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it'll work for us," said one member
of Temple Holy Blossom, a Reform
congregation in Toronto. "I'm open to
anything. As long as Jews are praying,
I'm happy."
Congregations frequently report
a precipitous decline in member-
ship after a child's bar mitzvah. Peter
Weidhorn, the incoming chairman
of the URJ's board of trustees, cited a
recent study showing that the move-
ment's congregations are not as wel-
coming as many Reform Jews believe
them to be.
Participants throughout the bien-
nial were encouraged repeatedly to
be more welcoming of newcomers to
their communities in a manner that
has become a hallmark of the mega-
church phenomenon.
At Saddleback, first-timers are
directed to park their cars in a des-
ignated area, where they are greeted
by ushers and escorted to their seats.
Several Reform congregational lead-
ers said they have already replaced
synagogue ushers with "greeters" who
perform a similar function.
The mega-church influence was felt
during Friday night prayers, where
6,000 worshipers gathered in a cavern-
ous room on the convention center's
ground floor. Multiple cameras pro-
jected the service on several enormous
screens. A live band buoyed a service
that was conducted almost entirely in
song.
And then there's the music, which
found its way not only into the ser-
vices, but into nearly every aspect of
the biennial. A stage outside the main
auditorium played host to a steady
stream of performers. The Shabbat
evening sing-along, a biennial high-
light, had thousands singing and danc-
ing in the aisles.
Reform leaders are increasingly
stressing the need to provide individu-
als a personal sense of divine mission
and have recognized the need to forge
smaller sub-communities within syna-
gogues that have grown too large to
foster a sense of intimacy and belong-
ing.
They are also looking to new tech-
nologies, such as the video screens, to
enhance the prayer experience in their
synagogues.
But one URJ staffer said she was put
off by musical styles that she felt were
more suited to a nightclub.
Status Of Men
The men's prayer service was the
smallest of several morning worship
offerings. About 40 men showed up,
some wearing prayer shawls and kipot.
A handful of younger participants
wore tefillin.
There were no drums, like at the
men's service at the last Reform bien-
nial. Instead, worshipers pounded
rhythmically on the backs of their
chairs as they sang. The relatively
small turnout illustrated the sensitive
nature of what Reform leaders are try-
ing to do: Bring men back to Reform
Judaism without diluting the gains
made by women. Sometimes, they say,
that means giving men a space of their
own, however "un-politically correct"
that idea might sound.
Doug Barden, executive director
of the Men of Reform Judaism, for-
merly known as the North American
Federation of Temple Brotherhoods,
said, "Within the Reform movement
we've confused gender stratification
with gender differentiation." He is a
major proponent of the separate-but-
equal approach. "We need to reverse
the disaffiliation of men without
setting the egalitarian clock back 30
years."
Women are more religiously active
in most faiths in this country and have
been for a century. But the gender gap
in Jewish life, particularly in the lib-
eral movements, has grown greater in
recent years.
Numerous studies reveal that more
girls than boys participate in Jewish
youth groups and attend summer
camps. Women are more active in
synagogues, Jewish community centers
and federations and are better repre-
sented than men at all levels except the
top levels of governance.
Moving Traditions, the group that
sponsors "Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl
Thing" for Jewish girls in grades 8-12,
is engaged in a three-year national
research project to assess and meet the
needs of Jewish boys.
The group is looking at organiza-
tions such as BBYO and the Boy Scouts
that successfully draw large numbers
of young men.
"We're concerned about boys for
themselves and for what they need to
become Jewishly-connected men': said
Deborah Meyer, the executive director
of Moving Traditions.
Focusing on meeting men's specific
needs is a "matter of great sensitivity'
acknowledges URJ President Rabbi
Eric Yoffie. "Let's face it, men are not
streaming into our synagogues': he
said. "We have not been able to come
up with an approach to gender that
makes sense and can move us for-
ward."
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248-642-2555
December 27 • 2007
A19