Congregation B’nai Jacob is the only synagogue in Phoenixville. It’s been around for more than a century, and throughout that time, its congregant base has remained around 100 families or more.
The current rabbi, Jeff Sultar, has helped maintain that stability for the last decade, even through a spiritual divide in the congregation and COVID lockdowns, according to synagogue leaders.
As a reward, they announced his contract extension on March 17.
“We are excited to announce a continuation of our spiritual journey with Rabbi Sultar,” said congregation president Jerry Weiss in a press release.
“We have studied, prayed, and socialized together, celebrated simchas and mourned losses together,” said Sultar in the same release. “I’m excited to continue to guide and grow with this amazing community.”
B’nai Jacob has 117 member families at the moment, according to Weiss. Synagogue leaders asked the congregation for feedback on Sultar’s job performance before extending their rabbi.
“The lion’s share of the congregation really was enamored with Rabbi Sultar,” Weiss said.
The rabbi said one of his favorite qualities about his congregation is that it’s multigenerational. There are young families, and there are members in their 90s, as well as one who’s over 100.
“Everybody likes to come together and spend time together,” he said.
But that was perhaps not always the case. When Sultar started, Phoenixville’s only synagogue was dealing with an identity crisis.
Some members wanted to stick to the Conservative label and maintain a traditional approach to services. Others wanted to take Reform-style measures like adding music to prayer sessions.
The rabbi’s answer was to do both. B’nai Jacob hosts a longer Shabbat service on both Friday night, the Reform way, and Saturday morning, the Conservative approach. The Friday night service includes more English readings and music; the Saturday morning gathering features more Hebrew readings.
“He provides traditional Conservative services, but he also provides services where congregants get to participate a little more,” Weiss said.
Mark Snow, a B’nai Jacob member since 1997, was part of Sultar’s hiring process in 2015. He remembered that the rabbi got the job because he was personable, he “checked his ego at the door” and he was compassionate.
It took all of those qualities to unite what Snow described as “kind of a divided community.”
“We needed it to be repaired,” Snow recalled. “We had a community that was not aligned with where we were going from a spiritual perspective.”
The immediate past president said the congregation needed a spiritual leader who would “recognize the diverse backgrounds in people and bring them together.”
Sultar has done that, according to Weiss.
He has listened to congregant suggestions, like adding a Shacharit, or morning prayer, service, a singing group and a monthly food distribution for the needy; he has remained present for grieving families, often calling them weeks and months later; he has also included non-Jewish spouses in lifecycle events.
Weiss’ daughter married a man who isn’t Jewish.
“When they had a baby naming, he was up on the bimah, able to talk,” Weiss said.
During the bar mitzvah year of Snow’s son, before Sultar’s time, there was an interfaith family in the synagogue with a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father. At the family’s service, the father was not allowed on the bimah.
“That family eventually left the synagogue,” Snow said.
Bridging the divide was a spiritual test for Sultar; surviving COVID was a practical one.
When the pandemic broke out, the rabbi started a livestream to help members connect to services virtually.
It continues today. Some older members only live in Phoenixville about six months a year, preferring to snowbird in Florida during the cold months. These members often connect through the livestream.
“He helped us get into the digital age,” Snow said.
B’nai Jacob includes families from Chester and Montgomery counties; its K-7 religious school has about 20 students; its post-b’nai mitzvah teen program is growing.
“If you look over the past 10 years, many congregations, the trends are memberships reducing,” Weiss said. “I think we’re doing pretty well.”
“In the times we’re in, and especially for a synagogue in a small town, to stay even is to be moving ahead,” Sultar said. “Maintaining the strength we’ve had is a huge sign of success.”