O PINION
Snowstorms, Bears and Stars of David: Even in Alaska,
a Tiny Jewish Community Can Make its Voice Heard
BY RABBI ABRAM GOODSTEIN
I GREW UP Jewish in Alaska.

Th e Jewish community in
Anchorage, the city where I
grew up, did things their own
Jewish way. It was the only
kind of Judaism that I knew.

For example, I used to
think that everyone had their
bar or bat mitzvah during the
summer, because in Alaska,
anyway, that was the best time
to invite relatives.

Later, of course, I encoun-
tered many forms of Judaism. I
have lived in Jerusalem. I have
worshipped and worked at
Jewish communities too small
for a synagogue and congre-
gations with more than 1,500
families. All these experiences
convinced me to become a
rabbi. But I would have never
predicted that, aft er ordination
at Hebrew Union College-
Jewish Institute of Religion in
2017, I would come back to my
hometown as a rabbi.

I now offi ciate at b’nai
mitzvah in the very sanctuary
where I received mine. As a
lover of nature and someone
who has grown to appreciate
Judaism in smaller cities and
towns, I feel Alaska is a great
place to be Jewish. While some
may think it’s distant and cold,
I have always found it cozy and
welcoming. Except when it isn’t.

Th is past year, as our state
offi cials and politicians decide
on how to best fi ght COVID,
we saw an uptick of people
comparing health mandates to
the Holocaust. During a conten-
tious Assembly meeting on
mandating masks in Anchorage,
protesters against
mask mandates started wearing yellow
stars of David, appropriating
the Holocaust and the Nazis’
genocide against the Jewish
people. Anchorage’s mayor at
one point even exclaimed that
the Alaskan Jewish community
would support these protesters’
message. our own unique problems here.

Starting Shabbat is a diffi cult
venture when our sunsets are
swinging from light most of
the night to dark most of the
day. Moose get in our sukkot,
and snowstorms and bears
have prevented us from coming
or leaving shul.

However, I believe that
Judaism is beautiful here. Th is
is not a place where Judaism
just survives, but a place where
Judaism thrives. We have our
own special Alaskan way of
being Jewish.

For example, our commu-
nity, which has 160 family
members, has no formal
mikveh, or ritual bath, and yet
we are surrounded by mikveh
possibilities. Every one of
This is not a place where Judaism just survives, but a place where
Judaism thrives. We have our own special Alaskan way of being Jewish.

A small community of some
4,500 people, far from the large
centers of Jewish life, might
have been expected to let this
go. Or perhaps grumble among
ourselves and let “outsiders”
object for us.

Instead, at a hearing on
masks in September, one
of my congregants, State
Assemblyman Forrest Dunbar,
read a letter I had written. “It
was heart-wrenching for me
when I noticed individuals
were wearing yellow Stars of
David, mimicking my Jewish
ancestors who perished during
the Holocaust,” he read,
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quoting me. “For myself and
most Jews, seeing the yellow
Star of David on someone’s
chest elicits the same feeling
as seeing a swastika on a
fl ag or the SS insignia on a
uniform. I believe it is a consti-
tutional right to protest for
your values. But I request that
you do not use symbols that
diminish the 6 million Jews
who were murdered during the
Holocaust.” Th e mayor apologized the
next day, thanks to the work of
a confi dent Jewish community
that showed him how hurtful his
remarks were for Alaskan Jews.

Our confi dence comes with
deep roots. In 1900, a commu-
nity of 60 Jews celebrated Rosh
Hashanah in Nome using a
Torah brought by Sam Bayles, a
Latvian immigrant who sought
his fortune in the Alaska Gold
Rush. Th e Bayles Torah stayed
in Nome until aft er World War
I, when it was moved slightly
south (537 miles) to my congre-
gation, Congregation Beth
Sholom in Anchorage, where it
remains today alongside other
Torah scrolls with their own
uniquely Alaskan histories.

Th eir stories are much the
same as the story of how Jews
came to Alaska. Whether
through a pioneering spirit, a
sense of amazement or a need
to connect with tradition in the
farthest North, Jews have been
coming to Alaska since before
it was even a state.

I oft en feel that Jews in the
lower 48 consider Judaism in
Alaska to be diminished due
to its isolation and its limited
population. We certainly have
JEWISH EXPONENT
Alaska’s 3 million lakes are
pristine, and most of them
are remote. Every summer I
ready laminated mikveh prayer
cards for Jewish Alaskans who
wish to enjoy a mikveh experi-
ence against the incredible
backdrop of rugged mountains
and emerald green forests.

Most people’s Jewish experi-
ence, I imagine, come from
a connection to Jewish insti-
tutions, Jewish professionals
and Jewish friends. My Jewish
experiences seem always to be
nestled among the splendor of
God’s creations.

Th e dispute over Holocaust
analogies and its resolution
was a great reminder that
Jews in Alaska are a part of,
not apart from, Alaska. We
are not an isolated shtetl, but
rather working members of the
Alaskan community. Th ere are
several current Alaskan Jewish
lawmakers, and we have been
represented in state leadership
all the way back to the framing
of the Alaska Constitution.

Prior to the current Anchorage
mayor’s hurtful comments,
three of the city’s previous
mayors were Jewish.

We love this place, and we
support it in every way we can. ●
Rabbi Abram Goodstein is the rabbi
of Congregation Beth Sholom in
Anchorage, Alaska, and the co-host
of the podcast “What Divines Us.”
Be heard.

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to the editor.

letters@jewishexponent.com OCTOBER 28, 2021
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