The answers to those and similar questions address how the size and scale of B'nai Jeshurun affects us as members. BJ strives to be a sacred community, a place where each of us can address authentic questions of life in partnership with our fellow members. As Realizing Our Vision ("ROV"), BJ's 1999 roadmap for the future of BJ noted:
Our tradition teaches us that this quest for meaning does not and cannot take place alone. It must be undertaken within a community. And to have the power to change our lives, and through our lives the world, that community must be more than a group of like-minded individuals. To be truly transformative, it must be a kehillah kedoshah, a sacred community.
Size B'nai Jeshurun is a very large synagogue. We currently have 1,900 member households, which encompass 2,800 adults and 800 children. Furthermore, many of these BJ's members are active, with significant numbers participating in synagogue activities.
BJ experienced rapid growth between 1985, when we had fewer than 100 households, and 1996. Membership growth has slowed significantly in the past five years, although we still increase about 100 member households annually. But the key issue facing BJ is no longer growth, but how our large size affects our efforts to build a sacred community.
Opportunities Our size offers many benefits. Most importantly, our size is evidence of BJ's success at offering prayer, study, and tikkun olam in a meaningful way so thousands of people can lead more complete Jewish lives.
Because of BJ's size, we can offer a diverse range of worship services, learning opportunities, and activities. Our size allows us to attract scholars to deepen our understanding of Judaism, to develop CD's to share our music, and to exchange and experience a diversity of thoughts and views.
Challenges Size has also created new challenges. Given our large size, it is impossible for all members to know each other, or the senior rabbis. As ROV noted:
In a congregation as large as ours, our challenge is to balance members' experience of the vitality and strength of the whole community with a feeling of intimacy and connection with each other and the synagogue.
... redefine B'nai Jeshurun as a 'community of communities,' and encourage each member to be part of a small fellowship group. We must make meaningful experiences of prayer, study, and acts of love available in small groups such as study groups, Havurot, Havdalah groups, and morning minyans ... We must enhance them with mentoring and training programs, and by providing materials and other support.
In the fall of 2000, the Board of Trustees initiated a yearlong effort to think about the effect BJ's size has on members' sense of intimacy and connection to B'nai Jeshurun. Building on the foundation laid by ROV, the Board discussed the problems and frustrations members sometimes feel from BJ's size. The Board also looked to the lessons learned from other large religious organizations that have grappled with similar challenges.
As a result of these discussions, the President appointed a Task Force of five Board members, supported by the Executive Director, to address these two issues:
The members of the Task Force interviewed approximately 30 members (and some non-members) of BJ to understand how they connect to BJ, and what barriers they see to fuller participation.
We reviewed information and ideas of the Havurah Task Force, and examined our current small group efforts. The Task Force tried to identify what BJ would look like if we successfully addressed the question of size (our ideas are presented in Appendix A).
We discussed efforts of the Membership Committee to assist new and continuing members of BJ become connected to the community, and reviewed information about why some members leave BJ. We also conducted a half-day retreat with the Board to discuss these issues, and held a Community Forum to encourage all members of BJ to share their concerns and contribute their ideas.
This report shares the ideas and suggestions the Task Force gathered during the past six months. We hope this report will stimulate discussion of how to best foster intimacy and the connection of members to the sacred community of BJ. An Implementation Report is also attached as Appendix B.
Some Guiding Thoughts Before discussing how to address size at BJ, it is helpful to keep three thoughts in mind. First, most of our members joined BJ when it was already large – 70% joined since we exceeded 1,000 member households. Most members have never known a BJ that wasn't large.
Second, some members are not concerned by our present size. Some members feel connected to BJ through friendships and their participation in BJ's activities. Other members appear to like having a larger congregation, and delight in the sight and sound of a full synagogue. Still other members appear to like attending services, participating in classes, and so forth, and that's enough for them – some don't seem to want a deeper/stronger connection to BJ. Some members enjoy being less visible and believe the anonymity enhances their spirituality.
When discussing possible approaches to responding to our size, the Task Force felt that nothing should be adopted that makes members feel uncomfortable with their current pattern of participation at BJ. Members should not be required or feel obligated to enhance their connection to BJ.
Finally, some members discuss size in terms of personal access to the rabbis. The Task Force focused on answers to questions about size that did not primarily involve adding rabbis. The Task Force believes that some concerns that have been expressed about rabbinic access may reflect the absence of valid alternative means of dealing with size.
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