SA rabbis focus on ensuring shuls are the centre of Jewish life

SIMON APFEL

It was as one day of sustained, intense debate and discussion with that single vital objective.

The event follows the findings from the Bright Spots study and conferences held in Johannesburg and Cape Town, where ideas were put forward by youth leaders, committee members, and rabbis and rebbetzins themselves, to address the challenges and replicate the successes.

The Rabbinical Conference was about fleshing out those ideas, creating solid, practical outcomes and taking concrete steps to improve the shul.

“To a large extent the vibrancy and dynamism of the community is entwined with that of our incredible shuls,” said Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein. “The challenges are mounting, and we need to respond proactively, promptly and creatively, if we are to ensure they remain the beating heart of our special community.”

Throughout the deliberations, there was a willingness from the rabbis to grapple with their own limitations.

“Not every rabbi can be a cutting-edge educator, administrator, social media maven, spiritual guru and psychologist rolled into one,” said Rabbi Yehuda Stern of the Sydenham “SpiritShul”. The key is humility – to realise we can’t do everything, and use support from the community when we need it.”

Rabbi Gabi Bookatz of Waverley Shul encouraged colleagues to take courses in life coaching, social work and rabbinic counselling.

For many of those surveyed in the Bright Spots study, shul sermons were a pivotal factor.

“People are looking for short, concise messages,” said Rabbi Stern. “Eight minutes is the ideal, 12 to 15 minutes for High Holidays. Create a spark, leave a question, encourage people to discuss and debate around their tables. And use Facebook Live as a platform to broadcast weekday shiurim.”

In the area of “Fun and Education”, Rabbi Dr David Nossel, also of Waverley Shul, outlined three principles: “Firstly, shul events should be attractive, innovative, exciting and energetic; secondly, it’s not just about getting people through the door – it’s about keeping them there and making them want to come back; and thirdly, we need to create platforms and engage people in such a way that they become leaders of, and contributors to, these events and initiatives.”

In pursuing these principles Nossel mentioned practical ideas such as joint-shul gatherings and events; tapping into trends and concepts that are popular (he cited a recent MasterChef competition on a Pesach retreat that proved wildly popular); and “not reinventing the wheel” – using the vast educational resources and activity ideas available on the Internet.

Above all, he said, “every interaction should be governed by one overriding concern – care; that I genuinely care about you, even if you aren’t a member of my shul”.

In terms of making the services themselves more compelling, suggestions included having explanatory interludes; reading aloud specific parts of the service and appointing “Kaddish Mentors” and “Shul Buddies” to help those unfamiliar with the liturgy; and even introducing meditation sessions to heighten the experiential factor.

For Rabbi Levi Avtzon of Linksfield Shul, one of the ways to create a sense of belonging and community is to turn shuls into community centres.

“Shuls are not the only portal of entry to Judaism. You can invite people to meals who don’t come to shul. We have a member who doesn’t come to shul but attends every single chesed event – is someone like that not a connected member?”

The involvement of women also featured prominently in the discussions, with a strong contingent of rebbetzins present at the conference. Rebbetzin Gina Goldstein urged a “shift in thinking” on the role of the rebbetzin.

“There is often a lot of emphasis on backstage work – setting up, organising, co-ordinating. That is important work but should not be at the expense of what I believe should be the rebbetzin’s primary role  connecting one-on-one, building relationships, guiding, doing the parts of her job which ‘no one else can do’.

“Each of us has a circle of influence whether we acknowledge it or not. The shul is not only a place for davening and learning, it’s also a place for nurturing friendships, finding and providing social support, family time, for bonding and networking on many levels.

“If we as women can embrace our opportunity to contribute, and can access this empowering shift in our thinking, we can play a very real and dynamic role in the process of uplifting and renewing our shuls.”

Perhaps the most pressing topic was how to re-engage youth.

Rabbi Dovi Goldstein of Ohr Somayach Savoy, emphasised the need for strong youth leadership – empowering young people through youth-led dinners, activities and services.

“A dedicated youth minyan is a really great way to provide kids with a space at shul with their peers,” he said. “It requires a facilitator though, someone to delegate but also provide oversight and structure.

“In general, we need to cultivate leaders at a younger age. If they’re more engaged while at school, they’ll be more engaged after school.”

Partnering with schools was also mooted as an excellent avenue to bring youth to shul, a case in point being Rabbi Asher Deren of Chabad of the West Coast’s “Flying High on the High Holidays” programme, which last year brought 250 Herzlia kids to shul over Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Rabbi Avtzon meanwhile pointed to the success his own shul has had with a youth-dedicated rabbinical couple.

“Often when you hire a 21-year-old university student youth director, it’s quicksand – in two years, he/she leaves or gets bored. If you can, reallocate funds for a youth rabbi and rebbetzin whose exclusive focus is 25 and younger.”

Rabbi Jarred Bloch, the co-founder of Ohrsom Student, which has proved enormously popular with 19-22-year-olds, was asked to share the organisation’s formula.

“It’s obviously the same Judaism – our ancient, holy heritage is what makes us who we are – but we present it in a way that’s refreshing, modern, stylish and attractive so students really don’t want to go anywhere else.”

These were just some of the main talking points at the conference. Now the work begins in earnest, collating and further refining the ideas, and then rolling them out.

“In the coming months, we will be going full steam ahead with implementation,” says Chief Rabbi Goldstein.

“This is an ongoing journey of innovation to ensure our shuls are as relevant, engaging and inviting as they possibly can be, and that they remain bustling, vibrant hubs of inspiration and creative Jewish expression, especially for the next generation.”