A Shul For Mt. Washington
Amy Landsman JULY 27, 2007
For the first time in recent memory, Mt. Washington — an area long noted for its sizable Jewish community — has a Jewish congregation. The Kol HaLev Congregation is holding services and social events in the social hall at Mt. Washington’s Saint John’s Episcopal Church, at 1700 South Road.
Kol HaLev was created "in the hope of engaging people with Jewish life," said Rabbi Geoff Basik, spiritual leader of the new congregation.
Rabbi Basik said the Kol HaLev community is committed to inclusive, democratic decision-making and having congregants work together to shape a contemporary Judaism, to explore questions about religion with "intellectual honesty."
"It’s up to us to create a contemporary, meaningful Judaism," he said. "Too many people are dissatisfied with the Judaism we have inherited. So let’s roll up our sleeves and create one that is honest, fun and meaningful."
Kol HaLev meets every Shabbat, either on Friday night, Saturday morning or for Havdalah services. There are also regular b’nai mitzvah and adult education programs.
The group began meeting about two years ago in an adult education format. The first services were held last spring, and Kol HaLev celebrated its official launch June 2.
Kol HaLev currently boasts approximately 25 to 30 families and individuals. The congregation’s schedule includes Kabbalat Shabbat services, morning Torah services and family Shabbat pot-luck dinners. Plans are being developed for High Holiday services.
Kol HaLev, which plans to eventually establish a permanent home in the Mt. Washington area, is "a participatory, inclusive, exploratory opportunity to live contemporary Judaism," Rabbi Basik said. "The community should be a vehicle for crafting meaningful lives. We want to share this challenge called living."
Kol HaLev is open to Jews of all backgrounds, as well as to interfaith couples and families who want to experience Jewish life "without the dogma," he said.
"People are invited to this opportunity," the rabbi said. "People say, ‘Well I’m not really a good Jew.’ I don’t like that at all. Good Jew? Bad Jew? There are a variety of ways to be authentically Jewish, and we’re presenting one of those ways. While we’re not compromising the emotional quality or the substantive content, we’re also not compromising the integrity of Judaism."
A Baltimore native and Sudbrook Park resident, Rabbi Basik worked for about a decade at the Center for Jewish Education before earning a degree from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He previously served the Bolton Street Synagogue.
Kol HaLev is guided by Reconstructionist principles. The congregation uses a Reconstructionist prayer book, but is currently unaffiliated.
Kol HaLev’s founding families say they envision building a synagogue community from the ground up.
"I don’t know when in my life I’ll ever have an opportunity to do something like this again," said board president Jennifer Goldszmidt, an Ellicott City resident. "I need a synagogue that would be truly rooted in Reconstructionist values, that was also open to and willing to wrestle with the religious questions that come up, and to allow for all kinds of different avenues into Judaism."
The chance to develop a partnership with Rabbi Basik was a big part of Ms. Goldszmidt’s decision to help found Kol HaLev. "I didn’t want to be a faceless member of a congregation," she said.
Kol HaLev treasurer Jonathan Rivlin said he searched for years to find a synagogue that felt right to him, and with Kol HaLev he found it.
"It was a place that didn’t have the pretenses — you have to dress a certain way, drive a certain car," said Mr. Rivlin, a Locust Point resident. "The other members, they’re very haimish [down to earth]. They’ll give you the shirt off their back. They’re open to debate and discussion, there’s a focus on intention, in addition to the ritual."
Rabbi Basik emphasized "there is no compromising the integrity of Judaism" at Kol HaLev.
"This is not Judaism-lite," he said. "This is not a palatable way to salve your guilt about distance from Judaism. This is entering Jewish life, but on our terms. So sermons are more like discussions. Or prayer is more like prayful experience. And all voices are heard and part of the conversation. I feel that my role as rabbi is facilitator and teacher and resource person.
"This is not your father’s Buick," he said. "We are in the process of developing a new kind of synagogue organization, [with] an emotional quality of warmth, without compromising intellectual content." |
