By CAROL REEVES
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Saturday, September 16, 2006 12:00 am
Direct from the East Coast, Jewish leader looks to encourage new beginnings
This year's Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur season, which begins at sundown Friday, will be celebrated with more zeal than usual at Beit Am, the mid-Willamette Valley Jewish Community Center.
After four long years of searching for a new spiritual leader, the community has found one in Rabbi Benjamin Barnett, a 32-year-old transplant from the East Coast.
He is the embodiment of the upcoming holiday's focus on new beginnings and says the 10-day observance - also known as the Jewish High Holy Days - will be especially meaningful to him as he settles into a new home and his first assignment as a full-time rabbi.
A recent graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pa., Barnett first visited Corvallis in March and then returned with his wife, Rachel, in April. He said they quickly fell in love with the area.
"You could see how child-friendly it was, and everyone was out gardening and biking. It was just a beautiful space," he said.
Since moving here in August, they've appreciated the emphasis on community and the genuine warmth they've seen in people within Beit Am and around town. Receiving such a kind welcome has made the couple's move away from their extended family and the vibrant Jewish communities back East a little easier.
From Chicago to Israel
Barnett grew up in Chicago, where his family attended a Conservative synagogue.
He attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor as an English major and also worked with the mentally ill and led wilderness trips with young people. He thought about going into psychology, but decided he wanted to visit Israel first.
It was a decision that would change the direction of his life.
From 1999 to 2000, he spent time in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, including three months in a "yeshiva" or place of Jewish learning. That's where he met his future wife, another visiting American from Chicago.
Barnett said they were both excited about being Jewish and learning more about Judaism. But they also struggled with how the traditions and culture of the Middle East didn't always fit with their upbringing as American Jews and the different values with which they had been raised.
The role of women in Judaism was one example, he explained. "We discovered there are aspects of any ancient tradition that need to grow and evolve."
Eventually, Barnett's immersion into the Jewish community there led him to a new vision of his future.
Barnett described a Shavuot gathering where the Torah is read throughout the evening. On that night, surrounded by a wealth of symbolism and tradition, he said, "I suddenly realized this was the kind of life I wanted to live."
He decided there would be more joy in being a rabbi than a psychologist and, in the fall of 2001, enrolled in the Reconstructionist Rabbinical School. He graduated in June.
Practicing Judaism
Barnett said one of the things he hopes to emphasize at Beit Am is spiritual practices including both contemplative techniques and those of a more Hasidic nature that bring "more joy, song and dance to our lives.
"Jewish worship should be an uplifting experience. We're here to derive meaning and inspiration out of what we're doing," he said. "I believe in a really engaged Judaism in which we open our hearts up to ourselves, to God and to each other."
Barnett said he's also committed to social justice and a hands-on approach to social services. He would like to see Beit Am forge more connections with other religious groups and community organizations to practice the Jewish concept of "tikkun-olan," which means "repair of the world."
Looking ahead
Barnett said he is excited about the possibility of the 32-year-old congregation moving into a new Jewish center someday on five acres of land off Harrison Boulevard it bought about five years ago. The 3,000-square-foot home on 36th Street where the community meets now is big enough for most weekly meetings, he explained, but holiday gatherings must be moved to other facilities to accommodate larger crowds, and the Sunday School program is pretty cramped.
The group's tentative plans are to build a 10,000-square-foot building that would include a large sanctuary, social hall, a library and plenty of classrooms. The project is estimated to cost about $1.8 million.
"It would be really wonderful for the community to grow to be able to build a new center," he said.
In the meantime, Barnett is preparing to lead his new congregation in a series of High Holy Days observances that begin Friday and run through Oct. 2. He used phrases like "returning home, surrender, repentance, forgiveness and regeneration" to describe the emotional and spiritual phases Jews pass through during the sacred days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
"This season is special to me in so many different ways," Barnett said. "Maybe it's special because there are so many challenges ahead.
"I take it very seriously that I've been given the task of serving as rabbi of an entire Jewish community," he continued. "I'm being judged this year not just as an individual but as the leader of a community."
Barnett is excited about what lies ahead. He likes the diversity within the local Jewish community and although there are challenges in that, most people recognize Beit Am is the only Jewish center in the area, he said.
"I want to find ways to acknowledge our core values and be able to come together and connect with each other based on those. I want to give people the opportunity to live Jewishly in ways they may not have seen before."
Carol Reeves covers religion for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached by e-mail at carol.reeves@lee.net or by phone at 758-9516.
RABBI BENJAMIN BARNETT
NAME: Rabbi Benjamin Barnett
AGE: 32
BIRTHPLACE: Glencoe, Ill.
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in English, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1996); Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters and Title of Rabbi, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Wyncote, Pa. (2006)
FAMILY: Wife, Rachel; two children n Lev, 3, and Arava, 8 months
SPECIAL INTERESTS: Gardening, biking, camping, hiking and music
FAVORITE SCRIPTURE: Genesis 32