To be a Community or Not to be a community; That was the Question

Exploring the Impact of Panim Hadashot Part 3 in a Series of Reflections by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
To be a Community or Not to be a community; That was the Question

During the approximately three years of Panim Hadashot’s existence a the leadership debated whether or not it should be an organized community. One school of thought argued that Panim Hadashot should not be a membership organization. It should serve a pure outreach function, serving as a bridge between Jews on the margins to the organized Jewish community. The other school argued that Panim Hadashot needed to have two tiers, an outreach tier and a communal tier for those who became more engaged in study and celebration and living more a more engaged Jewish life.

The debate was a continuous one, but ultimately remained in ‘Teku’ (the Talmudic term for an unresolved argument). In the beginning I was strongly influenced by the model of the Gesher program in Portland, Oregon. My friends, Rabbis Gary Schoenberg and Laurie Ruttenberg, bought a big house 15 years ago and used it as a base to host regular Shabbat and Festival gatherings. They served what they called ‘Jews without Memory’ who came to their feasts and became inspired to celebrate Shabbat in their homes. Gesher did exactly as its Hebrew name indicated; it sought to serve as a bridge from disconnection to connection. Rabbis Schoenberg and Ruttenberg built relationships with the Portland congregations and schools and plugged people into them when they felt that their programs had served their purpose.

I had watched them over the years and admired their devotion to this project and the concrete impact it had on the Portland Jewish community. I decided to imitate their model, but to take it one step further. I would not only host events in my home, but I would go to other homes to cohost Shabbat gatherings in other homes. In this way I would help people to actually experience a powerful Shabbat experience in their own homes. This would help them to envision what it would be like to become engaged in practicing the mitzvah of hospitality and Shabbat at the same time.

Those who advocated this approach also felt that it would get greater community support, since it did not threaten the synagogues as a competitor. The key to the approach was getting the community to embrace Panim Hadashot so it could be an effective bridge and partner with the established institutions.

But as Panim Hadashot began its operations, there were others who said that this model would not work unless Panim allowed a community to emerge from our activities. Panim needed to be a destination itself. Those who argued for this believed that the type of Jewish expression and commitment we encouraged was not being provided by the local synagogues. The intense focus on learning and home celebration was unique and should be used to cultivate a shared sense of community. They also argued that developing an alternative model of community, while competing with established communities would spur greater risk taking and innovation in the wider community.

This debate repeated heated up when we discussed two issues. The first was whether Panim should be a membership based community. Those who argued for Panim to cultivate a community supported the idea of some form of membership. Membership models promote stakeholders-people who become heavily invested in the organization or congregation. Those who argued against a membership model pointed to the general dissatisfaction with synagogues among many Jews. Many people saw membership and dues as the preoccupation of established institutions which focused on financial survival and serving a small core of committed people. As an outreach organization our focus was connecting people and keeping the barrier to involvement as low as possible.

The second issue concerned worship. Those who sought community wanted to establish regular worship in some form. Even though worship did not appeal to many Jews it was the way to get a core of committed folks and also would allow Panim to develop a unique approach to worship that would distinguish itself from other communities. Those who argued against instituting communal worship felt that Panim should not put itself in a place to compete with the synagogues. Afterall, we all agreed early on that Panim would not function like a congregations.

To be continued.