Absence from national report conspicuous
TAMI BICKLEY
Staff Writer
Valley rabbis are reaching out to one another and to Jews of all denominations, including the unaffiliated, through education and community projects and events. But their interest in blurring denominational lines has yet to receive national attention.
A report on rabbinic interdenominational activity published last month by the North American Boards of Rabbis (NABOR) in New York documents activities in which rabbis of different denominations in North America participated together in 1998-99. Some 50 major cities are included. Phoenix is not among them.
"Probably (nobody) responded to our request for information," explained Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of NABOR and also of the New York Board of Rabbis. "It's not that we excluded anyone. It's an inclusive report, and the more examples we have, the better it is for us."
NABOR, an 8-month-old coordinating body and council for boards of rabbis from throughout North America, states in the 36-page report that "the methodology employed for this study was straightforward." From June 15 to Aug. 1, rabbis and leaders of local and national Jewish organizations were contacted by telephone, the report says. Further, "presidents of approximately 50 local boards of rabbis were contacted and asked to report on events facilitated through their board that were of a special nature and helped to promote interdenominational cooperation."
Requests for information were also posted on the Internet and sent via e-mail to Reform and Conservative rabbis.
Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, NABOR executive vice president, told Jewish News that during the summer, the Phoenix Board of Rabbis was contacted, as was Jewish News, in an effort to gather information on local interdenominational activities for the report. (Jewish News, contacted by phone, directed the caller to the newspaper's Web site, which includes a searchable archive of articles dating back three years.)
Rabbi Maynard Bell of Temple Solel in Paradise Valley also was called. He said he directed the caller to Rabbi Alan Berlin, also of Solel, who is acting secretary of the Phoenix rabbinic board. The board is without a president.
"I do remember a phone call, and (the caller) asked me for our name and address, but that was the extent of the conversation," Berlin said.
Bell said that Arizona rabbis have not joined NABOR because "we don't know enough about (it). ... It is trying to get local boards of rabbis to join to form a national confederation. ... We are not willing to commit to that." However, he added: "Our non-participation in (NABOR) is not necessarily an implication that we don't exist or don't do anything." Relationships among most Valley rabbis are "cordial" and they "have wonderful respect for each other," he said.
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