Rabbi’s Bulletin Column July – August 2025

Small & Proud

Dear friends,

I had a great opportunity in early June to attend (for the third time!) the Conservative Movement’s Small Congregations Conference.  When I’ve attended before, it’s just been rabbis; this time, most of the rabbis also brought a lay leader from their community.  [Note: I also tried to bring a lay leader, but it turns out lay leaders often have day jobs and can’t travel for their volunteer work!]

These three days in Chicago, spent mostly in the social hall of a beautiful and warm shul, were just as affirming, educational, and inspirational as I’d hoped, and I’m so glad to share a bit about them with you here.

Affirming.  When any of us interacts with folks from other Jewish communities, we do a little compare/contrast, and very often, in my experience and perhaps in yours as well, it doesn’t feel amazing to say that our synagogue is pretty small.  At the Small Congregations Conference, every single participant comes from a small community, ranging from about 200 member units to 55 member units (in Reno, NV!).  It’s so very affirming to hear and share about challenges we face and to feel like someone else identifies completely.  Did you know that about 50% of Conservative/Masorti synagogues are under 200 member units?  I learned that at this conference.  If you’ve ever worried about the size of our shul, know that we’re not alone!

Educational.  Our keynote speaker at the conference was Daniel Langenthal, the Director of Leadership Development and Implementation for USCJ (United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism).  We learned from Daniel several skills that are both obvious and need to be articulated, especially when most small synagogues get things done in groups comprised of lay and professional leaders.  These skills are meant to get us all on the same page as we work to plan and execute top-notch programs, set goals for ourselves and our leaders and then engage in evaluation, and to hone the skill of asking meaningful and value-based questions to help us move our mission forward.  Over the coming months, I’ll be sharing these skills with our professional and lay leadership so that we can rely on them as we do our work on behalf of our Beth El and the greater Jewish community.

Inspirational.  One of the greatest parts of the Small Congregations Conference is the sharing of excellent programming.  I shared with my group about Shabbat @ the Bunkhouse, young family and young adult community building, hosting TBE Stamford for Purim, and sharing Shavuot with two other synagogues.

And here are some great ideas I learned:

·         Family-Friendly Friday Nights (Wilmington, NC)—kid-friendly dinner followed by a short kid-friendly service

·         Shavuoton (Wantaugh, NY)—a night of storytelling on the theme of “What Does Judaism Mean To Me?”

·         Musical Shabbat (Reno, NV)—bring in a Jewish band to perform at Shabbat services throughout the weekend

·         Blessing of the Backpacks (Wilmington, NC)

·         Self-cooked monthly congregational Shabbat dinners (Olney, MD)—for the last 31 years, teams of 6-8 congregants (kiddush teams) get together and prep weekly kiddush lunch AND monthly Shabbat dinners!  Wowza!

Here’s the thing:  small synagogues don’t have a large staff, but we all know each other and are quite creative and resourceful.  It was wonderful to connect with all of the other participants, and I’m excited to try out some of their successful programs here and to implement the new skills and strategies I learned to help our awesome small congregation thrive.

B’Shalom,

Rabbi Ita Paskind