Faith resurgence -- and rivalry

New Jewish organizations in Westford ruffling feathers of some long-established synagogues

March 27, 2002
By PETER WARD
Sun Staff

WESTFORD -- Jewish people tell an old joke about the Jew who's stranded on a deserted island. Looking around, the Jew finds another person on the island, also a Jew. They decide to build two separate synagogues.

The joke speaks to a sense of competitiveness but also to resourcefulness and faith.

Local Jews have been reminded of that joke lately. 

This growing bedroom community of about 20,000 residents has a growing Jewish population -- and two new different Jewish organizations to prove it.

Temple Shir Hadash, Hebrew for "new song," is a family-oriented independent synagogue that's so new it doesn't yet have a rabbi. Founded in August, it meets in a Unitarian church, attracts up to 50 families, mostly from Westford, and pays special attention to children and non-Jewish spouses.

Meanwhile, the Nashoba Valley Jewish Community Center is an educational and activities group formed last fall by charismatic 30-year-old orthodox Rabbi Mayshe Schwartz, a Los Angeles transplant. It meets in rented halls and subscribes to the controversial but popular Chabad-Lubavitch movement. It attracts "young people who have left their bubbie's house," Schwartz said, mixing a little Yiddish and humor to describe members of his congregation.

Members of both houses speak excitedly about the future of Judaism.

"I do think there's a rebirth," said Joanne Derr, 45, one of the founders of Shir Hadash.

But there's also conflict. Some worry that the new organizations will siphon energy from the area's long-established synagogues.

It's a sensitive subject only a few are willing to discuss publicly.

"We don't worry about it. God bless them. I'm not going to pass judgment," said Rick Levin, president of Temple Emanuel, a reform synagogue in Lowell that draws 125 families from 37 communities. 

Most area Jewish leaders laud developments that generate interest in the religion. At the same time, the established synagogues say they have always done a good job of welcoming back into the fold Jews who may have fallen out of practice. 

"People should check out their local synagogue and not assume it's the same synagogue they grew up in," said Rabbi Charni Flame Selch, who arrived at Lowell's Temple Beth-El last summer and immediately set out to rejuvenate the day-care center, Hebrew school and youth programs.

Schwartz and Derr said most local Jewish leaders were encouraging.

"But there was one temple rabbi who was concerned about competition. She was concerned that if there are more fish in the water, there will be less water for the fish," Schwartz said, adding that his mission is to turn people on to Judaism. "If momentum shifts and if Judaism is in, then people who may not like my style may try another temple. Competition is healthy."

He said "very few" participants at his events belong to an existing shul. "I encourage them to hold their memberships. The last thing I want is to take their membership away. I want to give people as much options as possible," Schwartz said.

For Derr's part, she said that until Shir Hadash meets more frequently than monthly and hires a rabbi -- expected within two years -- its members will continue to patronize temples in Lowell, Acton, Chelmsford, Concord and North Andover.

Local rabbis told Derr they don't want to "lose congregants" but were delighted to see Judaism's word spread.

And besides, she said, "Many of those congregations are overflowing."

Money is partly the issue.

Schwartz schedules holiday services in rented halls. He expects nearly 100 people to attend his Passover seder at Blanchard Farm today. 

He'll charge $36 a head for the seder, the meal commemorating Israel's freedom from ancient Egypt. 

"I'm unique. I charge for specific events but the high holidays will always be free," said Schwartz. "I believe strongly people shouldn't need to pay to pray."

To young families on modest incomes, pay-as-you-go may have more appeal than paying annual dues to a synagogue, which can be hundreds of dollars.

But rabbis contend that synagogue fees are reasonable, considering they're used to support the kind of social and religious programs families request.

Moreover, they've always discreetly provided a sliding scale to members facing financial hardship. 

"Certainly Temple Beth-El never turned someone away because they couldn't afford the dues," said Rabbi Charni Selch of Temple Beth-El.

Selch said she understands the Shir Hadash founders' desire for a community temple.

"They've reached a point where as a group they need more, and they're doing it for themselves," Selch said.

She and others reserve their concerns for Schwartz's operation.

Many local officials were astonished in recent months when they received glossy advertising fliers from Schwartz mailed to the Jewish community at large.

Selch grumbled that while Schwartz focused on mass mailings, she was busy visiting sick congregants, improving the temple's school and social programs -- in short, doing the less visible but crucial chores that fall to a rabbi.

In addition, critics of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, which is based largely on the work of 20th-century rabbis, regard it as a departure from traditional Jewish teachings. 

Jewish law can and should bend with the times, said Selch, but don't throw out the baby with the bath water.

"In the same way American law is based on the Constitution, Jewish law is based on the Torah and Talmud," said Selch. "You still have to go with the basic rules."

Peter Ward's e-mail address is pward@lowellsun.com.