Synagogues Go Courting at Open House

Dana and Jonathan Greenspan want a synagogue where son Daniel can celebrate his bar mitzvah, the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony for 13-year-olds. But they recently moved to Westlake Village and are unfamiliar with what’s available in the west San Fernando Valley.

The Greenspans narrowed their probable choice down to two synagogues Sunday by spending an hour at a simple “How to Choose a Synagogue” open house organized by the West Valley Jewish Community Center--an event that gives each Jewish congregation an equal recruiting chance.

The couple talked to seven of 10 synagogue representatives at tables covered with information on schools, membership fees and other activities.

“If we hadn’t done this, it would have taken two months to go around to the synagogues,” Dana Greenspan said.

“We were looking for a Reform temple, but we will go to one Reform and one Conservative synagogue for Friday-night services and see what the rabbi is like,” said her husband.

The liberal Reform branch and moderate Conservative wing are the largest synagogue organizations in U.S. Judaism. Each had five congregations represented Sunday; there were no representatives from the Orthodox community.

By midsummer, many Jewish families, especially those with children, are considering joining or rejoining a synagogue--not only for enrolling their children in religious schools but to secure tickets for heavily attended High Holy Day services in September.

The turnout for “How to Choose a Synagogue” was small this year--about 30 people compared to 70 last year.

Rosalie Jotkowitz, the event’s organizer, said attendance might have been low because it was at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center rather than the West Valley Jewish Community Center, which closed for repairs after the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake.

The event also may have been scheduled too early in the year, said Barry Barman, past president of Temple Solael in West Hills. “The High Holy Days are earlier than usual this year, starting on Labor Day, but I think that people’s minds are not set yet on joining,” he said.

The approach of the fall semester at religious schools, however, wasn’t on the minds of Margaret and Harold Chaiet of West Hills. They were shopping for a synagogue with good programs for seniors.

“We have great senior groups,” Joel Greene of Tarzana’s Temple Judea told Margaret Chaiet when she approached his table. “We have a lady who leads the senior group who is adorable.”

Margaret, 77, said she and her husband haven’t been affiliated with a synagogue since their children grew up. “But it’s got to be Reform; I want the services to be in English, the language of my land,” she insisted.

“As we get older, we want to get together more with our peers,” she said. Although the couple already belong to the West Valley Jewish Community Center and participate in a Los Angeles city-run lunch program, she said that isn’t enough.

“The synagogue is for your soul, and we’re getting closer to the time when we’ll meet our maker.”