Diversity at URJ Biennial Impressed First Timer
Held in Houston, Texas from November 16-20, 2005, the 68th URJ Biennial provided a rich assortment of educational workshops, religious observances and Jewish entertainment. Never having been to such convention before, my only expectations were based on the excitement my predecessors had expressed. Having the visibility of hindsight now, I can only say that, for me, all that excitement was eminently justifiable.
The trip started rather inauspiciously with an early morning flight that was delayed by an hour due to bad weather. Landing in Houston, I was met with chaos at the counter where I had previously signed up for a van ride to the hotel. Always the Girl Scout, I was happy that I had thrown a couple of hard-boiled eggs I had in my refrigerator into my travel bag. Those eggs, a couple of carrots and an apple served as lunch. With the late arrival and delay with the ride, I would miss the start of my first workshop. On the van ride to the hotel, I met my first taste of diversity. In the seat in front of me was a female rabbi from Long Island. Next to me was a mother of six children from California who after many years of marriage and raising Jewish children, decided to convert only the previous spring.
After checking in at the Hyatt Regency, I went to the room I was sharing with Sami Klein, and as I was unpacking Sami arrived. She showed me where to wait for the Shuttle Bus that would take us to the convention center and we took my first trip together. Arriving at the gigantic George R. Brown Convention Center, I registered and got my Biennial Bag filled with goodies, a bottle of water and the indispensable Program of Events. After following a maze to find the room for my first workshop, I settled in (it was more than half over by this time) only to see Cantor Marge in the same workshop on Adventures in Great Listening I: Revitalizing Ancient Music Traditions.
On Wednesday afternoon, I had volunteered to take part in a focus group for small congregations. URJ representatives wanted to know what services of theirs we used and what new services would we like to see them provide. Here I saw another side of diversity. While URJ defines “small congregation” as one of 250 families or less, in my focus group, I met a woman from Montana who told us there wasn’t another Reform congregation within 300 miles of where she lived. From across the country, we heard from a woman who lived on the coast of Maine. She served as the lay leader of her small congregation of 30 families, most of whom traveled 90 minutes to attend Shabbat services. I was inspired by the dedication of these small congregations to Judaism. After hearing their stories, I was thankful for my 10 minute to the Meeting House.
Following the focus group, I wandered along the half-mile of the convention center to where the vendors were selling everything from Temple Insurance to earrings made in Jerusalem. It was exciting seeing the sights and sounds of the vendors. Starting down the first aisle, I stopped to see some member management software and stayed to see the whole demo. By the time that I had been duly impressed by the program, it was time to go back to my hotel room for dinner with Sami.
Thursday morning, I opted for breakfast instead of prayer services. Sami and I had both chosen the same Forum entitled What Does It Mean to Be Good. Sami told me that the presenter, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, had a reputation as an excellent speaker. Spread over three rooms, the audience numbered perhaps 300. It was in this forum that I started to notice that more than a few of the delegates were wearing kippas. That was a practice that I had always associated with Orthodox Jews and I didn’t personally know any Reform Jews who wore kippas all the time. Rabbi Telushkin told some interesting anecdotes about living a life that reflects the values and ethics of our tradition. It was inspiring start to the day. Later, equally interesting and a wealth of practical knowledge, I listened to Rabbi Sam Joseph tell us about vision-based thinking as a prelude to building a vision for our congregation.
After lunch, I had some time until the Plenary Session, and just at the entry to the vendors, I discovered that the bank of PCs available for delegates to use. It was great way to keep in touch with my friends and I felt obligated to check my work-email as well. After coping with work problems as best I could, I wandered some more in the shopping area and saw a wide variety of arts and crafts.
The afternoon plenary session provided us with a special treat. Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich gave us some timely remarks. Small in stature, Mr. Reich ascended the podium as a phoenix rising from the ashes. As a member of Bet Aviv’s Marketing Committee, I attended a couple of sessions Thursday afternoon aimed at suggesting a variety of ways to communicate with the congregation. While the ideas were interesting to hear, many of them required resources that could only be provided by a much larger congregation than ours.
Thursday evening all the Bet Aviv delegates got together for a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant. Some of the hardier members of our group opted for the late night entertainment.
There was an air of excitement in the air on Friday morning as we waited for the start of our joint session with the Women of Reform Judaism. Our guest speaker was former Secretary of State Madeline Albright. We saw a video of her life and accomplishments, she spoke about half an hour and then seated in a more casual atmosphere, answered questions from the audience. From her hint of sentimentality at learning of her Jewish background, to her no-nonsense approach to world affairs, Mrs. Albright was a speaker who touched my heart.
