Andrew Guckes | Staff Writer
At Society Hill Synagogue in Center City, labels are an oversimplification.
Case in point: This is not a Reform, Conservative or Orthodox synagogue. It’s just a place for Jewish people to worship and congregate, regardless of their background.
“I think that, at least in the non-Orthodox world, the differences among the movements are getting more and more blurred,” said Rabbi Nathan S. Kamesar, head clergy. “Sometimes, you’ll find more in common between a [given] Conservative and Reform Jew than you will between different Conservative shuls, and I think that people are often very refreshed by what they encounter at Society Hill Synagogue.”
Society Hill Synagogue grounds itself in tradition, Kamesar said, and much of what they do would be recognizable to anyone’s bubbe and zeyde: Most of a service is in Hebrew and includes prayers that old-world Jews know better than their young relatives.
However, that’s just part of the approach.
“There’s also an understanding like in the Reform and Reconstructionist world that people are looking for new pathways to connect to prayer,” Kamesar said.
With that in mind, the synagogue offers events like that are primed for internet access, as well as more traditional worship, adult education courses and weekly food insecurity assistance at a local community center.
“It’s a real blend of tradition, imagination and accessibility that appeals to a lot of people,” Kamesar said.
The numbers support this claim. Five years ago, about 275 families called Society Hill Synagogue their home. Today, that number is up to about 375. Kamesar said that in addition to the aforementioned approaches, the clergy and leadership decided to place an emphasis on perhaps the most familiar Jewish practice: Shabbat.
“When you come and drop in on a Shabbat, you experience a real sense of vibrancy and intergenerational quality,” Kamesar said. “We have regular, traditional synagogue goers who come for Saturday morning, as well as Hebrew school students who participate in the Saturday morning Torah discussion.”
On Friday nights, the synagogue welcomes the sabbath in a big way: with a live set of musicians that Kamesar calls “vibrant.” Not to mention the fact that there are meals at all services.
“So when you come into this historic sanctuary, it’s filled with compelling music and life [and more], and I think that kind of immersive lively experience is pretty attractive to a lot of people.”
Kamesar said he thinks that the young life at Society Hill Synagogue helps sustain the old life. In his experience, younger members of the synagogue don’t have to be prodded to explore their culture: It’s something they want for themselves.
“I think there is sometimes a sense in the Jewish community of a slow but sure disconnection from Jewish life,” he said. “And I think that the fact that there is a vibrant Hebrew school present in the middle of services that a number of older folks are coming to, as well, gives us evidence that that dissipation is not happening — in fact, behind them is a strong wave of Jewish engagement.”
In a time when many communities are finding it hard to expand and grow, Society Hill is doing it effortlessly. That’s because it’s ingrained in the community, Kamesar said. The synagogue was on the forefront of egalitarian conservatism in the mid-20th century, and those values have stuck.
“Today it means recognition that the Jewish community is made up of people who haven’t always easily found their way into Jewish community, whether that’s interfaith families, whether that’s LGBT Jews, whether that’s Jews of color, whether that’s Jews with disabilities. So those inclusive roots absolutely have molded how we continue to reach out to new frontiers,” he said.
The rabbi’s journey to Society Hill is indicative of how special the synagogue is. At one point in his rabbinical studies, Kamesar was unsure if he even wanted to work at a congregation, he explained. Society Hill changed his mind.
“In rabbinical school, I thought I would [focus] on a blend of public service and Jewish sensibilities and theology and spirituality, and so I thought that would bring me to some sort of Jewish nonprofit,” he said. “The more time I spent here, the more I realized that congregational life has almost become kind of underrated as more people think of it as a relic of the past. The rhythms of congregational life can be so vibrant and meaningful. The more I experienced that, the more I felt drawn to stay.”