I’m excited to see many of you for our Open House Shabbat this Friday and Saturday, details for which can be found here. This Shabbat is for everyone: people who have never been to Society Hill Synagogue or who have attended only a few times; people who come every week; longtime members who are looking to get back in the swing of things; non-members who may or may not be considering synagogue membership — literally anyone. There is no prep you need to do to attend these services and meals. Registration helps but is not required.
This best way to support Jewish life in our community is to become a member; now is the time to join, because it both enables you to participate in a full year’s worth of Jewish communal life here at Society Hill Synagogue — High Holidays, Adult Education, Community programs, Social Action — and because the investment of synagogue membership helps ensure that we can continue to support our broader Jewish community — we are all responsible for one another.
Like many others, I’m remembering Dolly Parton this week. In addition to her famous song referencing Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors (and her own connection to it), Dolly Parton is the inspiration for a central feature of Jewish life for many young families today: PJ Library, which sends free high-quality Jewish children’s books to families every month, and was modeled after Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, who started a similar literacy program years before in response to her own father’s illiteracy, a major impediment in his life. May her memory be for a blessing.
Finally, I’d like to share my forthcoming Kesher newsletter article, which reflects on some of the challenges and opportunities this community faces in the coming years:
As opposed to using this Kesher newsletter space for the spiritual and homiletic writings that typically comprise my weekly Shabbat reflections, I often use this space to reflect on a different facet of the modern rabbinate: organizational leadership.
At Society Hill Synagogue, our efforts, in addition to those directed toward offering up teachings of Torah, Jewish wisdom to bolster us as we navigate our lives, and those directed toward pastoral care, accompanying people as they experience need, pain, or transition, are directed toward building community; toward shaping this community into one that can do all of the above and more: teach Torah; accompany people on their journeys; serve as an enriching, nourishing source of Jewish living in a complex world.
Over the course of the last year or so, we have been sharing with you some of our findings as we plan for the next chapter of life at Society Hill Synagogue, drawing both on widespread surveys and focus groups we facilitated within this community in the winter of 2025 (340 of you completed surveys, representing two-thirds of our member households), and on subsequent research projects, taking stock of the demographics surrounding our community, as well as researching possible solutions to some of the challenges we face. Here I want to share with you reflections on some of the priorities we are identifying as we work to strengthen this community and make sure that it can serve the increasing number of people who are drawn here in search of the meaningful nourishment that comes from engaging with Jewish life at places like Society Hill Synagogue:
Exploring Our Options To Address Our Space Challenges.As became clear from conversations with members of this community, both in our of the surveys and across our conversations with members of our community, we face challenges of accessibility to our spaces: both accessibility in the sense that certain spaces — our bimah, our clergy offices, and our Beit Midrash — cannot be accessed by those with mobility challenges (and these areas just identified are some of the core features of Jewish life, now only accessible to those who can navigate stairs), and accessibility in the sense that we want to make sure we have enough space so that anyone who wants to find a Jewish home here can do so. Our community has increased from 270 households before the pandemic to 430; our Hebrew School has grown from a low of 65 students during the pandemic to 115. Hebrew School classes meet in hallways and on top of each other in the Social Hall. While we have done this for years, the more we learn about environments that are conducive to high-quality education, the better we know we can do when it comes to finding spaces for our students to learn. Furthermore, more space would enable us to counterprogram: more programs for adults during the popular times when our Playschool and Hebrew School are in session.
Our additional research has demonstrated some important insights: (1) the young family population in our surrounding neighborhoods — Society Hill, Queen Village, and Bella Vista — is stable, showing no signs of decline; (2) the elder population in our neighborhood is increasing as folks downsize from the suburbs into Center City to take advantage of the cultural and communal offerings of city living. So while we have no crystal ball, we do not see evidence that we are facing an imminent decline in size; if anything the opposite.
We have hired an architect to explore the feasibility of possible renovations to our sanctuary and synagogue annex (the portion of the synagogue that houses our administrative offices, clergy offices, and Beit Midrash) to improve accessibility and add space where we can. We have similarly begun to explore possibilities that would include offsite/adjacent options for ancillary space. We want to make sure we have the best possible understanding of options available to address the space challenges we face — challenges which are the best sort to have: increasing demand among people to be part of this community and our desire to make space for them.
