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September 7, 2001/Elul 19, 5761, Vol. 53, No.48
New members speak out
BARRY COHEN
Editor
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
Temple Gan Elohim member Beth Hirshenson, left, talks with prospective member Leigh Strickman at the temple's open house Aug. 26 at the Foothills Library in Glendale.
Photo courtesy of Davita Salter
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Open houses. Synagogue tours. Meet the rabbi. Family Shabbat worship. Ice cream.
As the days count down to the High Holidays, Valley synagogues use a variety of methods to attract prospective members.
But what do prospective members say attract them to Valley synagogues?
The following is feedback from members who recently joined Valley congregations.
Dawn and David Waldman, members of Temple Beth Sholom in Chandler, are intermarried, live in Chandler and have two sons, one entering first grade and one 3 1/2 years old. Last Labor Day weekend, they accompanied friends who recently joined Temple Beth Sholom on the congregation's annual camping trip in Williams.
"We found the people warm and inviting," says Dawn Waldman. "And not everyone on the trip was Jewish. ... They were accepting, and there was no pressure to convert."
Waldman says she joined for the sake of her older son's Jewish education. She was attracted to the synagogue's small class size, which she says would provide more one-on-one attention.
Kim and Mark Chester, members of Temple Chai in Phoenix, also have a son entering first grade. However, Kim grew up in an Orthodox Sephardic home in Seattle and Mark grew up in a Conservative home on the East Coast.
"It was about time we joined," says Kim Chester, referring to the fact that they wanted a religious school education for their son.
But that was not the sole reason.
"We needed to affiliate," she adds. "Also, I wanted to further my Jewish education."
"I never understood Hebrew ... and felt lost in an Orthodox setting," she says. "But I felt relaxed and comfortable at (Temple) Chai."
Laurie and Michael Weintraub, who have two daughters, ages 2 and 7, had lived in the Valley unaffiliated for seven years.
"It became more important (to join) when the children reached a certain age," says Laurie Weintraub. Affiliating "had nothing to do with the High Holidays," but being able to attend services "was a nice side benefit."
Both grew up in Reform Jewish households. Weintraub says she was attracted to Temple Chai because "it was more heimisch (comfortable, familiar). ... It felt like we belonged there."
For Syd Hoffman of Chandler, joining a synagogue is a new experience. She joined Temple Emanuel of Tempe in August after attending b'nai mitzvah services there and found it "a warm, friendly, happy place to be."
"This is the first time I've ever belonged to a synagogue," Hoffman says. "It's kind of an interesting time in my life. ... I'm 45 years old and everything is going very well and I've always thanked God in my own way and I just thought I might want to do it in a synagogue."
When Barry Kluger moved to Scottsdale from New York in 1999, he wasn't affiliated with a synagogue. After his 18-year-old daughter, Erica, was in a fatal car accident this past April, Kluger turned to the Jewish community for support.
His sister-in-law referred him to Rabbi Kenneth Segel of Scottsdale's Temple Beth Israel to handle the arrangements and Kluger says the transition from dealing with the tragedy to becoming a member of the congregation was "seamless."
"I could have crawled into a hole and I could have stayed there and mourned the rest of my life or I could have reached out to a rabbi and a congregation that was reaching back and take the embrace," he says.
"For me it was a tragedy that brought me back to (the synagogue)," he says. "It's been a very comforting experience."
Kluger says he has gained a "sense of Jewish community, a sense of belonging."
For Hana and Frank Lange, not belonging to a synagogue isn't an option.
"For us, belonging to a synagogue has always been a priority," Hana Lange says. They joined Beth El Congregation in March after moving to Phoenix from Chicago. They chose the Phoenix synagogue because their son and daughter-in-law belong there. Although she says they haven't become very involved with the congregation yet, they attend Shabbat services about twice a month, and have attended lectures and Friday night dinners at the temple.
"For us, it's more than just a synagogue," she says. "It's really a spiritual home and it's always been an important part of our life."
Aileen Gray says she joined Young Israel in order to "celebrate Shabbos."
She grew up Conservative and moved to the Valley two years ago from Philadelphia. Last July, she went on a United Jewish Communities singles mission to Israel. She says she came back energized and eager to practice her Judaism.
When she attended worship services at Young Israel, she says "there was a sense of connectedness. ... It feels good going there."
Gray is divorced and has a 10-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter. "The kids threw major temper tantrums" at first when they attended services on Saturday morning. But little by little, they made friends and now look forward to going, says Gray. Her children attend the Phoenix Hebrew Academy.
Gray, who is active on the Young Leadership Division board at the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, recently moved from Scottsdale to Central Phoenix.
Ada and Norman Friedman recently moved to Chandler from Connecticut. They joined the Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation in Sun Lakes because they were looking for a peer group.
"We wanted people more our own age ... who had a little entertainment and recreation in mind," says Ada Friedman.
The Friedmans' children are grown, and they do not have any family in the area, she says.
Back in Connecticut they had "always been affiliated with a congregation," she adds. When they moved to the Valley, the question therefore was not whether but where to join.
She says they attended services at a number of places, but the people at Sun Lakes "were friendly. They could not have welcomed us more."
Dolores Statnan and her husband Albert were attracted to Temple Beth Shalom in Sun City because of the people, she says. They had previously belonged to Orthodox and Conservative congregations but the people at Beth Shalom "just made an impression."
The couple has always been affiliated with a synagogue. "I believe in being affiliated and I believe working for the better good of the community," Statnan says.
Carly Letzt of Scottsdale grew up in a Reform congregation but after attending Shabbat services at Ruach Hamidbar - Spirit of the Desert, felt drawn to Jewish Renewal.
"I feel a deeper connection to my roots and where I'm from," she says. "It helps me embrace a whole other aspect of Judaism that I wasn't really exposed to growing up."
Letzt, 33, had previously been a member at a Reform congregation and thought it was geared more toward families than singles, although she did note that they have recently made more of an attempt to reach out to singles.
Janice Jones of Scottsdale also recently joined Ruach Hamidbar. She previously belonged to a Reform synagogue with her 12-year-old son but attended services at Ruach concurrently for about a year. "When the rabbi talked, she always said something that really hit home," Jones says.
What she hopes to gain from being part of Ruach is "learning a whole lot more about Judaism and how it teaches us what we're really here for." She enjoys being part of a congregation because she likes "praying with lots of other people."
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