In last month’s newsletter, I wrote about summer when hopefully, our pace slows down a bit, allowing for time by the beach or pond with a book. Summer is also a time when many of us might be “tourists” in places both near and far from home. But what type of tourist do we hope to be? As I prepare for my trip to Israel this summer with the Bronfman Youth Fellowship, I am reminded of the poem Tourists by Yehuha Amichai (1924-2000), who is considered by many to be Israel’s greatest modern poet. In his typical ironic style, Amichai paints the following picture of the type of tourist who visits Israel:

What attracts people to a synagogue, how do we engage members and how do we keep members long term? The answers to those questions are quite different than previous generations. It is evident that there is not one clear answer and frankly it is one of the appealing aspects of Sha’arei Shalom. We are different than most congregations in MetroWest. We are unaffiliated and welcome the diverse makeup of the area.