synagogue spotlight
What’s happening at ... Darchei Noam
Ambler Synagogue Growing Fast
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
W hen Darchei Noam opened in Ambler
last summer, its leaders expected maybe
100 people to join the new community.

More than a year later, the temple counts 211 fam-
ilies as members.

Locals, and even some non-locals due to the hybrid
reality of synagogues in 2022, like that Darchei
Noam is inclusive to people from all demographics,
geographical areas and Jewish backgrounds — from
the curious potential convert to the weekly Shabbat
attendee. They also appreciate the temple’s informal
approach to collecting money. Since there is no
structure for membership dues, joining Darchei
Noam is less an economic decision than a moral
one. Residents join because they agree with the syn-
agogue’s values.

“We were founding members because we felt it was
so important. The values,” said Sandi Greenwald of
Warrington, referring to herself and her husband
Paul. “I feel at home,” added Dominique Kliger of Blue
Bell. “I’ve never felt more connected to a Jewish com-
munity,” said Seth Pollock of Chalfont. “I’m more
involved in this community than any synagogue
prior, and I’ve belonged to a couple.”
Pollock, like many Darchei Noam members, fol-
lowed Rabbi Danielle Parmenter from a previous
synagogue. He refers to himself, his wife Lauren and
their two daughters as “one of the founding families.”
“We decided to venture out on our own and create
this community,” he added.

And Pollock means that both figuratively and lit-
erally. Like other congregants, after Darchei Noam
leaders found their Ambler building, Pollock orga-
nized his schedule around helping them renovate it.

The Chalfont resident painted and helped with
handiwork, among other tasks.

Such a collaborative effort was what Darchei Noam
members were after; it was why they left their old
synagogues, according to Pollock. And that early
work on renovating the building together shaped the
foundation for future synagogue activity.

As they went about it, anyone could walk in and
pick up a paintbrush or screwdriver, and many did,
according to Renee Strausberg, the community’s
executive director.

“There’s more of an emphasis on transparency
and on barrier-free Judaism,” Pollock said, attrib-
uting that last phrase to Parmenter and synagogue
President Brandi Lerner.

As Pollock’s attribution suggests, even the most
32 APRIL 14, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Darchei Noam members embark on a Tisha B’Av
cleanup on the Wissahickon Trail.

Darchei Noam’s tent at a community day in Ambler
Courtesy of Darchei Noam
Courtesy of Darchei Noam
egalitarian communities need leaders; while Darchei
Noam has “founding families” like the Pollocks, it
also has a group of founding mothers in Parmenter,
Strausberg, Lerner and Hazzan Arlyne Unger.

The women, like their congregants, came from
other synagogues that had strengths but that weren’t
quite like Darchei Noam.

As Lerner explained it, those other communities
were affiliated with Jewish denominations, Orthodox,
Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist, and
were therefore obligated to enforce the code of their
chosen label. They also implemented a dues model
that became a requirement for joining the commu-
nity, turning synagogue membership into an eco-
nomic decision.

That structure, according to Unger, prevented peo-
ple from feeling comfortable in their synagogue com-
munities. Maybe they didn’t know enough about the
religion; maybe their spouse wasn’t Jewish; or maybe
they just decided it wasn’t worth the money once
their kids grew older and didn’t need the preschool
or religious school.

“Many Jews, while they may affiliate with a certain
movement because that’s the synagogue they’re at,
they may not identify with that movement,” Lerner
said. At Darchei Noam, they don’t have to; they just
need a desire to practice Judaism, and this ethos has
attracted a unique base of congregants.

Some are converting to Judaism while others con-
sider themselves “Modern Orthodox.” Half of the
members are between 35 and 50, while half are older
than 50. Congregants come from 40 different towns
in Montgomery County, 10 in Philadelphia and six in
Bucks County, according to Lerner.

About a dozen families come from out of state.

The hybrid element to services, classes and other
programs helps with that. Lerner said it also helps
that the temple is within walking distance of a train
station. “There’s no synagogue in Ambler borough and this
is like a happening place now,” she said. “Great vibe
and location to draw in from the places where we get
our members.”
Darchei Noam, though, is not just a community of
people rediscovering and redefining the faith side of
their faith. It’s a functioning institution, too, with a
religious school with 98 students, weekly Shabbat ser-
vices that draw between 30 and 70 people and mem-
bers who are willing to pay to cover costs like rent.

