by Michael Saxe-Taller, Executive Director
“What is the secret of Kehilla’s success?”
With a look of respect, curiosity and a touch of awe, Rabbi David Evan Marcus, one of the leaders of ALEPH, the Alliance of Jewish Renewal asked me this question last month. ALEPH’s leadership team was visiting Kehilla on one of the final stops on their continent-wide listening tour of Jewish Renewal communities.
I had just been describing Kehilla, our leadership, our membership, our social activism and our inclusive Judaism, all while standing in our beautiful sanctuary in our very own building. I could tell by the look in his eyes that our guest could see that Kehilla is an extraordinarily successful and unique Jewish Renewal community. I was heartened to hear an outside perspective on our community, particularly from someone who has seen so many other synagogues and spiritual communities.
So what is the secret of Kehilla’s success? I think it involves our care for each other, our desire for inclusive Jewish community and our shared commitment to making the world right. And I think it has everything to do with the commitment of so many of our congregants to creating, building and growing this community. This past February, 67 Kehilla congregant leaders spent a whole weekend building stronger relationships and putting their minds to developing the leadership necessary to sustain our community.
Kehilla is thriving and growing in many ways, and we all want that to continue. To do that, we need more and more of our members to bring their hearts and minds to this endeavor. And therefore, Kehilla’s board, staff, spiritual leaders and committee chairs invite you to join us for our Annual Community Meeting, to be held this year on Wednesday, May 18 from 7:00 – 9:30pm in Kehilla’s sanctuary.
At the community meeting, we will have an opportunity to learn about the state of the congregation, share our successes, appreciate our congregational leadership and think about our hopes and goals for the coming year. And we will toss in some fun, music and food as well.
We look forward to your joining us as we share the secrets and then toast the successes from this fine year at Kehilla.