social announcements
BIRTH M
BILLIE CLAIRE STRAUSS
elissa and Josh Strauss of Philadelphia announce the birth of their daughter,
Billie Claire, born March 4.

Jesse is her brother. Sharing in the joy are grandparents Shelly and Morris
Hochbaum of Lafayette Hill and Nancy Strauss of Delray Beach, Florida; uncle
Dan and aunt Casey Hochbaum; and uncle Adam Strauss and aunt Kelly
Heckman. Billie is named in memory of maternal great-grandmothers Betty Hochbaum
and Claire Licht and paternal great-grandmother Barbara Stone.

Photo by Melissa and Josh Strauss
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synagogue spotlight
What’s happening at ... Temple Sholom
Temple Sholom Adds to
Long Legacy of Openness
JARRAD SAFFREN | JE STAFF
T emple Sholom in Broomall
prides itself on openness, a tra-
dition that goes back to Rabbi
Mayer Selekman, who served the con-
gregation from 1971 to 1999.

Selekman was one of the first rabbis
in the area to officiate intermarriages,
according to a successor at Temple
Sholom, Rabbi Peter Rigler. And today,
more than 20 years on from Selekman,
openness at the Delaware County tem-
ple means more than just intermar-
riages, which, of course, continue.

Rigler’s Temple Sholom counts about
430 families in its congregation. But
unlike many synagogues today, the
Broomall building’s membership does
not skew older. It ranges from new-
borns to 100-year-olds, the rabbi said.

During the pandemic, the temple’s
doors even opened to people outside
the Philadelphia area, according to
Rigler. With the virtual option, service
and program attendees now hail from
Chicago, Boston and South Carolina,
among other places.

“This is a dynamic, warm and
welcoming place that’s not afraid of
change,” Rigler said.

Rigler left one of the biggest and
most well-known synagogues in the
area, Congregation Keneseth Israel
in Elkins Park, to come to Temple
Sholom. He made that decision 12
years ago because he wanted to be
a senior rabbi. But he also knew of
the Broomall institution’s reputation
under Selekman, and he wanted to
continue the older rabbi’s legacy.

When Rigler walked in the door for
his interview, he got a series of hugs
from members of the search commit-
tee. At that moment, he felt that the
openness was real.

“Rabbi Selekman,” he said. “He was
ahead of his time, and people here
weren’t afraid of that.”
Early in his tenure, Rigler learned
that the hugs were not just some overly
enthusiastic, first day of school-type
gesture, either. That was the syna-
gogue’s culture.

Warm and welcoming, willing
to let Rigler lead. But also, perhaps
more importantly, open to letting the
new rabbi make his own stamp on
Selekman’s institution.

He professionalized the staff to ensure
that Temple Sholom’s programs were
guided by people with the right skills; he
started a social action program to take
students to the southern United States to
do hands-on work in different commu-
nities; he worked with education direc-
tor Lori Green to build classes around
project-based learning; he started work-
ing with synagogue parents and kids to
make a 15-minute comedy video each
year emphasizing High Holiday themes.

The rabbi was even ahead of the
game in using the digital space. Temple
Sholom began offering a virtual option
for services about a decade ago.

The only difference that emerged
during the pandemic was, instead of
just streaming services, Rigler started
engaging with those watching from a
remote location.

“We realized a long time ago that
one of the barriers to joining a syna-
gogue was walking in the front door
of the synagogue,” the rabbi said. “The
Zoom world is the synagogue without
walls.” Now that the walls have transformed
into bridges, Rigler wants to build
them out even further.

He said some older members have
recently moved to King of Prussia
but are still attending synagogue pro-
grams. The rabbi wants to continue the
growth in opportunities in both the
virtual and in-person spaces by adding
more programs for specific constitu-
ency groups, as he described them.

A new men’s study group already
has 25 people signed up, according to
Rigler. Other similar groups will surely
follow. “We’re realizing that people are hun-
gry for connections and meaningful
connections to community,” he said.

“It is the Temple Sholom spirit that
this moment for us, while challenging
for everyone, we were able to look at
Cantor Jamie Marx and Rabbi Peter Rigler of Temple Sholom in Broomall
 Courtesy of Temple Sholom
The Temple Sholom Sisterhood with its sukkah
Courtesy of Temple Sholom
it as an opportunity and pivot toward
our future.”
Before his interview at Temple
Sholom all those years ago, the rabbi
didn’t have his heart set on leaving
KI. He just figured he’d take a look at
Selekman’s old home, as he had heard
good things.

After the hugs, the decision was easy
— and he certainly doesn’t regret it
now. He also thinks he’s lived up to
Selekman’s legacy.

Temple Sholom is still the same place
it was then, just with some different
programs and a whole new and mod-
ern dimension.

“We have a spirit of being warm and
welcoming to interfaith families and
diverse families,” he said. “That makes
it a place where people want to find a
home.” JE
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 27