synagogue spotlight
J Jarrad Saff ren | Staff Writer
onathan Goldstein, 51, describes
himself as a congregant, daily
minyan attendee and Shabbos
regular at Adath Israel on the Main Line.

His children, ages 18, 15 and 13, have
all gone through Hebrew school and the
bar/bat mitzvah process at the Merion
Station community on North Highland
Avenue. Goldstein and his wife are
part of a group of 12 families who eat
together, travel and even play Dungeons
& Dragons.

All of this started when they fi rst
walked into the Conservative synagogue
and met each other many years ago.

There was an energy in the air, Goldstein
recalled. “When you come and join our
synagogue, one of the things that’s
self-evident is that the gravity is around
new families,” he said. “When you come
to our shul, on Shabbos, there are 100
children running around.”
Goldstein spoke in the present tense
because this energy continues today.

Adath Israel did not lose members
before, during or after COVID, according
to synagogue leaders. It has remained
stable at about 750-800 families. Plenty
of older families have left, but they have
been replaced by younger households.

Rabbi Andrew Markowitz, who works
full-time at the synagogue but is fi lling
in during Rabbi Eric Yanoff ’s sabbati-
cal, said the Saturday morning Shabbat
crowd has gotten younger since the
pandemic started. And Adath Israel’s
Early Childhood Learning Center has
more than 120 students, with more
waiting to get in.

“We’re stable and healthy,” the rabbi
said. “We’re not declining in any way.”
Adath Israel attracts young parents
with its preschool and religious school
programs. According to Markowitz, the
Conservative institution turns 50-60%
of its preschool families into congre-
gants. And then it off ers programs
“attached to that” that provide options
for the whole family.

Recently, the shul introduced a class
called “The Home We Build Together”
consisting of 10 young families learning
how to create a Jewish household with
Jewish values. Most of those members
were not Shabbat regulars before taking
the course, but they became weekly
attendees after they completed it.

More recently, Adath Israel leaders
hired a social worker to organize a
post-partum group and an aging group
for people who wanted safe spaces
From left: Adath Israel Rabbi Andrew Markowitz, Cantor Elizabeth
Shammash and Rabbi Eric Yanoff
to talk about both topics. Many Early
Childhood Learning Center parents
are active in the synagogue’s Parent-
Teacher Organization. Many are also
Mitzvah Players, meaning they perform
plays for the community every 1-2 years.

But perhaps the most important
program is Hebrew school classes on
Saturdays. Rabbi Markowitz explained
that, when students used to meet on
Sundays, they were taking in lessons
but not learning to live like Jews. Moving
classes to Saturdays allowed them to
take part in Sabbath activities as they
happened. Plus, when parents started
picking kids up after services, they began
staying for Kiddush and mingling with the
members who attended. This encour-
aged parents to just come to the service
in the fi rst place. Adath Israel’s Shabbat
ritual now draws about 250 people to the
sanctuary on a normal Saturday.

“The synagogue has really become a
community center,” Markowitz said.

About 80% of members live in Bala
Cynwyd or Lower Merion, meaning they
can walk to the building. Fifth and sixth
graders often walk over for Wednesday
night sessions of religious school.

“We’re essentially a neighborhood
shul,” the rabbi said.

But while Adath Israel may attract
congregants with its schools and then
cater to their needs as individuals, too,
it really does try to off er something for
everybody — even people who may
not use the schools. A group of empty
nesters meets for a Saturday morning
Torah study session. Sometimes,
congregants put yoga classes on the
calendar. Whatever people want and
need. This helps it build cohorts among
various groups of adults. There are
many versions of the friend group
that Goldstein described. Bob Salvin,
a member in his eighth year and the
synagogue president, joined after
moving back to the area from Houston in
2015. And Salvin and his wife also have
“a bunch of people we hang out with.”
Synagogue life, according to
Markowitz, is not founded on the trans-
action of off ering a school for people’s
kids. A school may get them in the
door, pay the bills and open another
door to a deeper commitment. But
once they are inside, parents must feel
that their community is relational, not
transactional. “It doesn’t work if it’s transactional,”
Rabbi Markowitz said. ■
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 23
Courtesy of Adath Israel on the Main Line
The sanctuary inside Adath Israel on the Main Line
Photo by Jules Markowitz
Adath Israel on the Main Line
Maintains Family Atmosphere