On March 4, Rabbi Jonathan will lead a group of 31 10th grade students to visit New York City. On March 16, 20 Beth Am members and I will travel to Turkey. 10th graders, many of whom rarely encounter a Jew outside of Beth Am, will see Jews everywhere on the streets on New York City. They will walk around a city that houses major rabbinical academies, libraries, cutting-edge synagogues, Jewish museums and numerous vibrant Jewish cultural institutions.

Our journey to Turkey will be a little bit different. In 1908, there were 256,000 Jews in the Ottoman Empire. Today there are maybe 22,000 Jews in Turkey. We will explore what was once a thriving Jewish community. After Jews were exiled from Spain and Portugal in the 15th century, Ottoman sultans made a point of creating a welcoming environment that would entice more Jews to build communities all around Turkey.

I started leading Beth Am Jewish heritage trips for two reasons. First, I learned that large numbers of our retired congregants are already traveling all over the world and always looking for more meaningful travel opportunities. Second, a few years ago I attended a powerful series of lectures by Dr. David Ruderman, Head of Jewish Studies at University of Pennsylvania, about great Diaspora Jewish communities throughout history, including remarkable Jewish communities in Spain, Italy, Holland, France, Germany and other places. It occurred to me that many Jews know something about the Bible and the Holocaust, but are stumped when asked to talk knowledgeably about the many extraordinary communities of Jews throughout history.

The rich, creative offerings of each population is reason enough for us to familiarize ourselves by learning and occasionally, if possible, by visiting the remnants of these once great places. The numerous synagogues we will see in Turkey, for example, will provide physical evidence of a long period of Muslim-Jewish co-existence. We will also see that vigorous Jewish communities come into being and vigorous Jewish communities vanish.

Last month more than 100 people walked into Beth Am on a Tuesday night to watch a film in our sanctuary. We first waited for several hundred Hebrew school students to exit the sanctuary. Non-Beth Am members who came to view the film and some Beth Am members who rarely come on Tuesday nights were astonished at the great numbers who had gathered to learn, to schmooze, to shop in our gift shop, to support the 10th grade trip and to watch the movie together. “Is it always like this?!” people asked. The answer is, “Yes!” Beth Am is a great, vibrant religious, educational and cultural communal center. Now is the time for you to support what we are creating here and to join in the richness of diverse opportunity for connection. Let’s not assume it will always be this way. Take advantage of so many excellent chances at Beth Am because they are here and because we are here.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Beth Singer