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Our
current President, Gayle Insel
As a child growing up in the 60s and 70s in suburban
New York, I often felt that I was "missing out" on something because my parents never joined a synagogue. I realized much
later that their choice not to affiliate with the local Conservative and Reform congregations reflected their discomfort with
the religious ideologies of these groups. They raised my sister and me with a strong commitment to high moral standards, and
taught me to take great pride in my Jewish heritage, thereby making this heritage an integral part of who I am. By the time
I was an adolescent, I had come to my own conclusions about traditional religious belief, and to a greater understanding of
my parents' dilemma. Unbeknownst to them, during this same period Rabbi Wine was laying the groundwork for the Humanistic
Judaism movement. About five years ago, my entire family (my parents, my sister, and myself) "discovered" Humanistic Judaism
at approximately the same time, independently of each other. The philosophy immediately resonated with each of us. I enrolled
my younger son as one of the first students in the Adat
Chaverim Cultural Sunday School in 2002, and derived
great satisfaction from the fact that I did not have to compromise my own belief system to provide him with a Jewish education. When I was first asked to serve on the Adat Chaverim Board in 2005,
I did so without any aspirations toward leadership. However, I soon found myself caught up in the challenge of "growing"
the congregation. I am committed to ensuring that the secular Jewish community of Los Angeles has the opportunity to celebrate
the traditions which help to bind us together as a people, and that a high-quality cultural Jewish education is available
to our children. I hope that all of our members, new and long-standing, young and old, will join me in working towards Adat
Chaverim's continued growth and development.
Our Past President: Joan Waller
Curious? Check us
out! We are a very warm and welcoming community of bright, thoughtful and skeptical people. If any group can convince you
to affiliate, this may be the one. It worked for us as it was the answer to what we believed was unattainable: to have a
meaningful, rational, modern day relationship with our heritage as Jews. Today we are firmly committed to seeing Humanistic
Judaism thrive in Los Angeles, so that there is a place for like minded people to celebrate their Jewishness together.
Our
President-elect, Marci Goldberg
To those of you who have been searching for a Hamish and warm
community, for a place to celebrate your Jewish cultural identity while
preserving your rational
understanding
of the world, and for a way to teach your children what it means to be part of
the larger Jewish Family, I hope you find in Adat Chaverim the home that I and
my family have found.
For me, the road to Humanistic Judaism was a long one. I was raised in a Jewish Conservative
Household. I went to Hebrew
school,
Jewish day school, and Jewish camps. I
celebrated Shabbat and holidays at home, went to temple, had a bat mitzvah, and
even attended post Bat Mitzvah classes known as “confirmation.”
I truly loved my Jewish roots and the foundation I was
given. I loved the singing. It uplifted me and touched me at an emotional
level that only music can. I loved the
food – the Kreplach, the Knishes, the Kugel (a pattern?). I loved the gathering of extended family
around the table, the outpouring of love, pinched cheeks, and gushing
pride. I loved the predictability of the
rituals, the knowing that Jews all over the World were doing the same, as had
my ancestors for centuries before me --
this sense of who I was and what I was part of.
From an early age, though, I believed I was in charge of my
own life. I had no faith
that there was
anyone or anything out there intervening.
To me, going to Temple was sometimes about the fun of reciting all the
prayers I had memorized. I liked the
melodies, and I thought it was cool that I could sing the entire service
without using the book. Sometimes,
especially on Yom Kippur, temple was really about the pledge drives – the
excitement of watching the grown-ups announce who donated what to the building
fund and how many Israeli Bonds each family was going to buy.
As I got older, I got more and more uncomfortable saying the
words to those prayers, especially if I looked carefully at the English
translation (something that should be avoided by those who just want to stay in
their comfort zone). Increasingly,
I
felt like a hypocrite. To me, it wasn’t
just that the words were meaningless-- rather, they very much epitomized what I
did not believe.
In fact the whole notion of “worshipping” some higher power
began to cause me a great deal of discomfort.
What was the purpose of this “worship.”
Was it for the benefit of this higher power? Ego? Appeasement?
Insecurity? Was it for MY
benefit? How was I benefitting? I made the painful decision to leave my
Conservative Synagogue, not knowing whether there was anything else available
to me.
My husband and I spent a long time looking for a
denomination of Judaism that would be a good fit with our core beliefs. We wanted our kids to have the same
foundation and love of Jewish culture that we had. We wanted to celebrate the holidays with the
same sense of joy that we always did. We
wanted Jewish music and Jewish food and community. BUT, we wanted to believe in the underlying
philosophy. We wanted to
speak only
words we meant and to hear sermons that inspired us. That was the challenge.
Fortunately, after a lot of searching, and some trial and
error, we found Adat Chaverim. Here, the
services are meaningful. They help us
connect
with our Jewish identity, inspire us to live the best lives we can for ourselves and for our World, and they give us a chance
to come together with our congregation as a community. For all of you who are searching for the same
thing, WELCOME. We look forward
to
building our congregation with you.
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