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Purim, and Shavuot. Today I started a conversation with Rabbi Craig Lewis, who will be coming to our sister institution, about ways we can reach our congregants with innovative adult education programming. So, we are beginning to make the psychological changes needed to deal with the realities of the changes that are now facing us.
It sounds easy....but there is also a need on the part of those who care deeply about maintaining a "Conservative Jewish presence" in Lincoln to make sure that our inner reorientation does not also require our having to give up the core values that help define us. Transition means incorporating the changes into our lives but also taking responsibility to maintain the obligations we feel to express Judaism in the manner of Conservative Judaism.
With that in mind, it is important that we do indeed live by our values even when we find we have to adjust to shifts in our reality. What do I mean by that? Well, if we are having a joint meal at our institution, we make sure that standards of kashrut are maintained even if those preparing the meal do not adhere to those standards in their own homes. If we are celebrating holidays together, we find a way to observe them on the correct day. When we are able to maintain the standards of Conservative Judaism within a pluralistic approach to living Jewishly in Lincoln, NE it then becomes important for our membership to support the events that are planned. If the reality is that many of our members are aging, then our younger members in their 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's need to step up to the plate supporting our holiday observances beyond the home. They need to reorient themselves to the idea that a synagogue like ours can only continue existing if it is supported on a daily basis, not just when individuals feel the "need" to participate. It is true that financial participation is critically important to the existence of TI and not to be underestimated, but bodily participation helps us maintain the critical mass needed to make our programming work.
Shavuot was one such example of this need. On erev Shavuot, we gathered 20 individuals from the Synagogue and Temple together. Some came because they wanted to come, others came because they were "put on the spot" and asked to participate. But the bottom line is, the evening was a success...there were enough individuals present to share ideas with one another, to learn from one another, and to feel good about having participated in such a learning session. No matter how good the programming is, without the sense of having a large enough group that cares, the result is not always positive. I hope that as we continue to transition into the new reality of our life as Jews in Lincoln, we will take on the obligation to make sure that the needed critical mass is present to make our experience an enriching one.
Shabbat Shalom
I'd just like to point out one thing, which is that celebrating holidays on the nearest Shabbat and not on their actual date is not normative within Reform Judaism, and is merely a local practice. Now, we know that it can be hard to change local practice. But a new maran d'atra can always shake things up a little....
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