In a time when so many young Jews are looking for meaning and community outside of synagogues, Harry Bodek has proven that it’s possible for the next generation to find connections within a congregation.
The lifelong member of Congregation Rodeph Shalom went from being a reluctant bar mitzvah boy to leading the synagogue’s Gen Z and millennial members in alternative programming as the synagogue’s Young Friends co-chair alongside Beth Marlowe.
“The goal of Young Friends is just to bring young people that are members of the synagogue together and give us excuses to hang out, talk, make friends, make connections and also expand our Jewish community and Jewish horizons,” Bodek said. “It’s a connection thing. It’s all about making friends and meeting people.”
In March, Bodek, 31, and his wife hosted 35-40 people in his Fishtown home for a BBQ Shabbat dinner, complete with a smoked brisket. Young Friends has hosted Torah study groups with Rabbi Eli Freedman at Bar Hygge in Fairmount and “Painting with a Jewish Twist” art classes.
The group is in a period of flux: COVID has made young people less interested in stepping out of their social comfort zones or taking the initiative to keep affinity groups going, Bodek noticed. He’s hoping to add more vibrancy to Young Friends.
“COVID wrecked everybody’s routines,” he said. “We used to be really social, and now it just feels like work to pull things together even though they’re always really enjoyable. It’s a muscle we’re working on flexing.”
Young professionals are a difficult group to bring together. People are building their careers and starting families — Bodek works as a construction manager — and it’s hard to build momentum when the onus of event planning is on just one or two people.
“We need to make it more of a communal effort to plan activities,”
he said.
The silver lining is that people who attend Young Friends events have fun and make new friends. It’s made up of Jews who are choosing to live Jewishly, which wasn’t always a reality or interest for Bodek.
“I was pretty involved in the synagogue and went to summer camp, but I never really understood why I was doing it other than it was what my parents said we were doing,”
Bodek said.
His family joined Rodeph Shalom in 1998. Bodek’s mother converted to Judaism and wanted her kids to have a Jewish upbringing and the religious community she lacked growing up. While Bodek was involved in synagogue, he certainly wasn’t engaged.
“I didn’t really like any of it,” Bodek said. “Frankly, I was made fun of a lot for being Jewish. I went to public school, and people were just kind of rude about it.”
Bodek checked out of Judaism for a while but returned to his roots after his wife wanted to get involved in the community. Two years ago, the couple became members of Rodeph Shalom, and this time, it was of Bodek’s own volition.
“We went to our first Shabbat service together about two years ago right before we joined,” he said. “Actually listening to the content and listening to what they were saying and listening to what the rabbi’s sermon was talking about — everything that was said really resonated with me.”
Bodek and his wife took an introduction to Judaism class together, where they met their best friends, another young couple. He said the class gave him “honor, pride and respect for my heritage.”
Not only did Bodek develop a greater appreciation for his religion but also for his mother’s reasoning to raise her children Jewishly. Bodek’s story is starting to mirror his mother’s: He and his wife are entering a phase of their lives where they want to think about their future and support system.
In the 25 years his family has been involved in Rodeph Shalom, it’s difficult for Bodek to really see what has changed in the synagogue because he’s changed so much. But he’s noticed that the hunger for millennial Jews to get involved is strong.
“I see more people my age who are involved,” he said. “It definitely does feel younger and more progressive.”
