June 2002 - סִיוָן .. תַּמּוּז תשס״ב Sivan..Tammuz 5762

I am pleased to announce that the Walter and Elise Haas Fund granted our request and has funded Tiferet: A Project For and About Intermarried Families and the Conservative Jewish Community. The grant is for a three year period, beginning May 1, 2002.

All of us involved in the Tiferet Consortium — Rabbis Mark Bloom (Temple Beth Abraham, Oakland); Gordon Freeman (Congregation B'nai Shalom, Walnut Creek); Stuart Kelman (Congregation Netivot Shalom, Berkeley); Ted Feldman (Executive Director, Jewish Family and Children's' Services) and myself— look forward to getting your input and support on our undertaking. We plan to set a time in early September for us to meet together, and will get back to you regarding arrangements.

This proposal builds on efforts, which started in Fall, 1996, by Congregation Netivot Shalom to deal with issues and concerns of intermarried families within that Conservative synagogue. An education and support group was formed at Netivot, and continues to be active.

In 1997, a program for intermarried families with children was designed and implemented by selected Conservative synagogues in the Bay Area. The project included participants and rabbis from Conservative synagogues in Berkeley, Oakland, San Leandro, Santa Rosa, Tiburon and Walnut Creek, headed by Rabbis Stuart Kelman, Mark Diamond, Jonathan Slater, Lavey Darby, Gordon Freeman and me.

Funded by the National Ramah Commission, a series of discussion and education groups, led by the rabbis, met over an eight-month period. The culminating event was a family Shabbat retreat at a facility in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Fifteen intermarried families took part in this project.

This effort further underscored the need for dialogue, and for educational and support services, to the large numbers of intermarried families in the Bay Area (and beyond) who wish to affiliate with the Conservative Jewish Movement and its institutions. Enthusiasm from participating families was high, and evaluation materials underscored their desire for specific programs and services that relate to them as intermarried families who wish to affiliate with Conservative Judaism.

The population of intermarried families is very large; current estimates put the number of Jews who marry non-Jews at about fifty per cent. The Tiferet project planners believe that the consortium model provides the most widespread and effective way to move the dialogue out onto a broader platform, and to encourage thought and attention to intermarriage throughout the Conservative Movement, both locally and nationally.

Accordingly, in Spring, 2001, a consortium consisting of myself and Rabbis Bloom, Freeman, Kelman, along with Rabbi Ted Feldman of Jewish Family and Children's Services was formed. Only rabbis serving Conservative synagogues in the East Bay were included. This is because experience with the Ramah project demonstrated that those programs work best which are designed for specific geographic areas and are not too spread out. Rabbi Kelman took the lead in speaking about Tiferet. Our eagerness to participate was immediately evinced, and all readily agreed to participate. In September 2001, this Tiferet Consortium began a formal planning process funded by the Walter and Elise Haas Fund. That four-month process concluded in December 2001.

I am very excited that Temple Beth Sholom will be a part of this pioneering project. If you would like to participate please call me immediately, 357-8505.

Rabbi Harry A. Manhoff

(See the related article on the Anticipated Outcomes of the Tiferet Program)

ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES OF THE TIFERET PROGRAM

1. At least one paper will be written by the Consortium rabbis, which articulates possible bridges between traditional Conservative Judaism and the needs and desires of intermarried families to be part of the Conservative Movement in the 21st century.

2. At least one paper will be written by a cohort of intermarried families, which articulates their perspective on being part of Conservative Judaism and explores issues arising from their marginal position within the community.

3. These papers will be disseminated nationally via publications such as Shema, Conservative Judaism, United Synagogue Review and Internet sites such as Ravnet and InterfaithFamily.com

4. Changes in policies, practices and programs in the participating synagogues may take place as a result of the above deliberations and publications. A set of guidelines will be drawn up by each congregation following this process.

5. Better understanding on the part of rabbis of those desires and realities facing intermarried families who wish to affiliate with Conservative Judaism, coupled with more sensitivity to the impact on families of ritual and membership policies, will result.

6. Increased understanding on the part of intermarried families as to how Conservative Jewish decisions are made and implemented and what realistic expectations they may have regarding the synagogue will be evident through a focused, heightened level of discourse.

7. Outreach programs for intermarried families who are currently affiliated and programs for unaffiliated families out in the community who may wish to become involved with a Conservative synagogue, will be evident in specialized efforts for this particular constituency, e.g., support programs for Jewish parents who are intermarried and programs for the grandparents of the children of intermarried (both Jewish and non-Jewish grandparents).

8. Particular attention will be paid to the needs of the children of intermarried families, and outreach efforts will focus on addressing their particular issues, primarily through family education programming.

9. Increased affiliation of intermarried families with the consortium's Conservative synagogues is anticipated.

10. Increased sensitivity on the part of synagogue leaders and educators to intermarried families will be evident through re-examination of current policies and practices regarding this constituency.

11. Attitudinal surveys of rabbis and of selected intermarried couples before, during and after the process along with monitoring and documenting of these attitudes and how they change or are re-enforced by the project will be collected and compiled.

—Rabbi Harry A. Manhoff, Ph.D.

May

Index

July..August