These articles appeared in the Temple Beth Am (Seattle) newsletter, during the time I chaired the Religious Practices Committee. I successfully mediated a community disagreement over the policy governing food to be served at Temple. Fortunately, there was so much personal goodwill in the community that there was never a threat to the congregation, but people held very strong, heartfelt, and opposite views on the question.
Some kept kosher and wanted to trust that Temple food would be kosher; others associated dietary laws with the joyless, rote Judaism of their childhoods, which they came to a Reform synagogue to escape. Every time meat would be served at Temple, we had what I called a “meat incident,” in which whoever chaired the Religious Practices Committee would be besieged at lunch by complaints from upset congregants from across the ideological spectrum.
These four columns tell the story of how I mediated the discussion by appealing to deeply shared Jewish values and democratic procedure. The June column in particular gives a philosophy of how a religious community can exist in which different practices are followed. I think this is a model for emerging religious communities based on diversity and shared values.
Growth through Governance: What Every Jewish Nonprofit Leader Should Know 