I
n early January I joined a number of class-
mates from Los Angeles and Cincinnati
for HUC-JIR’s weeklong intensive course in
faith-based community organizing. This
seminar provided an opportunity to imagine
what our future congregations and Jewish in-
stitutions could resemble when we
systematically bring people together one-to-
one and share our stories and our passions.
Rabbi Jonah Pesner and Lila Foldes of the
Union for Reform Judaism’s Just Congrega-
tions, along with Sister Mary Beth Larkin of
the faith-based community organizing foun-
dation One-LA, led us in an exploration in
the methods and process involved in com-
munity organizing. And it all starts at one
plus one.
We learned that by applying the process
of faith-based community organizing infused
with Jewish learning in the contemporary
synagogue, our congregants can find shared
vision and mission. The key to such commu-
nity building begins with one-to-one
conversations that delve beneath the typical
oneg
pleasantries and into the realm of issues
of profound concern. Such conversations
help us to identify the differences between the
world as it is
versus the
world as it should be,
and sharing such perceptions with others
helps us to find communal support to mean-
ingfully address such gaps. We engaged in
such discussions during our coursework to-
gether and learned more about each other
than spending years as classmates had yielded.
These meaningful one-to-one conversa-
tions spiral out throughout the community
until there is a critical mass of people in-
spired to support one another, and
motivated to act. Suddenly, we look around
and one plus one is no longer just two, but
equals a significant base of people motivated
to make the world better. When partnered
with a faith-based organization, one congre-
gation plus one congregation raises the stakes
even higher. This process of organizing lays a
foundation for enacting meaningful social
action, a core communal Jewish aspiration.
A few weeks after our intensive course
ended, I had the opportunity to experience
first hand what one plus one could equal, as
I attended a One LA action that brought to-
gether communities from synagogues and
churches across Los Angeles, all of whom
had started with their own one plus one con-
versations, culminating in this meeting. The
goal was to achieve some real action to ad-
MEET HUC-J IR’S STUDENTS
2009
ISSUE 72 | 39
Jewish learner, that I began to explore how
our ancient texts and traditions can help
people deal with life’s most troubling and
challenging issues.
About the same time, I took a life-alter-
ing trip to visit the Jewish community in
Cuba with UJA-Federation of New York.
I returned to become involved as a lay leader
in the “Jewish Renaissance” efforts to revi-
talize the Jewish community in the U.S.,
Israel, and around the world. My inter-
twined passions brought me to work on
strengthening the connections between
North American Jews and Israel, to help Jews
to engage in the moral, political, cultural,
and religious complexities of both countries.
With Ordination coming up next year,
I am at a juncture where I can both reflect
on what it has meant to be a student, and
also to give serious thought to my future role
as a rabbi. It has been such a privilege to be
a student at HUC-JIR, to immerse myself in
the study of our texts, liturgy, theology, and
pastoral counseling. I have grown to gen-
uinely enjoy and appreciate my younger
classmates, as
hevruta
(
text study partners),
colleagues, and friends. The depth of their
commitment to serving the Jewish people
has truly moved me. We offer each other dif-
ferent generational perspectives, mutually
enriching one another. The HUC-JIR com-
munity has been the source of what I believe
will become life long-friends, mentors, and
colleagues.
In the years ahead, I am eagerly antici-
pating serving a congregation in a rabbinical
pastoral capacity. I would hope to help build
a strong synagogue community by spiritually
supporting congregants during times of
illness and crisis, and by creating life cycle
transitions that give them profound Jewish
meaning. The confluence of my life’s experi-
ences and my rabbinical education
at HUC-JIR has helped prepare me for
serving Jews, Judaism, and the Jewish com-
munity.
Mandel Fellow
Ari Margolis, L’10,
RHSOE ’10, (second
from left) and class-
mates at HUC-JIR/
Los Angeles.
ONE PLUS ONE
EQUALS MORE
Ari Margolis, L ’10,
Mandel Fellow
SH JOURNEY
