Congregation Har Tzeon-Agudath Achim is ushering in a new chapter for the shul, making changes to the synagogue’s physical and spiritual self.
This past month, the Silver Spring congregation’s old Hebrew school and office building was demolished to make way for a new senior housing project. The demolition comes on the heels of the land sale to Mission First Housing Group, a nonprofit organization that develops and manages affordable housing for seniors, individuals with disabilities, survivors of domestic violence and other diverse family populations.
The funds from the sale were used to renovate the congregation’s remaining building.
“To say goodbye to a space that was so sacred to me and so many others from many years before me, it highlighted the resilience of our membership,” said Rabbi Steven Suson of Congregation Har Tzeon-Agudath Achim. “For a number of weeks, when we couldn’t use the [remaining] building, we were meeting in my basement and having services down there. Everybody pitched in and brough potluck kiddush. It was crowded and did not have sufficient space, [but it was] probably some of my favorite weeks over the past year.”
The synagogue’s remaining building was used exclusively for High Holiday and Shabbat services while the other building was used for classroom space, office space and daily services, according to Suson.
“It was a lot having two buildings, but that’s what we had,” said Suson. “[Having the one building] gives us less space overall, but more quality of space that we have [and] better use of the space that we have.”
The sale brought change that had been top of mind for the congregants of Congregation Har Tzeon-Agudath Achim for a long time.
“I think the congregation appreciated that this was the means that’s propelling us into the future,” Ethan Goldrich, president of the congregation, added in a conversation with Suson and Washington Jewish Week. “It’s a piece of our past that we needed to propel ourselves into the future by giving that up.”
As part of the renovation, the congregation improved electrical and ventilation systems and installed new carpeting and a new elevator for the building.
“I’ve been here 13 years. Over that time people have come — who’ve been members or who had been married here or who had grown up here many years ago — and they looked at our synagogue and they’ve said, ‘Wow, nothing has changed. It’s exactly the same,’” said Suson. “We had an opportunity when we were doing some renovations to say, ‘Well, we should refresh the sanctuary space along with the rest of the building.’”
The sanctuary features a new bimah, brighter colors and more spaced-out seating. Additionally, the congregation’s office space and classrooms now reside on the lower level of the building.
“All of this allowed us to reimagine our synagogue,” said Goldrich. “Not only are we revitalizing our physical space but also our spiritual space.”
With Congregation Har Tzeon-Agudath Achim entering into a new physical chapter, the congregation is also now embracing full participation from women in services.
“There was a shift in the Conservative movement [approximately 40] years ago and our synagogue decided to remain traditional, for whatever reason,” said Suson.
The shift in the Conservative movement mentioned by Suson was in 1985 when, according to the Rabbinical Assembly, it admitted and ordained its first female member.
“It was a long period of soul searching, of consideration by our members and discussions and courses about ‘what does it mean to you to be traditional and Conservative?’” explained Suson. “We found that the fact that we call ourselves traditional was very important to our membership. What was not clicking was that half of our congregation felt that they weren’t able to fully participate in ways that they would like.”
According to Goldrich, the change has positively affected the congregation. Its minyanim on weeknights and Sunday mornings are being filled with both men and women participants and there has been excitement among the membership to see the change happen.
“It’s our blessing that we had an extra parking lot and an extra building, so that we were able to revive ourselves and have resources to do other updates to the space that we still use and occupy,” said Goldrich. “And then launch from that point to other ways that we’re going to revive and make ourselves more dynamic, so that we’ll be able to attract more members.”
Suson said he hopes the change will continue to revitalize their community and usher them into a new future.
“I hope that this means renewed commitment, renewed participation, because we’re more than just new carpet and walls, and what really makes the synagogue are the people,” Suson added.
