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



d’var torah
Put Aside Our Diff erences
Rabbi Gregory S. Marx
I Parshat Vaera
n Parshat Vaera, God speaks to
Moses and self-identifi es as Adonai.

God continues to say that the divine
appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
by a diff erent name, El Shaddai, and that
God was not revealed to them as Adonai.

It was only later that God is referred to
by the tetragrammaton, God’s four-let-
ter name, yod-hay-vav-hay, which we
pronounce as “Adonai.” So, why would
God need to say that to Moses and,
furthermore, why the need to proclaim
the unity of the divine despite being
called by diff erent names?
I suspect that the ancient ancestors
were a diverse community; some must
have referred to God by one name,
I asked myself why was that statement
necessary? Our friendship transcended
politics. Our relationship was deeper than
Republican or Democrat. But somehow
there was a concern that our friendship
might be jeopardized because of the
divisive politics of today.

One of our greatest challenges today
is antisemitism. It is our modern-day
Pharaoh. It is high time we recognize
our unity, just as God reminded Moses
of the divine unity despite “knowing
God diff erently throughout the ages.” It
is high time that we put away our polit-
ical diff erences, as well as our religious
ones and stand shoulder to shoulder
against the rising hate and heat of
antisemitism of our time.

Further in Exodus, God says, “I have
heard the moaning of the Israelites and
I have remembered my covenant.” 6:5
We do so in the deeply held belief that
we cannot confront hate alone, nor can
our allies. We must seek partners with
whom we can stand and, likewise, who
will be there for us. My synagogue,
Beth Or, marched with the members of
Bethlehem Baptist Church following the
shootings in a North Carolina church as
they came to pray with us following the
attacks in Pittsburgh and Poway.

Finally, and most importantly, we must
stop being our own worst enemies
and sniping at each other because we
are a diverse community; enough with
the attacks that you are “too liberal,”
“too extreme,” not “red enough” or
“too progressive.” We have always had
our diff erences, as our Torah portion
indicates, but God told Moses that if
you are to successfully confront evil in
the form of Pharaoh, we as a people
must stand as one.

The time before the Exodus demanded
unity of purpose and community.

Likewise, today, as we confront another
formidable foe, the time for unity amidst
our diversity is now. ■
Rabbi Gregory Marx is the senior
rabbi at Congregation Beth Or in
Maple Glen. The Board of Rabbis
of Greater Philadelphia is proud to
provide diverse perspectives on Torah
commentary for the Jewish Exponent.

The opinions expressed in this column
are the author’s own and do not refl ect
the view of the Board of Rabbis.

We must stop being our own worst
enemies and sniping at each other
because we are a diverse community.

while others identifi ed God diff erently.

They saw in the diverse names diff erent
characteristics, traits and capabilities.

For some, God was the presence
of justice in the face of evil, while for
others, God off ered mercy in the face of
sin. God was worshipped by a diverse
community. Moses, about to confront
the most powerful person in the ancient
world, Pharaoh, needed to know whom
he was representing. So, God reminds
Moses of the unity of the divine and of
the community that adorates Him.

We live in a time when we are
confronted by a multiplicity of
challenges. We are a varied community
with diff erent perspectives and under-
standings of God, as well as politics.

Just recently, I was speaking to a friend
of mine, who is a rabbi, and she told me,
as we began the conversation, “I just
wanted to tell you, I’m a Trump supporter.”
No matter what transpires, or how we
act or believe or practice, God will be
with us. Suff ering transcends divisive-
ness. We are all one as we confront
hate. The antisemite does not care if a
particular Jew keeps kosher or not. The
Jew-hater couldn’t care less if a Jew is a
Democrat or a Republican. We are one.

I suggest that we need to do three
things to confront antisemitism.

First, we must not be afraid to call
hate out when we see it. We must not
shrink from the challenge of calling out
the haters, even if it strengthens the
hand of those who hold us in antipathy.

Second, we must build alliances with
other like-minded people. We are a tiny
minority and need friends in high places
as well as in the common marketplace.

I am pleased that our community has
continually endeavored to build bridges
and relationships that force us to stretch.

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