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Rabbi Katz will be starting the final phase of his sabbatical on January 1^st, 2010.

He will be spending the majority of his time in Israel and will again be teaching in the Modi'in schools about American and Diaspora Jewry and Judaism. Rabbi Katz will return on April 1^st.

In Parashah “B’har” God speaks to Moses on Mount Sinai with instructions for the Israelites. The people are to work the fields for six years and on the seventh year the land will have a Shabbat, a complete rest.

The English "sabbatical year" refers to time off from typical work to become refreshed and prepared to work again. It is typical for Rabbi’s to take such time off every 7 years, to experience their personal Shabbat, a time of rest.

January 2010

A number of people have inquired into our new policy regarding interfaith weddings here at Temple Sinai.  We are happy to take this opportunity to explain some of the thinking and background that went into the process of this forward thinking and positive development.

To begin with, it is necessary to understand that the rabbis of a congregation are granted freedom of and responsibility for what occurs on the bima.  That implies that decisions such as whether or not an interfaith wedding takes place in a congregation is a rabbinic prerogative.  The congregation makes the decision of who they choose to be their rabbis.

During the 23 years of Rabbi Katz’s tenure and the 6 years of Rabbi Sapowith’s no interfaith weddings were performed by any Temple Sinai rabbi.  This policy allowed the rabbis to remain part of the local board of rabbis, who decided many years ago that no rabbi who performed an interfaith wedding would be eligible to become or to remain a member of this local board.  In the hiring of our first two assistant rabbis the hiring committees made it clear to the rabbinic candidates that this policy was in force. However, the discussion of whether this was the way we would continue has been ongoing for many years.  Congregants, board members and officers have often shared their opinions which many times were not the same as that of the senior rabbi.

When Rabbi Katz attended his first Rochester Board of Rabbis meeting he told his colleagues that although he complies with not performing interfaith weddings, if any legitimately ordained rabbi would come to town and be excluded because of their own conscience to perform such ceremonies, he would resign in support of the right of rabbinic autonomy.

During the past year Rabbi Katz and Rabbi Sapowith discussed the possibility of a new policy.  Ideas were shared with a few Temple Sinai officers.  When the two rabbis came to their decision that Rabbi Katz as senior rabbi would allow the associate, in this case Rabbi Sapowith, to decide according to her own conscience guided by a specific set of criteria whether or not to perform Jewish wedding ceremonies for couples where only one party was Jewish, this decision and the criteria were relayed to the executive committee.  The criteria include the following: no co-officiation with non-Jewish clergy; a commitment to creating a Jewish home; a commitment to raising any children with an exclusively Jewish identity; a commitment on the part of the non-Jewish partner to a course of study about Judaism; and the commitment to affiliate with a synagogue.  The executive board heartily endorsed the new policy. 

In order to relate this policy in a direct manner to the congregation and to avoid rumors and misconceptions, Rabbi Katz decided to announce the new policy at his Rosh Hashanah morning sermon and Rabbi Sapowith agreed to follow suit at the family service so that we could together reach a significant percentage of our membership.

Since that time numerous things have occurred.  The Temple Sinai board of trustees overwhelmingly supported the decision.  As we anticipated the Board of Rabbis asked for Rabbi Sapowith’s resignation.  The Board of Rabbis and Rabbi Katz mutually agreed to part ways.  Rabbis Katz and Sapowith requested to continue to teach in the Board of Rabbis’ Basic Judaism course and that request was denied. We are now in the process of developing a course of basic Judaism for Temple Sinai.  The Board of Rabbis explain that they are not acting out of ill will, but rather they are enforcing the rules of the board by which they feel governed. That said, a number of the local rabbis have contacted both Rabbis Katz and Sapowith offering their support as friends and colleagues whether or not they personally agree with our policy.  In addition numerous congregants and many other members of the greater community have gone out of their way to also express their support.  We are happy to report that Rabbi Sapowith has already begun working with a  number of lovely couples all committed to creating and being part of Jewish community.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Katz and Rabbi Sapowith

In response to earlier proposals regarding a Temple Sinai trip next October the largest group of people desire to travel to Budapest, Prague, Warsaw and Krakow.  Plans will be made for this wonderful journey for next October after our holidays.  Since I will be on sabbatical from January to end of March details and planning will be done in the spring.  If anyone is interested and has not contacted me please do so or leave a message in the office.

Most Temple Sinai members know that Rabbi Alan J. Katz reveres family, Israel and the Mets.

What they might not know, however, is that Rabbi Katz once considered being a tour guide in Israel, he often procrastinates when it comes to writing sermons, and in his 21 years in Rochester, he’s never had “an itch” to move elsewhere.

“Sinai has always been right for me,” Rabbi Katz says emphatically. “It was right from the beginning--and it’s still right.”

Back from a winter sabbatical in Israel and Uganda, comfortably settled in his temple office among his Judaic books, community awards and family photos, Rabbi Katz recently reflected on his years at Sinai, changes in the congregation and his own social activism.

A voice in the community

When he arrived in Rochester in 1986 from a Pearl River, N.Y., synagogue, Sinai was a relatively young congregation of about 350 families. Enrollment in the religious school was exploding and among the students were the three children of Rabbi Katz and his wife Jan—Tamar, Noam and Ben. The temple had virtually no social action projects and few ties to the greater community.