Pledges range from $18 to $3,600, according to
Strausberg, and payment plans are available. Lerner
said the founding mothers are already working on
the budget for next year, and “we’re not closing our
doors.” “We’re a full-fledged shul,” Parmenter said. JE
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com



d’var torah
And On That Day
You Will Tell Your Child …
BY RABBI ABE FRIEDMAN
O Passover
Photo by Abe Friedman
f all the great seder experi-
ences I have had, the year
that sticks in my mind
is 2006.

My parents put me and my wife
Rebecca in charge of planning the
seder, and we decided that, on the
fi rst night, aft er the opening rituals of
karpas (dipping vegetables) and yach-
atz (breaking the middle matzah), we
would set aside the Haggadah for a
while and let my father simply tell the
Exodus story to my nephews, 7 and 3
at the time, who were the only children
present. No one was better suited to fi ll
this role. An avid storyteller, my dad
attended local storytelling perfor-
mances, hosted a group associated with
the Southern Order of Storytellers in
his home and traveled with my mom
each year to the National Storytelling
Festival in Johnson City, Tennessee.

I will never forget the moment when
he set down his cup of grape juice,
pushed his chair back from the table,
and beckoned Isaiah and Simon to
come sit on his lap. His maggid (story)
began gently, quietly, building slowly
toward the calamity of slavery and
oppression. While his attention was solely
devoted to the two young boys on
his knees, the rest of us were just as
entranced by the tale he was weav-
ing. Here was a master unfurling our
people’s central narrative in carefully
framed stages, phase by phase; I knew
this story like the back of my hand, and
yet it was like hearing it all again for
the fi rst time in his words.

Our sages directed that the seder
story should proceed from disgrace to
glory, and my family’s story fi ts that
arc. Th at seder is full of emotional res-
onance for me because it wasn’t always
like that.

I have early memories of my father
telling bedtime stories, singing silly
songs and taking me on weekend
camping trips, but during my ele-
mentary school years, he sank deeper
into addiction, emotionally and oft en
physically absent. Th en he went away
altogether: As I was beginning eighth
grade, he entered inpatient treatment
in another state.

My dad loved Pesach most of all
the holidays. No doubt some of that
was our family coming together year
aft er year at the Ramah Darom retreat
that he helped launch. More than that,
the Passover story resonated with his
own journey from slavery to freedom,
addiction to recovery. And most of
all, Passover is at heart a storyteller’s
holiday. It was home for him, in every
way possible.

I treasure the stories my dad told me
throughout the years, and especially
during his 25 years in recovery: sad
stories and funny ones, stories with a
lesson and stories that maybe had no
point at all. Family stories, Army sto-
ries, personal stories. Th ey remain his
greatest gift to me because each time
I retell a story or draw on a lesson he
taught, I can feel him right alongside
me. JE
Rabbi Abe Friedman is the senior rabbi
at Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel in
Philadelphia. Th e Board of Rabbis of
Greater Philadelphia is proud to pro-
vide diverse perspectives on Torah com-
mentary for the Jewish Exponent. Th e
opinions expressed in this column are
the author’s own and do not refl ect the
view of the Board of Rabbis.

social announcements
BIRTH J
LAYLA WILLOW LIBERATORE
acob and Caitlin Liberatore
(née Applebaum) of Media
announce the birth of their
daughter, Layla Willow, on Feb. 18.

Sharing in their joy are
grandparents Abby and Scott
Applebaum of Philadelphia
and Amy and Lenny Liberatore
of Drexel Hill; great-grandpar-
ents Lela and Donald Seidel,
Arlene Applebaum and Patricia
Schilling; and aunts and uncles
Jacqueline Applebaum, Bailey
Applebaum, Benjamin Liberatore
and Nathaniel Liberatore.

Layla Willow is named in
loving memory of her mater-
nal great-grandfather Louis
Applebaum, and her pater-
nal great-grandfather William
Schilling. BAR MITZVAH
C CALEB JOSHUA BERGER
aleb Joshua Berger was called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on March
31 in the Arava Desert in Israel. Caleb is the son of Jeff and Liz Berger
of Wayne, and the brother of Stella and Jacob.

Caleb is the grandson of Steve and Ilene Berger of Newtown Square
and John Eldred and Janet Greco of Ambler. Caleb carried with him the
ring of his great-grandfather, Irv Berger z”l, to wear during the service
and received a pin in honor of his great-grandfather, Paul Junod z”l, for
whom he was named.

Caleb is an eighth-grader
at The Grayson School
in Radnor and is an avid
esports player with aspira-
tions to become an elec-
trical engineer. Caleb’s
continuing Mitzvah Project
is to assist schools in teach-
ing students to build gaming
PCs and establish esports
programs. Photo by Breana Tiff any Photography
Photo by Elizabeth Berger
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 33