Moving In-stream
ANDY BACHMAN
When we founded Brooklyn Jews in 2003, it was in recognition that the vast numbers of young Jews moving
into our neighborhood were not joining syna-
gogues; they were, though, voicing a desire to be
connected to Jewish life. Our gatherings from
2003 to 2006 — when l became senior rabbi at
the 150-year-old Reform synagogue Congrega-
tion Beth Elohim (CBE) — were home-based
and depended significantly on virtual communi-
cation. Blogging and emailing were among the
most significant modes of engagement. We were
“out there.”
Moving “in-there” to the synagogue became
a natural next step. The night before deciding to
apply for the rabbinic job at CBE, I gathered to-
gether a number of friends to reflect on the
changes and help me decide what to do.
Together, we had built Brooklyn Jews. Our chil-
dren were growing up and a new, younger set in
their 20s were moving into Brooklyn. It was time
to adapt. We could auction off the Brooklyn Jews
name and idea to someone else; we could let it go
into the world and be reinvented, which would
send an important message about not “owning”
the idea of Jewish continuity, but merely being a
privileged participant in its developing reality. We
could buy a building in Park Slope and move to-
ward becoming an institution, which would re-
quire incredible financial resources and create a
statement about the presumed “failure” of tradi-
tional synagogues to adequately engage a
younger generation. Or, we could join CBE, grow
the congregation, and make the case that the syn-
agogue, the enduring institution of Jewish life for
the past 2,000 years, was the most worthy of our
attention and devotion.
We chose the third option, which has come
with great rewards and some interesting challenges. The rewards are clear: Serving a community rooted in eternal values of Torah learning,
prayer and spirituality, and acts of lovingkindness
is the most fulfilling work I can imagine as a
rabbi. Bridging perceived generational gaps in the
Jewish community is also deeply valuable work.
The digital age has only increased the silo effect
of microcommunities of interest engaging in their
own internal dialogues. Having a stage in the
community — which is possible in Brooklyn —
to assemble actors from across the spectrum is a
vision of Sinai we are meant to practice.
SHMA.COM
Community organizing principles — reaching
people where they are and redefining Reform Judaism as more openly pluralistic — are key. One
of the strongest spiritual minyanim that meets is
the indie-minyan, Alt-shul. Participants are mostly
non-members in their 20s and 30s, fully traditional, yet representative of a kind of spiritual
The movement for the revitalization of Jewish life has relied too
heavily on making everything free while Judaism has endured,
paradoxically, as a tradition of moral and ethical obligation.
hunger that Reform Judaism doesn’t fulfill. But
they have raised money for the shul, repaired a
Torah, and joined us at our holiday celebrations.
Their presence is one of the many quiet engines
driving change in Jewish life. We maintain an
open engagement with the neighborhoods
around the shul by running twice-monthly Shabbat programs in the homes of nonmembers,
which is both a Jewish service and a recruitment
tool for further engagement in synagogue life
(and supported by grants from the Samuel Bronfman and Charles H. Revson foundations). Additionally, the programming we developed at Brooklyn Jews — arts, films, and fun, as well as musical
early-childhood education where parents are
learning alongside kids — has become the normative model for our new community. We take
it as a given that Jewish life should be fun.
The last challenge, I believe, is not unique
to the indie-minyan movement. It is merely the
question of ownership and financial obligation.
The movement for the revitalization of Jewish
life has relied too heavily on making everything
free while Judaism has endured, paradoxically,
as a tradition of moral and ethical obligation.
Teaching a new generation to feel an obligation
to support Jewish life is a challenge faced by
every generation, and we seem to have found a
fairly simple formula: greater ownership,
greater support. Having children helps, along
with being relevant to the broader cultural
tropes of politics and arts. Between 2006 and
today, our synagogue membership has grown
from 508 to 740 families. That we are so blessed
to be growing in this way is a hopeful testimony
to what can happen when synagogues open
their doors, allow for multiple points of entry,
and create opportunities for more Torah, more
acts of lovingkindness, and fun.
Andy Bachman is senior rabbi
at Congregation Beth Elohim
in Brooklyn, N. Y. With his wife,
Rachel Altstein, he founded
Brooklyn Jews in 2003.
Bachman was executive
director of the Edgar M.
Bronfman Center for Jewish
Life at New York University
from 1998 to 2004.
