Rabbi Marc E. Berkson
Rabbi Marc E. Berkson and has been with us since 1999 and is only the congregation’s sixth senior rabbi since the merger of Emanu-El and B’ne Jeshurun in 1927. Active in a wide range of local and regional Jewish, inter-religious, and human relations programs and organizations, Rabbi Berkson brings his love of teaching and his community-building skills to Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun. A native of Chicago and a graduate of Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin, Rabbi Berkson was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 1978. Following ordination, Rabbi Berkson served as rabbi of Temple Judea Mizpah in Skokie, IL. He is an avid bicyclist and railroad buff. The Rabbi and his wife, Debbie Carter Berkson, have three children, Abigail, Jesse and Michal who is married to Jonny. Contact the Rabbi at rabbi@ceebj.org.
rabbi jessica K. Barolsky
Rabbi Jessica K. Barolsky has joined us as Rabbi- Director of Lifelong Learning. While coordinating all aspects of our Religious School, Adult Education, Family Education, and other educational programs, Rabbi Barolsky also joins with Rabbi Marc Berkson and Cantor David Barash in worship, pastoral, and life cycle events.
Rabbi Barolsky comes to us from Cincinnati, where she was ordained at Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion and earned her Masters in Education Administration at Xavier University. During her time at HUC-JIR, Rabbi Barolsky served student pulpits in Grand Forks, North Dakota; Joplin, Missouri; and Portsmouth, Ohio. Rabbi Barolsky grew up in Potomac, Maryland, and attended college at Princeton University.
Rabbi Barolsky loves sharing Judaism through stories, lessons, language, and customs, whether from the bima, in a classroom, on Facebook, or in a hospital room. Rabbi Shammai said, “Make your study of Torah a fixed habit, say little and do much, and receive every person with a cheerful countenance” (Pirke Avot 1:15). Following Shammai’s wisdom, Rabbi Barolsky especially enjoys connecting with people at different points on their journeys with Judaism, hearing their stories, and telling some of her own. She loves to bake, cook with her husband, Michael, and explore restaurants. Contact the Rabbi at RabbiLLL@ceebj.org.
From Rabbi Berkson
Our Challenge and Our Opportunity
The most recent survey of Milwaukee’s Jewish population estimates it at around 30,000—and we in the liberal congregational community wonder where they all are. We surely are not alone in our concern. So consider these short paragraphs from a story entitled “Finding new path to faith: Inclusive atmosphere and social media help Urban Village Church to expand” printed in the April 18 issue of The Chicago Tribune:
The ads on the CTA’s Red Line trains are provocative. “We Love Tattoos, We love Suits,” one ad says.
“We Love Bears Fans, We Love Packers Fans (which isn’t always easy),” says another.
The ads are for the Urban Village Church, a “planting church” started by the United Methodist Church to attract folks who have been turned off by traditional religious institutions, by organized religion, if you will. If they only knew how disorganized we can be. Still, imagine this handout put together by the church’s co-pastors using the L to represent Urban Village’s faith journeys as described in the article. “Inbound activities include ‘Less Traveled Christianity;’ occasional Saturday retreats; and ‘The Good, The Bad, The Beautiful and the Ugly: Texts of the Bible,’ which meets at Huey’s Hot Dogs…. Outbound activities include a Family Life Group, a Saturday breakfast ministry and outings like ‘Queer Ladies Bowling’ and a board game night.”
Emergent churches in the Christian community; independent minyanim in the Jewish community; a growing realization among our national bodies that people no longer automatically consider joining a traditional congregation in ways that we once considered as we joined traditional congregations. Now I would suggest that the reasons people seek a religious community have not changed. Fran Chortek of Brandies’ Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies posits these two seemingly paradoxical goals—”to be part of something larger and more important than oneself and, at the same time, to be recognized and valued as an individual.” And this sense of community is best reflected in the bringing together of three elements—connection, reciprocal responsibility, and transcendent purpose.
That should be our challenge and our opportunity here in Milwaukee, particularly in the larger community of Jews than we imagined who surround us. We have begun to take some tentative steps—discussions among the presidents and rabbis of Milwaukee’s liberal congregations as to how we start to work together not only to find some financial savings while preserving our individual identities but also to open new doors and create new passageways into Jewish communal life; working with folks from United Synagogue and the Union for Reform Judaism (such as our MCRC speaker Rabbi David Fine) who can help us find models and best practices which have worked elsewhere which we might develop here; even developing new ways to help us fund the holy work in which we engage. Clearly, the model of synagogue membership dues—as currently structured—is problematic, to put it mildly. And the notion of services for fees rendered takes the sense of community and turns it upside down.
The ancient rabbis taught that the giving of Torah took place on Shavuot but the receiving of Torah takes place every day. It also, I would add, takes place in every place. May we continue to do God’s work here on earth.
Rabbi Marc E. Berkson