You are Unique, Like Everyone Else!


When Rabbi Mendel Bluming came to Potomac he was approached by a local newspaper with the question as to the need of so many synagogues, shouldn’t one joint one be enough?! Here’s a new thought on it.

 It reminded me of a similar question: Why are there so many diners in our neighborhood? Shouldn't there just be one place to go out to? I have counted 12 on one street!

Would it be better with just one big restaurant? I think foodies would not agree. One person loves Thai, another prefers Italian. The formal dining experience in one place works for some, while others seek a casual night out. Family friendly fast food locations will not attract the fine diners, and fancy plates with a tiny little gourmet morsel in the middle will not be popular with hungry adolescents. Vegetarians don't seem to enjoy steak houses. Steak lovers don't always go for quinoa burgers.

The varied choice of restaurants caters to all the varied tastes and moods. There can't be a one eatery for all.

The same applies with synagogues. Each one presents Yiddishkeit with a different taste and unique path. There are Sephardi and Ashkenazi variants, shuls that have a choir and shuls that don't, informal and intimate communal synagogues and grand pompous ones, kid friendly and mature audience only. Longer sermons, shorter sermons, no sermons. Every community’s flair fills a niche and attracts different souls. Each custom has its audience. This is not factionalism or doubling resources. It’s called opening doors and giving options.

The Jewish people are made up of a dozen tribes. Each had their own marginally different way of praying, and yet we are all one People with one common Torah. Even the Temple in Jerusalem had 12 different gates for each tribe to enter in their own way. But everyone finished up in the same Holy Temple. Every shul, with its identifying style, is a gateway to that Temple.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Bluming and Rabbi Moss

Please note: The answer above applies to sizable communities with a critical mass that can sustain many shuls. Communities that are smaller may not have that luxury. Either way, when we are committed to Torah observance and the unity of theJewish people, we can pray all together or in our own communities and remain one people. 

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