It is no secret that I'm a huge fan of my shul. Tomorrow night there is a dinner to celebrate the shul's 25th anniversary. Last night an old Shaarei couple in Jerusalem had some members over to celebrate from here. Today I enjoyed celebrating the bat mitzvah of twins girls from a former Shaarei family. I had the pleasure of sitting with another family that made aliyah and three girls here for the year. For the dinner journal, members my age were asked to write about their memories of the shul. My year was the first year of "Shaarei babies." I never got confirmation that what I wrote was submitted in time for the journal, but here it is for all of you.
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My first memories of Shaarei Tefillah are of shabbat morning groups in what was probably a storage closet in the church in Newton Centre. There weren't many of us so it really didn't matter to us. Then we moved to Morseland Avenue. I have vague memories of the new shul being under construction while we davenned in the basement. It was close quarters but again it was the perfect size for our still small congregation. Then the new shul was ready. I was four years old and dressed as Curious George for Purim. I don't know if there were no chairs for logistical reasons or if there just weren't chairs yet. The place seemed huge to me. Shabbat morning groups started meeting in the basement. Everyone, grades 1 through 6, davenned together in one room with high school leaders. We each took turns leading the different tefilot. It is hard to believe that now the main shul is full to capacity every week. Many parents of friends I grew up with are now grandparents, my friends are becoming parents, and the many kids I used to babysit for are now babysitters themselves or applying to college.
At Shaarei, like I'm sure any other shul, members always talk about the pride they take in the community's children. I am blessed to say that the children of Shaarei Tefillah take pride in the shul as well. In my Jewish Studies classes in college I would check the syllabus for books by Shaarei members, or would smile to myself as I quoted one in a research paper. A few weeks ago I was visiting a former “Shaarei kid” and her husband in California and we were bemoaning how much we miss the intellectualism we experienced in shul all our lives. We miss the shabbat drashot that connect Medieval biological studies to the week's Torah portion, something from Greek literature to hilchot shabbat, or some other twisted and unexpected series of sources. “Oh, you go to THAT shul in Newton. I know all about THAT one.” said my Jewish Philosophy professor in college.
It's been a privilege growing up with a shul and community that empowers all its members, from the five year old leading anim zmirotĖto the teenager serving as gabbai sheni to the adult members from all different professions getting the chance to give a shiur and face the challenges of the linguists, historians, rabbis, or the surprisingly brilliant (to visitors at least) doctor who happens to know that particular section of Talmud verbatim. But it's always all in good fun.
The kids who grew up in Shaarei Tefillah will be forever benefiting from the environment they experienced in the shul, and those of us who have since left Newton will seek out similar communities to raise our families in. And hey, if we can't find one we'll just have to start our own. It would be in the spirit of Shaarei Tefillah after all.
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