By Jon Marks
A safe haven.
That’s what Or Hadash, the oldest Reconstructionist synagogue in the area dating back to 1983, offers its members during these turbulent times.
It’s needed.
“We’re a community that has a very diverse membership,” said Rabbi Alanna Sklover, who became head rabbi seven months before the 2020 start of the pandemic and has been able to revive what had become a stagnant congregation. “Not just in terms of age and socioeconomics, but also racially, [and by] gender and sexual orientation. We have number of families who include one or more transgender folks, interfaith families, interracial families. We embrace all identities. Or Hadash is a safe haven, a safe space. We think it’s more important than ever to make sure people know that the kind of Jewish community we envision is one that is open, inclusive and affirming to all genders. Knowing their Jewish community has their back and is a place they can be themselves is powerful and something that certainly didn’t exist when I was child growing up.”
Nestled in Fort Washington, bordering Oreland and Upper Dublin in a building some 150 years old, Or Hadash — which means “New Light” — has been going through an invigorating transformation in recent years with the shift of generations.
“The Reconstruction movement is well positioned to shift and change,” emphasized Rabbi Sklover, a native of Washington, D.C., who spent six years as director of lifelong learning at Germantown Jewish Center before coming here. “Whether it’s as baby boomers retire and enter into new stages of their lives and spiritual seeking … whether it’s young Jews becoming parents and figuring out what becoming a member of a congregation even means these days … or what it is to gather in this digital age. We’ve certainly retained people as they stopped driving at night, moved away to be closer to their grandchildren or moved to warmer areas. To gather in our digital world just leaning into those different modalities has been wonderful, but it doesn’t take the place of gathering face-to-face.”
The result has encouraged one longtime congregant.
“Just like Reconstructionism, the synagogue has evolved over the years,” said 29-year member Cheryl Berson, Or Hadash’s spiritual life co-chair. “I feel right now there’s this new energy and renewed vibrant energy which wasn’t as strong before as we go through a generational shift. At this moment this is a higher level of energy and joy than we’ve seen in recent years, for sure.”
That goes from the top on down as OH continues to adjust to everything from rising antisemitism to assaults on the LGBTQ population to comforting those directly or indirectly related to victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.
“We accommodate,” Steve Leberstien, Or Hadash’s 17th president, said. “One of the things that kept our congregation active and engaged is when the pandemic hit, Rabbi Sklover created a Zoom [account] for us. It’s amazing how we’ve managed to bridge that gap.”
It’s an exciting time at Or Hadash, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary (discounting the time it was essentially shut during the pandemic) on March 29 with a Nefesh Mountain concert. Besides that, there’s a number of programs for children as well as adults, including a Monday night Torah study group. And synagogue leaders are trying to get the building certified by the Historical Register, which would entitle them to valued grants for upkeep.
Working in tandem with Rabbi Sklover, executive director and educational director Rabbi Erin Hirsh says things seem to be working despite the many obstacles they encounter.
“We’re strong because the world is changing a lot and our congregation, instead of reacting from a place of threat, we react from a place of creativity and curiosity,” she said. “It makes us well positioned to be strong, especially in these challenging times. Jewish communities have always met the moment, and it’s what we signed up for.”
It’s what they signed up for even as the world has gotten uglier for Jews.
“It’s a part of life these days and making sure our community is safe is really important,” said Rabbi Sklover, who celebrated what synagogue members called a “A Wickedly Good Purim,” a takeoff of the hit musical, by dressing as King Achashverosh. “But it’s not about shoring up our own walls. We look at the world with open eyes and make sure we are safe and also stand side by side, arm in arm, with others who are under threat.”
“We’ve had members who knew people who were murdered on Oct. 7 and had people with personal connections to those who were taken captive,” she added. “We’ve really been committed to creating a space for support, for a wide range of expression during this really, really intensely challenging time of rising antisemitism and violence in Israel and in Gaza. At the same time, we’re very concerned about human rights for people in Gaza.”
Speaking of going beyond their own walls, Or Hadash and Upper Dublin Lutheran Church will each host a “Stand Up Against Hate” town hall within the next six weeks, with Or Hadash playing host in late April.
Jon Marks is a Philadelphia-area freelance writer.
