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Published on 05/26/1999 All articles from this issue

Changes afoot at Beth Am

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By Joan Passarelli

Special to the Town Crier

Celebration, dedication, and farewell at Los Altos Hills congregation

Education building project

The project started back in 1991. An Education Task Force was formed to figure out ways to keep families connected to synagogues longer. They found the key is to be involved in families and lives in their transitional moments: birth, entering school, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, retirements and death.

"Rabbi Rick (Block) helped create a program model that's less like traditional, secular schools, and more involving families," said Daryl Messinger, former president of the congregation. Beth Am decided they wanted to have more intergenerational events and family programs. But this was nearly impossible in their facility as it was then, composed of several classrooms, designed for 15 children, and one large social hall. Beth Am had no space where grandparents and grandchildren could do projects, for example, or where six or eight families could get together.

"Beth Am has a national reputation for education, with its committees, studies, and the programs we've implemented," said Steve Feldstein, congregation president. Since the Education Task Force first convened, Beth Am has begun the Shabbaton program, for kindergarten-through-sixth graders and their families to learn together on Saturday afternoons, Moresha, for seventh graders and their parents, and Toledot, for eighth graders and their parents. These and other programs call for spaces of different sizes to be available, often at the same time.

"The Beth Am facility was built for about 500 families," said Steve Feldstein, current president of the congregation, who co-chaired on the Facilities Needs Committee for the new building. "We now have over 1,200 families. Our building project was to serve those families." Beth Am began making plans to remodel and add space.

"We've had great co-operation from both the neighbors and the town," Messinger said. She, serving as co-chair of the capital campaign, and the building committee, worked hard to bring about good feeling. They talked to their neighbors before and during the town's approval process, and addressed their concerns. "We've all gotten to be better neighbors," she said.

Los Altos Hills planning director Curtis Williams agreed. "I worked with Beth Am all the way through the process," he said. "It was pretty smooth. They spent a lot of time working with the neighbors before they even submitted it. They made changes to their plan to address the neighbors, concerns, adding a fence and a soundwall, and changing the parking lot lighting so it was shielded. This resulted in a harmonious public hearing at the council, with virtually no complaints."

Beth Am submitted plans to the town for approval in late 1997 and began their capital campaign at the same time. With an estimated cost of about $5.25 million, they needed to raise pledges of at least $4.25 million before starting. With those pledges in hand, they broke ground in March of 1998. The fundraising continues to close the gap. The construction cost now stands at about $5.5 million, and the pledges are nearly up to $5 million.

The architect of the new work is the son of the original architect, Messinger said, ensuring a unity of style over the whole campus. The new buildings and additions are made in the same round, organic shapes as the old ones, built over 35 years ago, with broad, sheltering eaves.

"The outside space here is just as important as the inside," Messinger said, indicating the velvety green lawns that flow smoothly down the gentle slope of the hill, connecting all the structures.

The upper campus, already finished, houses enlarged and updated office space, a library 50 percent bigger than before, and classrooms for Hebrew school. It includes "pods" or wings added to two original buildings. They wrap like embracing arms around an open area with grass and play structures for the children.

The lower campus, with three pods connected into one structure, is under construction now. When it's finished, in the fall of this year, it will house three new, larger classrooms for adult and intergenerational use, and a multi-purpose space that can be divided into thirds. Then the congregation will have room for meetings, multi-family gatherings, and even religious services.

"We didn't do this just to get more space, or to get bigger," Messinger said. "That's not important. But if you can't fulfill people's needs because of space problems, then space is important. If you can get an environment that's inspiring and allows you satisfy people's spiritual needs, that's outstanding."

Rabbi Richard Block

Block looks back over his 12 years at Beth Am with pride and satisfaction.

"When I came here, I knew this was a congregation that had tremendous potential for development," Block said. "What I didn't know, but found out, was that every time I challenged them to try something new, or to take a risk, they were ready."

"There's something about Silicon Valley and the people here that affects the congregation's readiness to innovate and experiment," Block said. "That risk-taking, visionary spirit. That's been the key. People aren't afraid of change."

"He came to us 12 years ago as a budding superstar of the Reform rabbinate," said Feldstein, who served on the search committee that hired Block. He spoke warmly of Block's "vision, political acumen, and organizational skills. He has a laser-like mind."

Block is proudest of Beth Am's education programs and of its staff. "They are truly outstanding," he said. "We have a very warm, collegial partnership between the professional staff and the lay leadership. It's unusual." Feldstein, the congregation president, agrees. "The professional team we have, that Rabbi Block has put together, is the envy of the Reform movement," Feldstein said.

