{"id":206479,"date":"2023-03-29T09:42:49","date_gmt":"2023-03-29T13:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/?p=206479"},"modified":"2023-03-29T09:42:49","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T13:42:49","slug":"berwyn-synagogue-struggles-with-demographic-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/berwyn-synagogue-struggles-with-demographic-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Berwyn Synagogue Struggles With Demographic Change"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Congregation Or Shalom members (Photo by Julie LaFair Miller)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2011, Congregation Or Shalom built a new education building. The Berwyn synagogue had almost 200 members in its congregation and nearly 100 kids in its Hebrew school. Alan Daroff, a synagogue founder in 1974, called that moment the \u201cpeak\u201d of Or Shalom\u2019s congregational life.<\/p>\n

Twelve years later, the Conservative synagogue is down to 75 members.<\/p>\n

As Miriam Leshem, Or Shalom\u2019s director of education, explained, \u201cOur children waited to have children later and didn\u2019t move back to the area. Back in the old days, people got married younger. Most of it is demographics.\u201d And, as Daroff added, the children of Or Shalom members often choose Orthodox and Reform congregations over Conservative communities. Daroff\u2019s own children belong to Chabad and Reform synagogues.<\/p>\n

Attracting young people is one challenge. Keeping old members is another.<\/p>\n

\u201cA number of our members, who have been members for years, have either died or moved out of the area. Even me. I\u2019m in Florida looking at the beach,\u201d said Daroff, who only lives in Chester County for half the year.<\/p>\n

But for Daroff, Leshem and others, there are still reasons to stay.<\/p>\n

Daroff served as the rabbi in 1974 and \u201975, before the synagogue hired one. He\u2019s been the president. He\u2019s headed the ritual committee. He\u2019s in his second stint as treasurer right now. Even from Florida, Daroff participates in services via Zoom. And when he\u2019s back in Pennsylvania, the longtime member attends the community\u2019s once-a-month Shabbat dinners.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been there for so long, it\u2019s home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Synagogue members enjoy an activity together. (Photo by Julie LaFair Miller)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leshem stays because she\u2019s committed to the religious school students and their parents. She has spent more than a decade helping to build the kids into future prayer leaders and synagogue members. She said she wants them to grow into proud Jews. The director of education also appreciates that Or Shalom members are serious Jews. Many can read Torah and run a minyan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s spiritually uplifting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Other congregants agree. Close to 30 are planning on attending a community seder for Passover in April, according to Daroff. Those once-a-month Shabbat dinners draw between 20 and 30 people. In December, 50 members attended. And for Purim, 36 showed up.<\/p>\n

Janet Emanuel, 76, has been a congregant for 40 years. When she first walked in, she made friends, and that\u2019s why she still walks in today. Emanuel\u2019s daughter and granddaughter also live nearby, and the grandmother has taken her granddaughter to services for years. When it came time for the young girl to enroll in religious school, Or Shalom was there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the people,\u201d Emanuel said.<\/p>\n

Julie LaFair Miller, a congregant for 42 years, joined when she moved to Chester County with her husband. Their son and daughter attended religious school and had b\u2019nai mitzvahs at Or Shalom. The parents made their \u201cdearest friends\u201d at the synagogue, said LaFair Miller. Today, the couple lives in Center City but still travels 30 minutes to Berwyn for congregational life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were there for Purim. I\u2019ll be there next week,\u201d LaFair Miller said.<\/p>\n

Allon Bloch and his family are in a different situation. Bloch is 40. Two of his kids are in religious school. He admitted that it was \u201ca little awkward\u201d to be one of the only young families in the congregation. But the Malvern resident said that, \u201cAs long as we\u2019re in the area, I would expect to be part of that community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as we\u2019re in the area.\u201d It\u2019s a nice sentiment. But it also seems like too few people are in the area these days. Emanuel mentioned that several of her synagogue friends no longer live in Chester County. They reside in Nevada and Florida, with no lingering family connection to Berwyn. Leshem said that the children \u201cmove away after college.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or Shalom is making some of the same attempts that other Philadelphia area synagogues make to attract young people. The once-a-month Shabbat dinners. The Men\u2019s Club\u2019s recent bowling night. The Sunday morning yoga classes at the synagogue. The game nights, music programs, plays, arts and crafts classes and cooking classes.<\/p>\n

But there is no easy answer for demographic change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe numbers are either there or they\u2019re not there,\u201d Leshem said. \u201cWe\u2019re doing what we can.\u201d \u25a0<\/p>\n

jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2011, Congregation Or Shalom built a new education building. The Berwyn synagogue had almost 200 members in its congregation and nearly 100 kids in its Hebrew school. Alan Daroff, a synagogue founder in 1974, called that moment the \u201cpeak\u201d of Or Shalom\u2019s congregational life. Twelve years later, the Conservative synagogue is down to 75 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13404,"featured_media":206482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,7,34,18,8,9001,50],"tags":[15261,10600,12399,13309],"section":[],"coauthors":[13277],"yoast_head":"\nBerwyn Synagogue Struggles With Demographic Change - Jewish Exponent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/berwyn-synagogue-struggles-with-demographic-change\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Berwyn Synagogue Struggles With Demographic Change - Jewish Exponent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2011, Congregation Or Shalom built a new education building. The Berwyn synagogue had almost 200 members in its congregation and nearly 100 kids in its Hebrew school. Alan Daroff, a synagogue founder in 1974, called that moment the \u201cpeak\u201d of Or Shalom\u2019s congregational life. 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