Am Haskalah celebrates 45 years of open arms By Liz Fear Congregation Am Haskalah
Congregation Am Haskalah recently celebrated its 45th year with a festive banquet in Bethlehem. The event was held at Congregation Brith Sholom, which Am Haskalah has made its home for the past several years. Members old and new gathered to nosh, schmooze and honor all that the congregation has achieved and experienced so far, while also brainstorming about all the potential for the next 45 years. The Oneg committee outdid itself with a large spread of innovative, delicious, healthy food accompanied by an array of decadent desserts, all highlighting a congregational commitment to the tikkun olam (making the world a better place) ideals of sustainability and a reduced carbon footprint. In the 1970s, after a need was identified for Jewish youth education that embraced a diverse set of learners, a group of local families banded together to devise a solution. They may not have initially realized they would be founding an entirely new Jewish space for the Lehigh Valley,
from scratch, but in the end, they rose to the challenge, crafting an enduring, radically welcoming home for Jews that may not be found elsewhere. As founding member Arnan Finkelstein told the audience, “45 years ago, we never could have imagined that this is what Am Haskalah would look like today, but we are so, so incredibly proud of it.” He recalled the congregation initially meeting in members’ homes before moving to a church basement and the JCC. He recounted the first Simchat Torah. The group had not obtained its first Torah scroll yet. So instead of the tradition of dancing with the Torahs, they dressed all the children in costume as scrolls, complete with paper crowns, and danced, carried and paraded them around the room. The children truly were the vessels of joy and Torah. Am Haskalah soon became an affiliate of the organization now known as Reconstructing Judaism and was able to grow and
evolve as a congregation. Reconstructionist Judaism is the only Jewish religious movement that has been founded in America. It’s based on the teachings of Mordechai M. Kaplan, beginning over 100 years ago. With many innovative concepts about Judaism, divinity and peoplehood, a movement began to grow around the concept of Judaism as a living, growing and essentially progressing civilization. The movement has always been quite religiously progressive: Kaplan was the first American rabbi to preside over a public bat mitzvah celebration — for his daughter, Judith, in 1922 — and the movement’s rabbinical seminary has always been at the forefront of change as the first
seminary to accept openly gay students and students in interfaith marriages. The proximity of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, founded in 1968, has been a blessing to Am Haskalah. By welcoming student rabbis (often a new one every year!), Am Haskalah has been where dozens of Reconstructionist rabbis have experienced many of their “firsts,” conquering new challenges and growing into their essential selves as people and as rabbis. With that, Am Haskalah has had an immeasurable effect on the movement itself. In fact, members recently learned that the very first Reconstructionist experience ever of one Deborah Waxman was being enthu-
siastically welcomed by Am Haskalah. Now she serves as the first female rabbi ever to head a Jewish congregational union and seminary, as well as the first lesbian to do so. She has led the entire movement as president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism since 2014. As the evening of the 45th anniversary banquet closed, smiles were on every face, no doubt with pride for the founding members and excitement for the promise of the new generation ready to carry the torch into the future. Whatever that future may be, Am Haskalah will be there with open arms.
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