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Renewal in a Congregation Establishing A

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Declining synagogue attendance and disengagement plague many Conservative Jewish congregations, yet an innovative health-focused initiative at Congregation Beth Israel demonstrates promising paths toward renewal. By establishing a Health Cabinet (Va'ad Briut), this 500-family synagogue in Hammond, Indiana transformed its approach to member engagement through six targeted subcommittees: pastoral care, Jewish rituals, preventive medicine education, support groups, recreational activities, and unemployment assistance. The program recruited 40 congregants from diverse professional backgrounds, grounding its framework in Maimonidean principles of holistic healthcare and the theological premise that humans, created in God's image, must embody divine compassion. Integration of physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and social wellness dimensions proved particularly successful through the Jewish Rituals subcommittee, which revitalized traditional ceremonies for newborns and brides using trained lay volunteers for home visits. Of the 40 invited congregants, 23 maintained active participation in ritual education sessions, with members reporting heightened spiritual connection to lifecycle events and Jewish traditions. While individual subcommittees effectively addressed specific wellness aspects rather than achieving complete holistic integration, the findings reveal that health-centered programming resonates broadly as a congregational revitalization strategy adaptable across diverse Jewish communities.

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    Published 1985

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    Raphael Ostrovsky