What would your synagogue look like if it had no baggage? No money troubles? No institutional memory? No “we’ve always done it this way”?
This question crossed my mind as we engaged in a day of field study around the Bay Area. The theme of the day was “Innovations in Jewish Life: On the Edge of the Continent,” and I joined a group that went to the Marsh Theater to see a one-man play called Rabbi Sam.
In Rabbi Sam, actor and playwright Charlie Varon plays an innovative new rabbi, as well as nine of his congregants. Rabbi Sam presents his board with a radical opportunity: an anonymous donor has given them $2 million for outreach, and Rabbi Sam wants to use the money to take his congregants—and anyone else who wants to come along—on a transformative trip to Jerusalem.
But Rabbi Sam’s vision—as well as his charismatic preaching style—puts him in conflict with his board and some of the synagogue’s founding members, who threaten to remove him from his post.
The play was brilliantly acted with a well thought out story and nearly a dozen well-developed characters, which, frankly, made it really uncomfortable to watch. Any leader or layperson that comes to see this is confronted with these questions: What sacrifices are we willing to make for innovation? What price are we willing to pay to move forward?
Back at the hotel, we compared notes with participants in some of the other trips, all of which showcased innovative Jewish projects that take place outside of the confines of the synagogue. One woman I spoke to toured the Contemporary Jewish Museum, which contains no permanent exhibits. What would our Jewish organizations look like if we had nothing permanent? What would they look like if we were constantly innovating?
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