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 40th anniversary of the Nostra Aetate—the Vatican document that condemned anti-Semitism and encouraged amiable relations between Catholics and Jews—and the 10th 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