BJ: A Model for a Revitalized Synagogue Life May 2002 Report Contents: Introduction Overview Centrality of the Experience of the Divine - Prayer - Halakhah - Social Responsibility and Study Expectation of Participatory Membership - In Services - Outside of Services Approach to Jewish Practice Rabbi-led Institutional Structure Conclusion ------------------------------- Afterword - Notes ------------------------------- Building a Better BJ BJ Publications I. The Centrality of the Experience of the Divine In Marcelo's words, "BJ is about the experience of the divine, not the idea of the divine." Because of this understanding, an approach to prayer and observance that focuses on their emotional and personal meaning is at the heart of the BJ experience. Study and social action are understood similarly. They are viewed as a crucial part of the search for God's presence in the world and God's demands upon congregants as individuals and as Jews. Prayer Prayer has been the core of the BJ experience since Marshall revitalized the congregation in 1985. In an early statement describing the "new BJ," Marshall and Roly wrote: "B'nai Jeshurun believes the central activity of a synagogue community is the liturgical expression of the congregation in prayer." This fundamental belief continues to describe BJ. As Roly explained, "Prayer and celebration are essential, they are what brings people into the community, a community that prays." For most members, Shabbat services are significant, regular personal and communal events, and in most cases, the prayer experience is what motivates members to become more fully involved in the life of the congregation. Many members report a similar reaction to the first times they attended BJ services: they were profoundly moved, and they cried. One member's explanation is typical: I cried for I don't know how many months. I kept going...there was this sense of spirituality that I felt – a sense of holes being filled up in my life. Even though I didn't know anyone sitting around me...I still felt like I was part of something when I was there. It was an incredible feeling. In the tradition of Heschel and their teacher, Marshall, BJ's rabbis passionately believe in the significance of prayer. As Roly explained: Heschel says that it is a fact that in certain places prayer is of consequence. The leaders, the community, approach prayer as if it matters, not as a gimmick for Jewish continuity, not for social purposes, to bring kids within Yiddishkayt. Prayer as prayer matters. If prayer doesn't matter, then why are we doing this? Why are we wasting our time if these words and these prayers don't matter? Prayer matters, in their view, because it opens up the possibility of a deeper connection to God and, consequently, the possibility of personal transformation. Prayer enables one to "go deeper" into one's self and one's search for God and the divine in the world. This kind of prayer is a profoundly emotional experience. Roly explained: Going deeper is more and more risky. Adventures, surprises, emotions, a desire for transformation – you don't know what it will unleash in you. Prayer is a transformative experience, so to go deeper into prayer is to know that you allow yourself to be transformed, that your life changes. There is a growing awareness and consciousness of the divine in the world, what God expects of you... In prayer, you gain that type of insight. This kind of transformative prayer is something BJ's rabbis believe must be first experienced emotionally and spiritually, rather than understood intellectually and analytically. Consequently, even though many members have only limited knowledge of Hebrew and many do not come from observant backgrounds, there is little instruction or step-by-step explanation of the liturgy at services. Increasing Jewish literacy is important, but it is a separate activity from prayer that is "of consequence." "Learning," Marcelo explains, "is understood with your mind. Prayer is understood with your soul." Or, as Roly put it, "Tefillah is not a class." Their goal is for congregants to be so moved by the experience of prayer that they will be inspired to study and take advantage of the panoply of educational opportunities offered by the synagogue. Instead of didactically instructing the congregation, the rabbis see themselves as "spiritual cables" who, through their own emotional involvement in prayer and their Kavanah (intention in prayer), model, inspire, and guide the prayer of the congregation. Roly explained the importance of rabbis genuinely praying with their congregations by referring to a passage in Heschel's Man's Quest for God: Such an atmosphere [of prayer] is not created by ceremonies, gimmicks or speeches, but by the example of prayer, by a person who prays. You create the atmosphere not around you but within you. I am a congregant and I know from personal experience how different the situation is when the rabbi is concerned with prayer instead of with how many people attend the service; the difference in a service in which the rabbi comes prepared to respond to thirty centuries of Jewish experience and one in which he comes to review the book of the month or the news of the day. The rabbis own engagement in prayer is most obvious in the physical, at times ecstatic, worship that is part of most services. They are bodily and emotionally involved with the liturgy: the rabbis close their eyes often, they clap, they move to the music while pounding out the beat on the bimah with their fists, and at times they lift their arms in a Hasidic gesture of simultaneously raising the level of excitement and transporting the congregation to a higher level. As Roly and Marcelo learned the significance and drama of each moment of prayer from Marshall, their teacher, they now pass on his wisdom to young rabbis who train with them. Before one of BJ's rabbinic fellows was to lead his first Kol Nidre service, Roly gave him some advice to ease his nervousness, "Just pray. If you pray, it doesn't matter what it sounds like." Less immediately evident, but even more critical, is the rabbis' openness with the congregation about their own ongoing spiritual struggles and evolution. The experimentation and change that is a regular feature of BJ services is one way this is displayed. During the period of this study alone, the seating arrangement of the Friday night services was changed several times, multiple new melodies were added and taken away, a monthly family service was added, and a monthly smaller Friday night service with no instrumentation was introduced. The rabbis made these changes in response to their own need to prevent the prayer experience from becoming a rote performance and to keep services fresh for themselves as well as the congregation. By refusing to settle on a successful formula for services, Roly and Marcelo show the congregation that spirituality is something that must be worked at, even by rabbis. Roly used the metaphor of diving to describe how he and Marcelo understand their role: You learn first, then you go deeper on your own, then you guide other people so they can come with you. That's what we want to do for people. We want to bring them along and help them go deeper until they can do it on their own. That BJ's rabbis are participating in a spiritual experience with the congregation and not skillfully orchestrating a performance sometimes surprises visitors who come to BJ expecting to observe techniques and learn tricks of the trade. After spending a Shabbat at BJ, one particularly curious guest met with Roly and Marcelo and asked them about BJ and their view of Jewish life. After their passionate exposition of their vision, the visitor turned to Roly and Marcelo incredulously and said, "You really believe this stuff, don't you?" << Prev Back to top Next >>