Magen David Sephardic Congregation in Bethesda is looking to expand its outreach and membership, claiming to be one of the few remaining true Sephardic Modern Orthodox synagogues in the country.
And the synagogue is trying to achieve its goal by centering on youth programming with a talented staff ready to welcome people.
The synagogue has focused its programming on Israel learning and youth engagement for Shabbat, along with adding a permanent rabbi in October. In the past two years, synagogue membership has increased by about 50%, with some new families joining and some others having children.
“As soon as you walk into the synagogue, you feel immediately a few things. You feel the incredible amount of warmth. You feel like you’ve joined your family reunion. If you’re either lost or just seeking comfort, as soon as you walk in here, you feel like you’re part of a family. And we’re very proud of that,” said Bernard Suissa, Magen David’s vice president.
Suissa said the atmosphere is a major part of Magen David’s charm that people enjoy, even if they’re not Sephardic themselves. Some members open their homes to people for Sephardic dinners, among other friendly customs.
“There are no strangers in our community. Literally anyone who walks in with their family will feel it immediately,” Suissa said. “About a third of our membership is actually Ashkenazi because they recognize the warmth and the uniqueness of the supportive community that is Magen David Sephardic Congregation.”
This community and the atmosphere provided were so special to Suissa that he returned after spending 27 years in Los Angeles. He became the vice president, working alongside Elliot Totah, the congregation’s president, to pioneer a new growth strategy around weekly Israeli programming and youth initiatives.
One program that’s expanded at Magen David is Israel learning through an organization called MoEd. It’s an after-school experience for kids in kindergarten through eighth grade.
“They have three chapters… Two in Maryland, one in Virginia. We are their third chapter and they occupy our building three or four times a week and they have a great after-school kids’ program that is focused purely on a love of Israel, Zionism and teaching Israeli culture to kids,” Suissa said. “That’s given us in this building a beautiful medium to allow for kids and families to come in and experience a beautiful love of Israel.”
The synagogue also has put on Shabbat programs for kids between 3 and 14, where they’re involved in the service and sometimes have older kids come and do activities with them.
The synagogue has attempted to put together a “Tot Shabbat” program for the growing number of children and is trying to hire a youth director to tackle the task head-on.
“We believe that the future of the shul should definitely involve families. And we are laser-focused on that, not only through organic growth through our new membership and new couples that have joined that are now having babies, but we also want to attract new families,” Suissa said.
He added that the friendly environment the synagogue and its members work so hard to create can be a factor in families deciding to join.
“Families will get a lot of comfort in the fact that we are a big, Sephardic, open tent, nonjudgmental congregation,” Suissa said.
And with the impacts of the pandemic on religious communities across the country still being felt, Suissa said that expansion efforts are imperative to keeping a community happy and together.
Suissa believes that Magen David has all the elements present for a synagogue with a lot of appeal to a broad group of interested Jews, but he said that the best way for people to learn more is to see everything in person.
“People need to come in and just experience it. We’ve got a wonderful Kiddush lunch every Shabbat, so not only do you come for a beautiful prayer, you’ll get invited to open the ark or getting aliyah to the Torah,” Suissa said. “After that, the entire community comes together like literally one big family downstairs in the social hall. That’s basically, in a nutshell, what we’re all about, family.”
Suissa said that despite everything that they’re adding to the congregation, they’re fiercely dedicated to keeping true Sephardic values.
“We intend to keep it that way. We want to preserve it that way and grow our community even more with that philosophy,” Suissa said.