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Harry Bodek
Courtesy of Harry Bodek
Sasha Rogelberg | Staff Writer
I n a time when so many young Jews are looking for meaning and
community outside of synagogues, Harry Bodek has proven that
it’s possible for the next generation to find connections within a
congregation. The lifelong member of Congregation Rodeph Shalom went
from being a reluctant bar mitzvah boy to leading the synagogue’s
Gen Z and millennial members in alternative programming as the
synagogue’s Young Friends co-chair alongside Beth Marlowe.

“The goal of Young Friends is just to bring young people that are
members of the synagogue together
and give us excuses to hang out,
talk, make friends, make connections
and also expand our Jewish commu-
nity and Jewish horizons,” Bodek said.

“It’s a connection thing. It’s all about
making friends and meeting people.”
In March, Bodek, 31, and his wife
hosted 35-40 people in his Fishtown
home for a BBQ Shabbat dinner,
complete with a smoked brisket.

Young Friends has hosted Torah study
groups with Rabbi Eli Freedman at Bar
Hygge in Fairmount and “Painting with
a Jewish Twist” art classes.

The group is in a period of flux:
COVID has made young people less
interested in stepping out of their
social comfort zones or taking the
initiative to keep affinity groups going,
Bodek noticed. He’s hoping to add
more vibrancy to Young Friends.

“COVID wrecked everybody’s
routines,” he said. “We used to be
really social, and now it just feels
like work to pull things together even
though they’re always really enjoyable.

It’s a muscle we’re working on flexing.”
Young professionals are a difficult
group to bring together. People are
building their careers and starting
families — Bodek works as a construc-
tion manager — and it’s hard to build
momentum when the onus of event
planning is on just one or two people.

“We need to make it more of a
communal effort to plan activities,”
he said.

The silver lining is that people who
attend Young Friends events have
fun and make new friends. It’s made
up of Jews who are choosing to live
Jewishly, which wasn’t always a reality
or interest for Bodek.

“I was pretty involved in the
synagogue and went to summer
camp, but I never really understood
why I was doing it other than it was
what my parents said we were doing,”
Bodek said.

His family joined Rodeph Shalom
in 1998. Bodek’s mother converted
to Judaism and wanted her kids to
have a Jewish upbringing and the
religious community she lacked
growing up. While Bodek was involved
in synagogue, he certainly wasn’t
engaged. “I didn’t really like any of it,” Bodek
said. "Frankly, I was made fun of a
lot for being Jewish. I went to public
school, and people were just kind of
rude about it.”
Bodek checked out of Judaism for
a while but returned to his roots after
his wife wanted to get involved in the
community. Two years ago, the couple
became members of Rodeph Shalom,
and this time, it was of Bodek’s own
volition. “We went to our first Shabbat service
together about two years ago right
before we joined,” he said. “Actually
listening to the content and listening
to what they were saying and listening
to what the rabbi’s sermon was talking
about — everything that was said really
resonated with me.”
Bodek and his wife took an introduc-
tion to Judaism class together, where
they met their best friends, another
young couple. He said the class gave
him “honor, pride and respect for my
heritage.” Not only did Bodek develop a greater
appreciation for his religion but also
for his mother’s reasoning to raise
her children Jewishly. Bodek’s story is
starting to mirror his mother’s: He and
his wife are entering a phase of their
lives where they want to think about
their future and support system.

In the 25 years his family has been
involved in Rodeph Shalom, it’s diffi-
cult for Bodek to really see what has
changed in the synagogue because
he’s changed so much. But he’s noticed
that the hunger for millennial Jews to
get involved is strong.

“I see more people my age who are
involved,” he said. “It definitely does
feel younger and more progressive.” ■
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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