KEHILAT RA'ANAN
Rabbi Tamar Kolberg
94 Pardess Meshutaf Street
43576 Ra'anana  Israel
Phone:  011-972-9-7740311
Fax:  011-972-9-774-0533
E-mail: kehilat-raanan@bezeqint.net

Kehilat Ra’anan is an IMPJ congregation founded 18 years ago in Israel’s Sharon plain.  Several years ago the congregation moved to it’s new exquisite home in Ra’anana, The Samueli Center for Progressive Judaism.

Thanks to the indefatigable leadership of Rabbi Tamar Kolberg, the congregation is making an impact on the overwhelming secular community of Ra’anana way beyond the number of people on its membership list. The ratio is impressive: for every one of the 80 member families of Kehilat Ra’anan, five non-member families receive a service or have some sort of need met as part of the congregation’s Outreach program. 5:1 is quite a hefty ratio for a congregation that is still in the “developing” stage.

A very special Shabbat at Kehilat Ra'anan - January 28th 2006, or
about the multi colored strands of modern Judaism

The greatest impact perhaps, in terms of numbers, is the Bar/Bat Mitzvah program. Last year, ninety teenagers and their parents were exposed for the first time, for most, to an introduction to Judaism, in a 12-lesson course deemed an inseparable part of the ceremony for ideological-theological reasons by the congregation. These secular, upper-middle class families, initially drawn by the attractiveness of the Samueli Center for Progressive Judaism as a venue for the event, go away with, as one parent put it, “a sea of knowledge crammed into a limited period of time”. And if we’re talking about first-time exposure to a Progressive Judaism, figure in the 50-or-so guests at each Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and the numbers are mind-boggling.

The greatest impact, however, in political and social-action terms, is the Kehilat Ra’anan’s olim (new immigrant) program that reached out this year to approximately 170 adults and 40 children, all new immigrants. Walk into the Samueli Center on any given afternoon, and you’re likely to hear Russian being spoken by members of the conversion class, teenagers babbling away in Spanish or adults breaking their teeth trying to read the newspaper in heavily-accented Hebrew. The adult Spanish-speakers come for supplementary Hebrew classes, vital for integrating into the Israeli workforce, as well as for a unique support group, called Al HaGesher, which has proven to be a true bridge to a new life.

Plans for next year include projects for twinning congregant families with olim and integrating the newcomers into Kehilat Ra’anan’s ongoing congregational life. Also in the planning is a follow up for the graduates of Al HaGesher to meet their ongoing social integration and emotional support needs. Thirty kids met with ten youth leaders trained by the synagogue’s olim director, Ruth Brumiger, for weekly meetings of the only youth group for South Americans that has taken off in town; the congregation also funded camp fees for 10 of these youngsters. The congregation’s work with olim has received unprecedented recognition from Ra’anana’s municipal Director of Olim Services.

Two nursery schools (gans) catering to 45 toddlers and their parents operate in the Samueli Center under the name Gan Renanim. The families are attracted by the high-quality premises and a curriculum that integrates Progressive Jewish values and customs so lacking in other educational formats. Parents register their kids with the understanding, and desire, that they get this special programming which includes: a strong emphasis on "experiential Judaism” with equal participation by boys and girls alike in kiddush, lighting candles and prayer services; close involvement of the Rabbi in the curriculum and in educating the staff in teaching Jewish subjects (from a Progressive perspective); and visits by gan kids to the synagogue and participation in holiday celebrations in the synagogue. The parents themselves are encouraged to come for after-hours programming, as part of a School-Shul program designed to impart the values of Progressive Judaism and involve them in the congregation. The gan programming is unique in Ra'anana in that this programming is by our choice and fulfills our goals as a Progressive congregation to positively affect Israeli society according to our beliefs.

One final Outreach project deals with local schools. This year, three completely secular schools in Ra’anana requested to conduct their annual Bnei Mitzvah ceremony at the Samueli Center with Rabbi Kolberg. That translates into 120 kids from each school, plus their teachers and their parents stepping foot into a Progressive shul for the first time in their lives. Another school, privately run by parents seeking a quality education for their children, will be cooperating with the congregation and the Rabbi on integrating Judaism into their curriculum. The latest project is being set up with the secular high school located across the street. Thirty high-schoolers, with their parents and teachers will participate in a national pilot program sponsored by Rabbis for Human Rights that aims to make Israeli youth aware of “Civil Rights, Man B’Tselem Elohim and Tikun Olam.