by aron rivin
j. intern
When the Hebrews escaped Pharaoh’s clutches, it’s unlikely they set out for Canaan carrying green cards.
Rabbi Alan Greenbaum of Sonoma’s Congregation Shir Shalom reminded his congregation of that point during Passover last year, at a time when immigrants’ rights demonstrations were erupting across the country. Jews, too, he said, have a history of legal and illegal immigration.
“You can consider the exodus from Egypt as legal — we were leaving the place,” he explained recently. “An example of illegal immigration was during the pre-1948 history of Israel, when it was still called Palestine and we ran illegal immigration ships through the British blockades.
“There may be a time for legal immigration and a time for illegal immigration,” he continued. “We have both in our history, so we need to consider both.”
Not all his congregants appreciated the lesson in politics. Indeed, one woman complained afterward, saying the sermon was “too political” and that politics had no place in religious events. But Greenbaum felt the topic needed to be broached, particularly at a time when Mexican immigrants across the country had poured into the streets for the so-called “Day without Mexicans” protest.
“Religion is the essence of politics,” Greenbaum said. “The art of possibilities, making changes, creating a better world — [it’s] tikkun olam.”
The rabbi got what he’d hoped for: The topic sparked a conversation and gave the congregation a chance to voice its thoughts.
When he first arrived at Shir Shalom, Sonoma’s only synagogue, in 2005, the congregation had rapidly cycled through a handful of rabbis. Members had become disappointed by the lack of consistent leadership, Greenbaum recalls, and morale was low.
Greenbaum made it a priority to lift morale by making services more interactive. He also dug into long overdue administrative work, including compiling High Holy Days services and creating a Shir Shalom haggadah.
Prior to Shir Shalom, Greenbaum worked for more than two decades as rabbi at Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks, where he oversaw a congregation that grew from 250 families to nearly 800.
It was a good fit at the time. “I was at a very different time in my life,” said the Reform rabbi. “I was at that congregation for 21 years. I was much younger when I went there, and had a vision of growing a congregation, nurturing a congregation.”
Now in semiretirement, Greenbaum wanted a different experience, and got it at Shir Shalom.
With a congregation of about 85 families and a religious school of only 15, Shir Shalom feels more like an extended family, he says.
“I was reminded how special and wonderful a small congregation is,” he said. “It has a personal aspect to it that a larger congregation doesn’t have.”
Soon Greenbaum will have completed his two-year tenure at Shir Shalom, and plans to take another part-time position at B’nai Harim in Grass Valley. There, he will be closer to home, sparing him the two-hour drive to Sonoma.
Until then, he can relish his time with a congregation he calls “absolutely inspiring.”
And it probably doesn’t hurt to have all that good kosher wine nearby. “We say Kiddush with only the finest quality Sonoma Valley wines,” said Greenbaum, laughing.
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California