Fostering Increased Intimacy and Connection Within Our Growing Community.Of course, one challenge we face when our community is growing so rapidly is that the beauty of communities is the degree to which people know each other and can forge connections with one another. While more connections are possible as the community grows, it can be challenging when there are so many unfamiliar faces. A strategic priority for us is therefore to foster opportunities for these connections for everyone who avails themselves of these opportunities. Our programmatic efforts are aimed at ensuring people have the opportunity to feel the neighborliness and care that comes from Jewish community. That includes our newly instituted Summer Shabbat at Home series, in which 16 hosts welcomed 131 attendees over the course of three summer Shabbat dinners; our Hesed Committee, through which over 30 volunteers make calls checking in on our whole congregation and offer support through food deliveries, rides to and from doctor visits, and more; our 60th Anniversary celebration, which will be held on May 19, and more.
Providing Thought Leadership and Space for Discussion On The Complexities of Jewish Life. Being Jewish in today’s world is not easy (if it has ever been). Antisemitism abounds, Israel is a point of major contention both within and outside of the Jewish community, and the role of religion in modern life is always something we grapple with. Society Hill Synagogue aims to confront these challenges head on. Whether that is through adult education courses we have offered in recent years, and continue to offer, on Zionism, on antisemitism, and on what it means to be Jewish (A religion? A culture? Something else?); Scholars-in-Residence weekends featuring some of the most renowned rabbis and scholars in the country — this year we will host Rabbi Josh Feigelson, President and CEO of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, on October 30 and 31 and Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, President and CEO of the Hadar Institute, on March 6 and 7; or through dialogue and engagement facilitated by our Israel Committee, engaging with challenging questions, and finding ways to disagree but still be in community, is an important feature of Jewish life here.
Financial Sustainability.Of course, undergirding all of these important features of Jewish life is the need to ensure we have the resources to support these features which provide such nourishment and strength to so many members of our community. Growing membership and school enrollments mean increased revenues from dues and tuition, so that goes a long way. But to really serve our community well, we know we need philanthropic contributions — tzedakah — over and above these payments, especially because such contributions allow us to keep our dues and tuition rates affordable to a wide audience. So we will continue to foster a culture of giving, and in doing so we will also ensure we have funds to fall back on in leaner years, to ensure we can withstand the vicissitudes of economic and demographic changes.
All the Chapters of Our Lives. One of the beautiful parts of Society Hill Synagogue is how intergenerational it is. Come for a Shabbat morning and over the course of a Torah discussion or a Kiddush lunch you will witness nine-year-olds and ninety-year-olds engaged in the same subject matter, sharing ideas — and cookies. At the same time, we also have groups where uniquely shared experiences can be discussed: our Rosh Hodesh group, covering women’s issues, and our Triple Chai group for those 54 and above, for example. But there are some areas that we are in the process of strengthening: teens and their parents, for example, who, post-B’nai Mitzvah, are looking for new footholds in community; the “sandwich generation,” offering care to both young adults and aging parents; singles; and more. We want to continue to serve the totality of Jewish community.
I hope you’ll join me as we continue to work to strengthen this community, and I welcome your vision and input.
Like many others, I’m remembering Dolly Parton this week. In addition to her famous song referencing Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors (and her own connection to it), Dolly Parton is the inspiration for a central feature of Jewish life for many young families today: PJ Library, which sends free high-quality Jewish children’s books to families every month, and was modeled after Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, who started a similar literacy program years before in response to her own father’s illiteracy, a major impediment in his life. May her memory be for a blessing.
Providing Thought Leadership and Space for Discussion On The Complexities of Jewish Life. Being Jewish in today’s world is not easy (if it has ever been). Antisemitism abounds, Israel is a point of major contention both within and outside of the Jewish community, and the role of religion in modern life is always something we grapple with. Society Hill Synagogue aims to confront these challenges head on. Whether that is through adult education courses we have offered in recent years, and continue to offer, on Zionism, on antisemitism, and on what it means to be Jewish (A religion? A culture? Something else?); Scholars-in-Residence weekends featuring some of the most renowned rabbis and scholars in the country — this year we will host Rabbi Josh Feigelson, President and CEO of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, on October 30 and 31 and Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, President and CEO of the Hadar Institute, on March 6 and 7; or through dialogue and engagement facilitated by our Israel Committee, engaging with challenging questions, and finding ways to disagree but still be in community, is an important feature of Jewish life here.