I was just thinking: Why are there such a lot of restaurants in our neighborhood? Shouldn't there just be one restaurant? I have been able to count a dozen on one street!
Do you think we would be better off with just one big restaurant? I don't think foodies would appreciate it. Some go for Thai, others prefer Italian. The formal dining experience of one place suits some, while others want a casual night out. Family friendly fast food joints will not entice the fine diners, and fancy plates with a tiny little gourmet morsel in the middle will not be enough for hungry adolescents. Vegans don't seem to enjoy steak houses. Meat lovers don't always go for quinoa burgers. The wide variety of restaurants caters to all the varied tastes and moods. It isn’t possible to have a one-size-fits-all eatery. It's the same for synagogues. Each one represents Yiddishkeit through a different taste and unique angle. There are Sephardi and Ashkenazi ones, those that sing and shuls that don't, informal and intimate communal synagogues together with grand pompous ones, kid friendly and mature audience only. Long sermon-short sermon- no sermon. Every community flair fills a niche and attracts different souls. Each custom has its unique customers. This is not factionalism nor doubling resources. It is opening doors and providing options. The Jewish people consists of twelve tribes. Each had their personal slightly different way of praying, and yet we are all one People with a common Torah. Even the Temple in Jerusalem featured twelve different gates for each tribe to enter in their own way. Yet everyone ended up in the same Holy Temple. Every shul, together with its unique style, is a gateway to that Temple. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Bluming and Rabbi Moss PS. The above answer applies to sizable communities with a critical mass that can sustain many shuls. Smaller communities may not have that luxury. Either way, when we are committed to Torah observance and Jewish unity, we can pray all together or in our own communities and remain one people.
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AuthorRabbi Mendel Bluming also dedicated six years to serving on the board of directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, where he received the Matthew H. Simon Rabbinical Award for exceptional communal leadership. Archives
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