Attraction

The other morning as I got my kids off to school, I was watching television about the upcoming presidential election. The main thrust of this program was young adult involvement. It stated that in 1998, 3% percent of an age group between 18-27 was involved. In 2002, 27% was involved. And finally now, in 2008, a whopping 74% is involved in either caucusing or actively campaigning for their candidate. This show also stated a comparison between the charisma of our past president John F. Kennedy to our democratic presidential candidate Obama.

I know what you are going to say, "What does any of this have to do with Judaism or the Temple of Aaron?" And that is a good question. It seems that charisma in candidates or in our leaders is something that we all yearn for.

This got me to thinking about our cantors and rabbis of the conservative movement. There have been some outstanding charismatic men and women on both sides that have had the ability to draw people in for their particular message and programming. Which leads me to more questions... What do we have to do to have more charismatic leadership? Is this important? How can we, at the Temple of Aaron, get our message out there to the Twin Cities and beyond? And, what is our message? What is it that makes us truly unique at the Temple of Aaron?

One thing comes to mind for me - we have an extremely creative synagogue. The past year of Jubilee is a testimony to that creativity. We have our musical Erev Shabbat Live Service, and we have a history of a second day creative Musaf Service for Rosh Hashanah. Recently, Rabbi Konigsburg arranged to have a Storahtelling group that gave an outstanding portrayal of the Torah for that particular weekend. It was bringing the Torah out of the book and into life. If you missed this, it was truly something special. People for decades have commented to me that Temple of Aaron is a hamish synagogue. I know what the word means. But what does this mean to you? And especially, what does this mean to our young adults? How can we, at Temple of Aaron, attract those same young adults who are actively participating in our democratic process to give us a chance at Temple of Aaron? These are the questions that are being asked now and will be actively pursuing in the near future.

I believe the Temple of Aaron is a one of a kind synagogue with a rich history of creativity and a bright future for leading the way into the 21st Century. We have the right leadership and dedicated individuals to do so. I welcome your feedback and ideas as we both look toward the future and plan for our children's children.

--- Hazzan Mitchell Kowitz