by Rabbi Arnold Saltzman
Our son, Josh, posted on Facebook a conversation with Keren, our granddaughter who turns three years old on Monday:
Josh: Would you like to play with blocks?
Keren: No. Can we go to the Ark and take out the Torah?
We were all delighted with that conversation and its unexpected response. Keren attends the Forest Hills Jewish Nursery School in Washington, which every Friday makes Shabbat, and brings the children into the chapel for music and a brief and happy service.
Twenty-five years ago when the founders of Congregation Shaʼare Shalom decided to begin a new congregation, I think that that was the kind of experience they were hoping for, the type of response and experience a child might have in a new congregation.
We first hear of the Mishkan, a portable sanctuary, in the Torah, with its remarkable design that could be assembled and taken apart like giant Legos, perhaps the original Legos in the book of Exodus. Later in the book of Samuel we read about “David dancing before the Ark” as it was brought up to Jerusalem, yet the Temple, the Beit Hamikdosh, had to wait for Davidʼs son Solomon to complete the task.
Visiting Israel, Masada, and Kfar Nahum (also known as Capaerneum), we can see the earliest remains of temples outside Jerusalem, including a column that was inscribed with the name of a donor. Toys have been found, a babyʼs rattle, indicating that a room within the structure was for mothers, perhaps nursing babies with some privacy.
In 1654 the first Jews arrived in New Amsterdam, fleeing from the Portuguese, having been guaranteed safe passage by the Dutch. Gov. Peter Stuyvesant did not wish to have them disembark, yet the Jews, being Dutch citizens, knew their rights. They sent word to the Dutch West India Company for permission to bury those who were dead aboard their ship and to remain in the city. Several months later, against the governor’s wishes, they were granted permission to settle in New Amsterdam.
Other communities that were founded by Spanish-Portuguese Jews in North America due to fear of the Inquisition, included those in Savannah, Charleston, Philadelphia (the Patriots Congregation), New Amsterdam, and Newport, Rhode Island.
Yeshuat Israel in Newport eventually became known as the Touro Synagogue due to its founding Rabbi/ Cantor, Isaac Touro, whose descendants endowed the building in his memory. This enabled the building and cemetery to be maintained even when it was rarely used. It became a stop for slaves escaping through the “underground railroad” and is now a national historic landmark. It houses George Washingtonʼs famous 1790 letter to the congregation, containing the words ʻthe government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance…”
This past year I was invited by Charles County to do the invocation for the Oath of Office for the county commissioners and the sheriff. I was the first rabbi in the long history of the county to do this. Beside the fact that there are few Jews in this county, there was a time when prejudice was widespread and dangerous. In 1984 while living in Washington, D.C., I received a letter from the KKK, because in their minds they thought a concert I was presenting in Washington demonstrated dangerous Jewish power.
When Congregation Shaʼare Shalom was founded 25 years ago there must have been at least a slight concern that it could face prejudice and difficulty. Yet the group that formed the congregation showed courage and wisdom in what they did. They wanted a spiritual home. They believed in Judaism and in its power to transform people into better people. They believed they could create a Temple which was not a stereotypical congregation that didnʼt work.
They asked the right questions: What would make people come to Temple? How could they make a community beyond the religious service? They also wanted to know how to fix the broken model of a Hebrew school, one that kids didnʼt like.
With limited budget and a small population, the modest beginnings emphasized the leadership and participation that have become the hallmark of this congregation. Sha’are Shalom has more participation than congregations ten to twenty times its size.
Responsibility for specific roles in the congregation was taken seriously, and an important fact in the success was the talented membership of professionals, thinkers, businesspeople, teachers, and military. Whatever people knew they could make use of right here. There was an abundance of talent and good planning.
Importantly, the membership decided to affiliate with the Union of Reform Judaism. This brought other talent to teach and sing, and gave a prayer structure and liturgy that was embraced. Though presenting a Reform service, the Congregation used a traditional structure that was familiar to members whose background was in Conservative and Orthodox Judaism. The choice of Hebrew liturgy, melodies, and Torah reading, all made for an authentic Jewish worship experience, and enhanced by the talent within the congregation.
The pride of being a “can do” congregation is very much the identity of Shaʼare Shalom. Its school has flourished under principal Jasha Levenson, who incorporates a genuine service every Sunday, so that the children become familiar with the prayers and melodies of a Reform service while they grow into the responsibility of leading the prayers.
We are serious about Judaism and we enjoy it, in our Purim Baskets, and holiday meals, our Seders and Tikkun Olam projects. There is a real sense of honoring those who survived the Holocaust who are members of our community, and for those who serve in the military.
When we hear our granddaughter say, “I want to go to the Ark to take out the Torah,” it gives one a sense that I am Jewish, since my sonʼs daughter already has an identity. That is a delight for me to hear.
This community was built with wisdom and planning. Those who sit here before us who are among the founders, have created a vibrant, energetic community, Temple and religious school. This is a house built on Jewish values which is ever active, and reaching out to people to find ways of involving you and ways of serving you.
On behalf of everyone here, thank you to our founders for doing this, as it is a marvelous work and you deserve praise for this wonderful accomplishment.