Having grown up in a family that valued tolerance and diversity, Rabbi Katz says he always has felt his own spirituality was best expressed through social justice. While learning about the Rochester area, he looked to the late Rabbi Judea Miller (z”l), then head of Temple B’rith Kodesh and a well-known community activist, as a role model. “I saw what he was doing and liked it,” notes Rabbi Katz. He soon became involved in the Martin Luther King Jr. Greater Rochester Commission and the local Commission on Christian-Jewish Relations.

As a member of the Task Force on Catholic-Jewish Relations, Rabbi Katz helped craft and signed the 1996 Rochester Agreement, a historic cooperative agreement among the Rochester Board of Rabbis, the Jewish Community Federation of Greater Rochester and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester. The agreement, the first of its kind in the United States, attracted international attention and established Rabbi Katz’s friendship with Rochester’s bishop, Matthew Clark; the two co-led an interfaith trip to Israel in 1998.

Last November, Rabbi Katz traveled with Rochester’s Jewish-Catholic Mission to Rome to commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the Nostra Aetate—the Vatican document that condemned anti-Semitism and encouraged amiable relations between Catholics and Jews—and the 10^th anniversary of the Rochester Agreement. The local group had a front-row seat in the Vatican; Rabbi Katz shook hands with Pope Benedict XVI and says he was awed “meeting one of the most formidable figures in the world.”

Over the years, Rabbi Katz’s interfaith work has grown to include a Bible study program that presents both Christian and Jewish perspectives (the program is this year’s winner of the federation’s Elmer Louis Award); chairmanship of the Interfaith Forum; teaching at Nazareth College; and membership on the Muslim-Jewish Commission on Understanding. He also has participated in inter-racial dialogues and anti-violence efforts. His endeavors have been recognized with local honors, including the 2005 Mayor’s Renaissance Award and the 2006 Hannah G. Solomon Award for Humanitarian Service given by the Greater Rochester Section of the National Council of Jewish Women.

“Rabbi Katz has been influential in creating an interfaith agenda in Rochester and in representing the Jewish community at every table,” notes Isobel Goldman, director of community relations at the Jewish Community Federation. The Rev. Joseph Brennan, a retired priest who has worked with Rabbi Katz and is a regular at the Katz family’s Passover seders, called him “one of the pillars” of local Christian-Jewish relations.

These efforts created new opportunities for Temple Sinai as well. Seeing a need for more connections with the African-American community, Rabbi Katz promoted an ongoing relationship between Sinai and AME Baber Church--one that has emphasized personal contacts through seders, pot-luck dinners and picnics.

“I really believe this world is too small and we can’t live in isolation,” Rabbi Katz says. “To defeat anti-Semitism, people have to learn about Jews—and Jews have to learn about others.”

Love for Israel

Rabbi Katz is unabashed about his affection for Israel; he was born the day Israel became a state (May 15, 1948), he met his wife there during college, and he has visited the country 26 times. “When I go to Israel, I physically feel different,” he says. “It just makes me happy.” He ditched the tourist guide idea long ago, figuring he could contribute more to the Jewish people as a rabbi.

While he has many Israeli friends—Jewish and non-Jewish--his newest bond is to the city of Modi’in, a town between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv that has a partnership and exchange program with Rochester’s Jewish community. During his sabbatical, Rabbi Katz spent time teaching students in Modi’in about American Jewry. He also befriended Rabbi Kinneret Shiryon of Congregation Yozma, the Reform congregation there.

Rabbi Katz says the Israelis to whom he’s closest are concerned about social justice for the Palestinians, but he’s not naïve about the problems some people—including some American Jews—have with Israel. “I do believe you have to support Israel—it has the values that are Jewish and it is more humane,” he asserts. “But it’s not perfect.”

He is looking forward to his new role as a member of the national board of ARZA (the Association of Reform Zionists in America), an organization whose goal is to strengthen the link between Israel and the American Reform movement. “What I love about ARZA is it fits my Zionism,” Rabbi Katz says. “It combines love of Israel with peaceful values.”

Temple life

Congregational life remains Rabbi Katz’s priority, though his focus has shifted in recent years; many of the youth activities now are overseen by Rabbi Amy Sapowith. While he misses time with the youngsters, being at Sinai for so long allows him to serve multi-generations of families, and he often officiates at the marriages of congregants’ children and grandchildren. “Those long-term connections are very important to me,” he says.

Temple leaders have been supportive of Rabbi Katz’s community pursuits, but he

still worries about the balance with congregational needs. “One could not ask for a better partner in temple leadership than Rabbi Katz,” says Sinai President Liz Ornstein. “Stepping into the role of president after Jerry Elman’s sterling 4-year leadership was challenging at best. Rabbi Katz has been a dependable resource and adviser—all while managing to remain ‘my rabbi.’”

Rabbi Katz’s latest passion is the Abuyadaya, a group of Jewish Ugandans whom he and Jan visited and worked with during the winter. “It was very exciting to see people living faithful Jewish lives, but ethnically so different,” he says. He’s hoping that in addition to increasing connections with Israel, Sinai congregants also will get involved with the Abuyadaya: “You can offer them a lot with a little.”

With 640 families, Temple Sinai has nearly doubled in size since the rabbi first arrived; however, the population has aged and school enrollment isn’t what it once was. Rabbi Katz understands that Judaism and the temple aren’t central to many families, yet he is disappointed when people no longer find congregational life meaningful and leave.

Speaking with pride of Sinai’s beauty and its array of educational and social action opportunities--particularly RAIHN, the successful effort to shelter the homeless—Rabbi Katz knows why he’s never felt wanderlust: “There have been—and continue to be--a lot of good leaders in this congregation, and a lot of caring people.”

---Ronny Frishman