Synagogues and Spiritual Communities

Too big to fail? Too crucial to discard? A relic of a bygone era? What place does the synagogue occupy in present-day Jewish life? This issue of Sh’ma offers a wide range of views about the future of the synagogue. Other kinds of congregating have gained momentum, energy, and constituencies large enough to challenge the synagogue as the central address of Jewish ritual life. At a time of declining institutional affiliation (except among the Orthodox) and a growing list of questions — including what it means to “belong,” what relationship one has to authority, and how to create sacred communities for ends other than ritual — the once-hegemonic synagogue is facing a challenging future that demands redefinition.