Block also mentioned the work Beth Am has done with émigrés from the states of the former Soviet Union. "We have welcomed and integrated into the Jewish community 700-800 families," he said. "Through hundreds of volunteers, we helped them with language training, job assistance, education, and life-cycle events like Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and weddings."

Under Block's leadership, the congregation has increased its social action. They support Ecumenical Hunger Project, Urban Ministry of Palo Alto, Habitat for Humanity, and many others. "Once a year, we have a day on which we invite everyone in the congregation to volunteer at one of the charities we support," Block said. "We get 500-600 people out there staffing soup kitchens or bringing meals to people with AIDS. Many continue volunteering afterwards, which is of course what we want."

Block is also proud of the building process at Beth Am. "It was white-knuckles exciting: we had to raise money and plan at the same time, without knowing how either would turn out. There was a fair amount of faith involved." While the larger facility wasn't an end in itself, it was worth it, Block said. "If the congregation is a family, then the building is its home."

Block's New Position

Rabbi Richard Block will become the president and chief executive of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, which includes the Reform, Liberal, Progressive, and Reconstructionist branches of Judaism. The World Union comprises upwards of 1.5 million people in almost 40 countries, and is the largest organization of religiously affiliated Jews in the world, Block said.

Block and his wife will move to Israel in July.

Block will have 3 main objectives: to foster the Progressive Jewish movement throughout the world; to represent it to the world's governments and organizations; and to bring about tolerance for the movement in Israel.

"In Israel, too often 'Jewish' means 'Orthodox,' " Block said. "They don't recognize us as Jewish. Israeli law gives the chief rabbinate, which is Orthodox, a monopoly over life events like marriage, and funds the Orthodox schools but not ours. We will be trying to change that."

To achieve his objectives, Block anticipates lots of traveling. He will be both fund-raising for the movement and visiting its communities throughout the world.

While Block's position will be very prominent, he downplays its importance. "I've heard some people liken it to becoming the Pope, but that's not a good analogy," he said. "I will have no doctrinal authority. My powers are those of persuasion, finance, collaboration, and coordination."

Block is not saying goodbye forever. He hasn't sold his Palo Alto home, and wants to stay in contact with Beth Am. "In this day of electronic communication and email, that's not too hard to do," he said. "Someday, in retirement, my wife and I might spend part of the year here, and part in Israel," he said. "We're definitely not cutting our ties."

Rabbi Janet Marder

The members of Congregation Beth Am, Los Altos Hills, are feeling a mixture of emotions these days: joy, sorrow, and hope.

They are joyful over the completion of their $5.5 million building project. The new spaces will enable them to house their educational programs, involving large and small groups and multigenerational learning.

However, Beth Am's members are sorrowful at losing their rabbi of 12 years, Rabbi Richard Block, who is leaving this summer to take up a new position as head of the World Union for Progressive Judaism.

And they are full of hope as they await Block's replacement, Rabbi Janet Marder.

She will be the senior rabbi on their staff, making Beth Am the largest synagogue in the world headed by a woman.

Rabbi Janet Marder will become the new senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Am on Aug. 1.

"We're looking for great things from Rabbi Marder," said Feldstein, who served on the search committee that hired her. "Rabbi Marder blew us away. She has personality, intelligence - you can tell this woman is brilliant. And the spiritual side of her personality shines through. She speaks from the heart."

For the past 11 years, Marder was associate director, then director of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Pacific Southwest Region. Based in Los Angeles, Marder was responsible for about 75 Reform congregations from Los Angeles to west Texas. Her job was to strengthen the congregations and provide leadership and guidance to them.

"She has seen the wonderful parts of congregation life, and some terrible parts of congregation life," Messinger said. "Rabbi Marder is a thoughtful, caring, really insightful person. She is one of the most interesting leadership role models I've ever seen. She's inspirational and moving, but not with a heavy hand. Rabbi Rick build a great collaboration between lay and clergy here, a tremendous mutual respect, and I think she will continue that."

Marder is eagerly anticipating coming to Beth Am. "It's a wonderfully dynamic place, with a great commitment to learning and a warm and embracing community," she said. "Rabbi Block helped recruit me. He told me this was one of the greatest jobs in the congregational rabbinate."

Marder's husband was Dean of Students at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. He is giving up his position as the family moves to the Los Altos area. They have two daughters, ages 13 and 15.

"In hiring Rabbi Marder, the lay leadership made a great choice," Block said. "I've known her for a long time, and she's extraordinarily capable. She's a charismatic speaker, she's thoughtful, strong, and exceptionally funny, with a great sense of humor."

Block felt confident about leaving his congregation in Marder's hands. "I've invested a lot of my life and love and effort in this congregation, and I want to see somebody build on what I've done. I feel very good to be succeeded by a rabbi of such caliber."