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January 11, 2002/27 Tevet 5762, Vol. 54, No. 17
Embracing communityEditorialTragically, we have witnessed examples of the Jewish people's rejection of k'lal Yisrael, the cohesive community of Israel. Ultra-Orthodox opposes progressive. Sectarian faces off against pluralist.That said, thriving in our own community is a healthy model of k'lal Yisrael. It's alive and well in the southeast Valley, in the collaboration of Temple Emanuel of Tempe, Temple Beth Sholom of Chandler, the Tri-City Jewish Community Center, Chabad of the East Valley, Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation, Temple Havurat Emet and the Hillel Jewish Student Center at Arizona State University. This Jewish community has crossed ideological boundaries and combined resources for joint programming: Temple Emanuel and Temple Beth Sholom have set up conversion classes taught and supervised by rabbis Andrew Straus and Bonnie Koppell. The synagogues also schedule programs with the Tri-City JCC, which in turn offers holiday events with Chabad of the East Valley. Hillel college students teach religious school at Temple Emanuel and Temple Beth Sholom. At the same time, each organization offers singular services and meets unique needs. The southeast Valley Jewish community has a rich history. Its first synagogue, Beth Sholom, was founded in 1951. Through the years, as the institutions in the area have developed internally, they have reached out to one another and built a sense of community. Unfortunately, as Assistant Editor Leisah Namm reports in "Jewish life thrives in southeast Valley," on Page 1 of this issue, the community's members often feel not only separated geographically but also overlooked by their fellow Jews in Central Phoenix and Scottsdale. It's time to respond by recognizing the southeast Valley Jewish community for what it has accomplished, and to embrace the need to support every Jewish community in the Valley, by sharing resources appropriately and proportionately. In doing so, we can bridge the physical and emotional obstacles separating the varied and diverse Jewish communities that together comprise our greater community - with a capital C. |
