Passover has fewer celebrants in state

Bill Rubenstein is the former president of Temple Anshe Emeth in Pine Bluff. The synagogue in Pine Bluff, once a city with a thriving Jewish community, closed in June with a congregation of fewer than 10 members.
Bill Rubenstein is the former president of Temple Anshe Emeth in Pine Bluff. The synagogue in Pine Bluff, once a city with a thriving Jewish community, closed in June with a congregation of fewer than 10 members.

Passover is one of the most universally celebrated elements of Judaism, but a dip in congregation numbers has some within the state's Jewish community concerned.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette/RANDALL LEE

State Rep. Charlie Collins (from left), Rabbi Benzion Pape, Mendel Ciment, Rabbi Yosef Kramer, Rabbi Pinchus Ciment, Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state Rep. Robin Lundstrum hold the newly-signed proclamation designating April 7 a statewide Education and Sharing Day at Hutchinson’s office on March 30.

Passover commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites from thousands of years of enslavement in Egypt. The Book of Exodus tells of the refusal of Egypt's Pharaoh to let Moses, who was adopted into the Egyptian royal family and later became a prophet, lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

To persuade the Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery, God brought the 10 plagues upon Egypt. The 10th was the Angel of Death, who was sent to kill firstborn sons of the Egyptians.

Moses instructed Jewish families to kill a lamb and leave some of its blood on the doorsteps of their homes, so that the Angel of Death would pass over the homes and spare their sons.

Some accounts hold that upon learning the nature of the 10th plague, the Israelites were ordered to leave Egypt. Others say it was only after the Pharaoh lost his firstborn son that he relented and allowed the Israelites to leave. All end with the Israelites' liberation from slavery and the holiday of Passover, which is observed during an eight-day period that varies on a secular calendar but always begins on the same date on the Jewish calendar.

Passover, which began at sunset Monday and will end at sunset Tuesday, is imbued with meaning and symbolism.

"It's a very important story of our freedom," said Eileen Hamilton, director of Education and Youth Engagement at Congregation B'nai Israel in Little Rock. "Passover has now become not only a biblical and historical story [of] Israelites' exodus from Egypt, their freedom is now a holiday where we mark a lot of different people's freedom across the centuries."

That story isn't being heard by as many in some of the state's smaller communities because of an exodus of another sort. Members of the congregations are getting older, and younger generations are not filling the empty seats at services, according to Bill Rubenstein, former president of the Temple Anshe Emeth in Pine Bluff.

Temple Anshe Emeth closed in June after housing a congregation for 149 years. It's just the latest example of how the city's Jewish community is struggling to survive.

"Every year we celebrate Passover as the remembrance of leaving Egypt, and in these small towns, all our children are leaving and going to the bigger cities," said Rubenstein, who is also a chairman of the Jewish Federation of Arkansas. "It's an exodus in Pine Bluff."

Rubenstein moved to Pine Bluff in 1978, but he said he still considers himself a newcomer. At that time, the temple's Sunday School taught 30 children. Only one of those children still lives in Pine Bluff, Rubenstein said. Even his two children, who were raised in Pine Bluff, now reside in Missouri.

Rubenstein was honored in 2014 with the Jewish Federation of Arkansas' highest honor, the Tikkun Olam Award, for his work with the synagogue and his efforts to keep Jewish heritage alive in Pine Bluff. Tikkun olam, Hebrew for "repairing the world," is the idea of performing acts of kindness not only for their own sake, but for the benefit of society.

Rubenstein actively worked within the community, which included taking care of a Jewish cemetery, but he watched as the numbers continued to diminish at Temple Anshe Emeth.

"When we closed down the synagogue last year, there were six of us left here in Pine Bluff," he said. "And at 75, I was the youngest."

It's a trend Rubenstein has noticed in other communities.

Temple Meir Chayim in McGehee, about 60 miles southeast of Pine Bluff, closed the week after Temple Anshe Emeth. At the time, its congregation had dwindled to about the same number as those at Temple Anshe Emeth, Rubenstein said.

Rubenstein said he believes aging congregations and the rise in popularity of nontraditional churches among younger generations have contributed to dwindling numbers.

"All the smaller congregations are dying out because the population ages and we die, and there's nobody to replace [us]," he said. "I see in towns some of the traditional Christian congregations are having some of the same problems. The congregations are getting older and the children are leaving."

Rabbi Pinchus Ciment, director of Little Rock's Lubavitch of Arkansas, believes education is a key factor in supporting Judaism within the state.

Ciment and other congregation members recently met with Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who signed a proclamation designating April 7 as a statewide Education and Sharing Day. In keeping with Ciment's emphasis on learning, Lubavitch of Arkansas also has a day school -- the only Jewish day school in the state, Ciment said -- aimed at fostering an understanding of Judaism.

He sees Passover as a particularly opportune time to educate children.

"The holiday of Passover, more so than any other event in Judaism, is centered around the children," Ciment said. "We do things specifically to evoke the children's curiosity. We want them to ask questions about the entire holiday.

"It's not just dictating to the children, but it's engaging them in conversation, engaging them at their respective levels so that they can make the healthiest decisions possible."

Hamilton also believes in the sharing of Judaism as a means of outreach and unity.

"In a state like Arkansas, the population of Jewish people is varied," Hamilton said. "So if people do have the chance to learn about [Judaism], and the education's the key to understanding and outreach, then people should not be afraid to ask others about their religion and share in it.

"That should be the key to understanding, and that's what breaks down barriers."

Hamilton also sees the customary meal of the Seder as another vital component in the lesson of Passover.

Each dish of the meal symbolizes a different aspect of the Exodus. Matzo, a flat, unleavened bread, represents the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt. Other foods central to the meal are wine, bitter herbs and paschal lamb. A member of the gathering reads from the Haggadah, which is used not only to facilitate the retelling of the Exodus story but also to guide participants in the correct way to perform each ritual throughout the meal.

Hamilton finds a strong connection between the Seder and world issues that extend far beyond Passover.

"There are lots of people who are leaving their countries and looking for a safe place to live in this world, and when we go through the Seder, we read and we remember the symbols ... and that's how we recall and retell," he said. "We do this year after year, multi-generationally, because we should never forget that we were once slaves in Egypt and now we are free, and that's a story that doesn't ever end for people."

Education is no longer an option at the now-closed Temple Anshe Emeth, but its traditions carry on in the passage of its two Torahs. Each is a copy of the first five books of the Bible, Rubenstein said, handwritten on a scroll by a scribe.

One of the Torahs was given to a Jewish congregation in Megiddo, Israel, and the other made a long, well-protected journey to a Jewish congregation in Guatemala. The legacy of the Torahs, Rubenstein said, will carry on in those two places.

"I think one of the [ways] to think about it is how we continue the tradition of Judaism in passing our Torahs on to other places, which keeps our congregation alive," he said. "When others use them, hopefully they think of us."

Religion on 04/15/2017

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