By Emily Keeler Alhadeff, JTNews Correspondent
On a recent Sunday afternoon, Rabbi Olivier BenHaim and six members of the Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue huddled in the community sukkah over hot apple cider and ginger snaps. After leading the group in a few deep, centering breaths and a chant of “shalom,” BenHaim began his talk about the Kabbalah of Sukkot.
BenHaim explained in his slow, contemplative manner and rolling French accent how the patriarchs, matriarchs, prophets, and heroes bring different mystical energies into the sukkah each night to a rapt audience.
“There is something about our tradition that is always about bringing the energies from above into this world,” he said. But, he added, “The mystics reverse this. They create a path of enlightenment. That’s why we are called to be holy. How can you manifest the divine fully in this realm of being?”
At one point, BenHaim stopped abruptly, as if coming out of a trance.
“Is this fun?” he asked. “Because I get excited.”
And excited is what BenHaim and his congregants are. Just nine months after the retirement of Bet Alef founder and veteran Rabbi Ted Falcon, the congregation is thriving.
The five women and one man at the lecture didn’t blink at the event’s small turnout.
“We can easily have 80 people to Shabbat [services],” said longtime member Lynne Carol. A Sukkot celebration on September 25 drew 60 participants.
“We’re not a big community, so to have 60 people here, for us it’s like almost half of the community,” said BenHaim.
Membership currently hovers around 105 families and individuals. That number has remained stable for the past couple of years, although it dropped slightly when Falcon left the pulpit in January 2010 to focus on interfaith work. By the end of the summer, however, Bet Alef had made up for the loss with new faces.
“Not only are we not losing membership, but we are actually beginning to grow again,” BenHaim said.
The growth is due to a few factors. After a successful High Holiday season, Bet Alef offered a free three-month membership to potential members. According to BenHaim and board vice president Pesha Klein, the incentive attracted 15-20 people whom the leaders hope will ultimately join.
Bet Alef is also actively reaching out to its potential membership base — by running an ad in the Seattle transit system. BenHaim’s particular mission is to attract Jews disconnected from meaningful Jewish life.
“I think the people we would attract are the people who…no longer want anything to do with synagogue and come back because they find it extremely meaningful, and Jews that have gone to the Buddhist camp, because we offer Jewish meditation. That’s what attracts a lot of us to come to Bet Alef,” he said.
In addition to its initiatives, Bet Alef is on the rise simply due to the fact that it supplies a need in the Jewish community.
“We have a niche that people resonate with,” BenHaim said.
For example, their monthly Nishmat Shabbat services bring in around 100 participants.
“People come to me at the end of those crying, so moved by being able to be Jewish in that kind of context,” BenHaim said.
Members praise the community for its inclusiveness and friendliness. An estimated two-thirds of the congregation are not technically Jewish. Pat Leckenby, who was raised Catholic, claims she always felt an affinity to Judaism and appreciates Bet Alef for its teachings about oneness. Both Carol and Klein emphasize that Bet Alef brought them back to Judaism.
“It became meaningful for the first time, and then I fell in love with the community,” said Carol.
The members’ enthusiasm has kept Bet Alef financially sound through hard times.
“Last year we were struggling,” said BenHaim. “But, again, because we have such amazing community, we came out and said to our members, ‘This is what we need.’ And people just stepped up. And by the end of the year we were totally afloat, and then a little bit more.”
Bet Alef conducts yearly fundraising campaigns as well as smaller events, called “fun raisers,” like movie nights and tennis games, where participants contribute small amounts. In the wake of the recession, Bet Alef decided to refocus its finances and give up its office space. Now the two paid staff (BenHaim and Executive Director Shellie Oakley) work out of their homes. The congregation rents out Unity of Bellevue for most services. Members contribute 2 percent of their gross income for dues, but Klein emphasized that no one is turned away for lack of funds.
Programming shows no sign of a recession, either. In addition to meditative Shabbat services, adult study circles and the monthly Nishmat Shabbat, BenHaim will lead a silent retreat at the end of October as well as a trip to Israel in November. The Bet Alef Learning Institute commences Nov. 12 with a Shabbaton seminar titled “God, Gender and Justice.” BenHaim will also launch a virtual meditation space this October. On top of this, Bet Alef offers Bar and Bat Mitzvah training and sponsors the Rainier Beach High School–Community for Youth Alumni Association.
Going into the fall, BenHaim intends to continue Falcon’s work, but specifically to focus on Jewish meditational programming and outreach to unaffiliated Jews. “I want to share the gift that I received, that brought me back to Judaism,” he said.