Day 13

Why are synagogues so noisy? For a long time, I struggled against what I saw as an unfortunate fact. Lately, I have begun to under- stand how it can be a blessing. It is often said “shul is not the real centre of Judaism, the home is.” Although there is much truth to this, Judaism has never been confined to family or to the traditional family structure. Shuls have an increasingly important role to play, because synagogue is the place that Jewish individuals – regardless of background or family unit – become part of the Jewish people. As a rabbi on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, I meet a range of congregants who live outside the typical family unit. Singles, divorcees, widows/ers, single parents by choice, and many more, are increasingly part of the Jewish landscape. You can rue it, or embrace it, but it is not likely that this is something that is going to change any time soon. And these individuals play their part in strengthening the Jewish people. The community, at its peril, risks alienating and pushing away some of its best, brightest and most giving members, if we insist that the only model we know how to embrace is the traditional family unit.

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