Maggid Sarah and I are having an interesting conversation over at Moshav HaAm…..
[UPDATE] A spin-off conversation with Mishkaneer Yoel Natan is developing here.
The synagogue president talked to me at the kiddush about their little congregation and its future. I was amazed and heartened to hear him say, “We’re an old congregation. We hope some young folks will come in here and make it their own. It will change to adapt to their needs, in ways we can’t foresee. It has to.”[...]
A synagogue is asking to be reinvented for the future. They own a small prayer space, in a strategic location, that is unusually flexible and accessible. It is not a large complex like most synagogues — it’s more like a shteible — and there is no “movement” institutional affiliation or even the mandate of a rabbi. It can simply be a place to … well, congregate! So how can we go about embracing (and stewarding) this space as a unique community resource?
