synagogue spotlight
What’s happening at ... Kesher Israel Congregation
Kesher Israel Reopening,
Reconnecting JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
R abbi Shelley Goldman arrived
at Kesher Israel Congregation
in West Chester in February
2020. One month later, the pandemic
forced the synagogue to become a vir-
tual institution.

So for much of her first two years,
Goldman has led a digital community.

Now, though, she is finally getting to
build a congregation in person.

And her core principle at the formerly
Orthodox, then Conservative and now
unaffiliated synagogue is clear: Bring
together the traditional and cultural con-
tingents of the 220-family congregation.

“It’s a community that has a robust
commitment to religious practice and a
real commitment and love for the cul-
tural practice of Judaism,” the rabbi said.

There is no real divide between those
two groups. They coexist peacefully.

They just have different Jewish priori-
ties and preferences for different types
of activities.

That’s why, coming out of the pan-
demic, Goldman is working on adding
activities that can attract all types of
congregants. Naturally, she is starting
with meals, as nothing brings Jews
together quite like eating.

In March, Goldman and synagogue
officials opened their Pottstown Pike
building for members to come together
and break bread again. Since then,
they’ve enjoyed meals during religious
school, oneg Shabbats and lunch and
learns with the rabbi, among other
dining events.

“Our first strategy is having a theme
of face-to-face,” Goldman said.

They plan on continuing that theme.

Rachel Mussaf, the congregation’s edu-
cation director, wants to broaden the
idea of what adult education looks like.

Kesher Israel has added a book club
and a human sexuality class. In the
fall, Goldman will teach a class about
exploring “hot topics” through a Jewish
lens. Such topics might include environ-
mentalism and gender identity. Sessions
may focus on exploring Jewish topics,
Rabbi Shelley Goldman talks to a KI
student. Courtesy of Rachel Mussaf
Kesher Israel congregants at an outdoor event
like Kashrut, through a modern lens.

Also in the fall, the synagogue will
revamp its Hebrew high school into
a collaboration with other Chester
County synagogues. It will include field
trips, community service programs
and social activities.

“It’s excellent,” Goldman said of the
temple’s program expansion so far.

“I never wanted to work primarily
online.” Congregants actually started coming
back together a year ago when services
and school became hybrid. But now,
they are transitioning back to what
feels more like an in-person institu-
tion, instead of a hybrid or virtual one,
according to Goldman.

While specific in-person programs
enhance that feeling, it’s really about
being together again, sans masks and
other restrictions. Mussaf, who started
in her position three years ago, noticed
a new energy in the Hebrew school this
past year.

Kids were together in the same
room, smiling and laughing. They
were not dreading being in school,
either. They wanted to be there with
their friends.

“It really brought tears to my eyes,”
she said.

As Kesher Israel returns to in-person
life, its foundation remains strong.

Its membership of 200-plus families
has held steady through the remote
pandemic years. Its religious school
student body fell to 42 during that
period but grew back up to 65 last sum-
mer. The temple coordinates between
eight and 12 bar and bat mitzvahs per
year, according to Mussaf.

Yet perhaps no aspect of synagogue life
reflects Kesher Israel’s strong foundation
more than its commitment to tradition
at Shabbat services. Those services on
Friday nights and Saturday mornings are
long; they include a lot of Hebrew and a
full reading of the seven aliyot.

At the same time, even before the
pandemic, congregants were com-
mitted to moving away from tradi-
tion where appropriate, according to
Goldman. KI of West Chester left the
United Synagogue of Conservative
Judaism, the North American organi-
zation for Conservative synagogues, in
2015, then embraced musical instru-
ments on Shabbat and intermarriage.

Today, it still tries to take a pro-
Courtesy of Rachel Mussaf
gressive approach where appropriate,
according to the rabbi. The temple’s
annual Shabbat service under the sum-
mer sky event in June turned into a
celebration of Pride Month this year.

Goldman, who is gay herself, read
quotes from famous LGBTQ+ people
between prayers to introduce each new
prayer. “Glimpses from people who are
speaking about their identities and
making the world a better place,” she
said. Goldman sees this balance between
tradition and progress as the future
of Kesher Israel. She also believes that
it’s a future people will believe in, and
Mussaf agrees.

Both women expect Kesher Israel’s
congregation to grow in the coming
years. Mussaf thinks “people want commu-
nity more than ever now.”
“They are looking for that in syna-
gogue walls,” she added.

“I think that we’re working on stabi-
lizing and then hopefully growing,” the
rabbi said. JE
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