synagogue spotlight
B eth David Reform Congregation
opened in 1943 as “the fourth
Reform temple in the Philadelphia
area,” according to its website. Through
37 years in Philadelphia’s Wynnefi eld
neighborhood and then its fi rst two-plus
decades in suburban Gladwyne, the
synagogue grew its membership base,
bought a building and expanded that
building to “properly accommodate the
current membership” between 2010
and 2012.

This is the typical story arc for
a Reform temple in the Philadelphia
region. But today, as many other area
synagogues lose members, Beth David
is still growing.

Senior Rabbi Beth Kalisch and Cantor
Lauren Goodlev said the membership
base has increased since the pandemic
started to a little more than 300 house-
holds. The synagogue also has 30-40
people at weekly hybrid Shabbat
services, 90 religious school students
and 15 bar and bat mitzvahs per year.

The rabbi and cantor are quick to say
that they are not as big as some other local
Reform synagogues, which gives them a
lower number to maintain. At the same
time, growth is growth, and people are
attracted to this “synagogue in the woods,”
as the leaders refer to their tree-shaded
property. Kalisch and Goodlev believe
that people come because the temple is
“joyful”; because it found various ways
to stay together during COVID, includ-
ing High Holiday video messages; and
because in 2018 it started developing
“Shema groups” that gather people based
on life experiences and interests.

“It’s a joyful place where people
can learn about themselves and be
themselves,” Kalisch said.

According to Kalisch, Beth David’s
new member demographics include
young families, empty-nesters and retir-
ees. Some young families joined for the
religious school, she acknowledged, and
for the after-school programs that the
24 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Rabbi Beth Kalisch and Cantor Lauren Goodlev
Beth David congregants painted the windows for Chanukah.

synagogue off ers for preschool students
(though it does not have a preschool). And
some empty-nesters and retirees joined
because they attended a virtual service
during COVID and discovered that they
wanted a synagogue in their lives again.

But to a large degree, Kalisch and
Goodlev said, people are becoming
congregants because Beth David is a
place where they can connect and have
some fun. There are “Shema groups” for
art appreciation, suburban singles dining
out, empty-nesters, social justice, aging,
people who adopted dogs during the
pandemic and people who are exploring
Judaism. They meet at the synagogue on
Vaughan Lane, in people’s homes and,
in the case of suburban singles dining
out, at restaurants. Through COVID, too,
these groups connected online, and that
remains an option.

People can come together around
anything, according to Goodlev. And in
most cases, these groups are created by
congregants. The rabbi and cantor may
provide questions to get people think-
ing, but then the members take over.

“It’s something really special about
Beth David that keeps us going,”
Goodlev said.

As the cantor explained, “People want
to connect. People want to have these
points of connection.” And as members
build these cohorts and develop relation-
ships, they become like “little families.”
Maybe on Chanukah they get together
one night to light candles together.

Perhaps when someone has a death
in the family, the other group members
comfort that person. Instances like this
have already happened, Goodlev said.

The rabbi and cantor got this idea
from megachurches with thousands of
families. In those communities, there is a
need to form smaller communities, too,
because you can’t know everybody. But
what Kalisch and Goodlev discovered
was that they could work in synagogues
as well, even ones that are a little smaller
than normal.

“It’s been beautiful,” Goodlev said.

This is not to say that Beth David
is no longer emphasizing the bigger,
more institutional activities traditional to
synagogues. It just hired a new direc-
tor of religious education in Rabbi Elisa
Koppel, who is bringing “such great life
and energy to our religious school,”
Goodlev said. On special Shabbat
evening services, 100 people may show
up. And in recent years around Election
Day and then Thanksgiving, congregants
helped Pennsylvania residents register
to vote and access meals and desserts.

But Beth David is not just a Reform
synagogue anymore. It’s a place to
practice your religion, help the wider
community and connect with others.

“Beth David is a really inclusive place,”
Kalisch said. “There’s not just one way to
be Jewish.” ■
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
Photo by Jill Cooper
Jarrad Saff ren | Staff Writer
Photo by Justin Kerr
Beth David Reform Congregation
in Gladwyne Keeps Growing