Ready to tackle the world, my next workshop was up to the task. It was entitled L’Dor Vador: Creating a New Generation of Temple Leadership. Just what Bet Aviv needs, right? This was a how-to session, with reports from congregational leaders of the strategies they used, and announcements of resources from URJ that smaller congregations can use. This session, more than any other, pointed out to me the vast differences in resources and programs between large and small congregations. This one personally inspired me.
Our afternoon plenary session was the one where we voted on a number of resolutions before the union. While most of the Reform Jews that I know are fairly liberal in politics, we heard quite a diversity of opinions expressed at the microphones on the various resolutions ranging from withdrawing troops in Iraq to the sponsorship of Judge Alito to the Supreme Court. Instead of written votes, the resolutions were passed mostly overwhelmingly by a voice vote. In only one case was a hand count required. It was at this session that we learned of a very generous donation that would allow each delegate to leave the convention with a copy of the new Reform prayer book.
Befitting the last workshop before Shabbat, the one I attended was entitled, Spiritual Approaches to an Ordinary Day. Here speakers shared some of their experiences in feeling closer to God. Following this workshop we had a community Shabbat dinner where we were separated by regions of the country. All of the Bet Aviv delegates sat together in the Mid-Atlantic room where we heard about plans to create a new Reform camp. As we all headed for the room where we would attend Shabbat evening services in the company of almost 5,000 other delegates, I felt a sense of excitement brewing. There were two huge screens at the front of the room. Two cantors and two rabbis led the evening service. I learned that in years past, one cantor and rabbi had led the Shabbat evening service and the other two the Shabbat morning service. This year the selected clergy decided to participate in both services together. Our own Cantor Marge and Phyllis Nash participated in the Biennial Choir that sang at both Shabbat services. Lucky for us, the procedure for using the new prayer book was explained to us. On each of two facing pages, we would read one of the selections in Hebrew or English and then turn to the next page. If a number of pages were to be skipped, the page number was announced. It went fairly smoothly, although I found myself scrambling to find my place more than once…and wishing that I had time to read some of the commentary as well. Several weeks before the convention, URJ had sent us a CD with the melodies that would be used at the Shabbat services. I had been humming them for weeks. I must admit that I liked some of the newer faster melodies, but personally my favorites sounded more like the traditional melodies. While it was an interesting experience being with so many fellow Reform Jews at once, I felt more like a spectator than a participant in worship service.
The best was yet to come. On Shabbat morning there was a race to get the best seats. We thought we had a good strategy, but were foiled when we weren’t allowed to enter the room until half an hour before the service began. When I told the man sitting next to me that I was from Maryland, he said he was from North Carolina and urged me to vote for a good college friend of his who was running for political office, Ben Cardin. The highlight of the service for me came we all stood as one congregation to recite the Shema. I literally felt goose bumps up and down my spine as we stood as one congregation. For me, that one moment was worth the entire price of admission. As the sermon for Shabbat morning, we heard Rabbi Yoffie’s explanation of his four initiatives: Sacred Choices, Lifelong Synagogue Membership, Inviting Conversion, and Recognizing the Non-Jewish Spouse. While not all those initiatives apply to our congregation, I felt a sense of pride that Rabbi Yoffie had chosen some important topics for us a movement to address.
Following the morning service, we broke into smaller groups for a Shabbat Study Luncheon. The one I attended was entitled A Vision of Holiness: Reform Jewish Theology for the Twenty-First Century. Rabbi Richard Levy, the HUC-JIR Scholar in Residence provided us with some ideas from his latest book. Our evening program was one of diverse forms of entertainment. Following a Havdalah service led by members of NFTY, the Reform youth group, we heard performances by individual singers, a comedian, and the Biennial choir. The highlight of the evening for me was a tribute to the Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon. His wife, Rona gave us a brief look into the life, aspirations and hopes of her husband.
On Sunday morning we had a closing plenary session with more remarks by URJ officials followed by some special interest sessions. In Sami’s absence, Lori Kassoff and I attended he Congregational Presidents Meeting where we heard Rabbi Yoffie urge us to become more observant. We heard from presidents around the country who had concerns about the high cost of synagogue membership, getting people to commit time for synagogue, and wondering how asking people to be more observant would be received when some perceive our movement as having a reputation for as one president put it, being “Jewish Lite”.
Thinking back on the experience of those five days, I can only say for me, they were an eye-opener in terms of how diverse we, as the Reform movement are in terms of observance, in the communities we serve and the services we provide to our members. It was an experience that I’m sure will stay with me for years to come. I would highly encourage other members of Bet Aviv to start thinking about participating in the 69th Biennial in San Diego.
-- Geri Epstein
