Founded about 25 years ago, Kehilat Pardes, formally known as Beth Joshua Congregation, has steadily grown into a flourishing community with new members joining each year.
Rabbi Uri Topolosky, the rabbi of Kehilat Pardes, explained that this summer, the congregation crossed the 100-household threshold.
“Over the last two years, we’ve welcomed 30 new households in the community, so it’s [a] very exciting time to see the community continuing to grow. Across that particular 100 threshold, [it] was very exciting for a lot of people,” Topolosky said. “We’re [also] celebrating 16 b’nai mitzvahs in the community, which is huge for us. That’s the kind of growth that we’re seeing at this point.”
Topolosky described his synagogue as a very intentional community.
“We’re putting a lot of thought into recruiting families, welcoming families into our hospitality, into setting up prospective families,” Topolosky said.
His mission to create a welcoming community has led him to personally reach out to prospective families while also helping visitors find hosts.
The members of Kehilat Pardes include a wide range of people. Topolosky noted an influx of grandparents moving into the community, alongside the growth of young families, couples and singles.
“The community has diversified a lot as it’s grown, and that diversity is making us much stronger,” Topolosky said.
While Topolosky leads programming, including “Nametag Shabbat,” community potlucks and meal matches, he emphasized the synagogue’s reliance on volunteers.
“We have so many parents who volunteer with our youth groups. We have so many adults who volunteer with all the other aspects of shul that you would see in many communities. We keep leaning into that,” Topolosky said. “You can respond to growth by hiring more and more, and eventually, we do have to make some of those hires, but another way to respond to growth is to lean into your strengths. And our strength is our people.”
Adults aren’t the only volunteers at Kehilat Pardes.
“We’re now seeing our youth really step up. This past Shabbat, we had our first teen takeover Shabbat,” Topolosky explained. “For the past year, we’ve been having our first-ever teen minyan meet once a month. As a way to culminate the year, we decided to have a teen takeover Shabbat where they took over every aspect of Shabbat in the main space instead of in a separate space, so that we could celebrate our teens, celebrate our future, and give them the space to continue to find their voice in the community.”
One of Kehilat Pardes’ most unique features is its relationship with Berman Hebrew Academy. As the synagogue shares a space with the Jewish day school in Rockville, Topolosky explained that their partnership is “a wonderful tribute to this community to share space and to work together.”
“We’re very blessed by our partnership with the Berman Hebrew Academy. And it’s a unique relationship. It’s one that we celebrate, and I wish there would be more models of it around the country,” Topolosky said. “It’s been a big blessing and [has been] part of the reason for our success and our growth.”
Topolosky emphasized the benefits of having a smaller community, noting the ability to empower every member to bring their ideas forward.
“We give a lot of attention to each household that comes here to invite them into the growth of the community, invite them into the culture of the community, and invite them to change the culture of the community,” Topolosky said. “I think there’s a certain dynamism about it that is exciting and feels personal, [while also having] 100-plus households, but [there’s] still a warm, haimish feeling [that] is hard to find in larger communities.”
To address the growth of the community, Kehilat Pardes has put in place initiatives to help members learn the names of everyone.
“Our goals are always about deepening relationships. Part of that is deepening our relationships with the school here, deepening our partnerships with other schools, deepening our connections with the other synagogues, deepening our connections with each other. It’s probably one of our biggest goals,” Topolosky said.
He also highlighted the synagogue’s policy for High Holiday seats.
“We don’t charge for High Holiday seats. This is a space [where] people are welcome to join us. And if [you’re] looking for something with a little bit of a different energy this year, we’d be thrilled to welcome folks to visit with us [and] be with us,” Topolsky said.
That same welcoming spirit is reflected in the synagogue’s programming for women.
“One of the other big pillars of the community is our women’s programming. I think it’s part of the signature aspect of our shul. We have a women’s art program during Sukkot. We have our annual Women’s Open Mic Night, which is a big deal for the community, usually in January. Those kinds of programs are very special.”
For Topolosky, Kehilat Pardes’ growth is not only about numbers, but about values.
[We are also] deepening our connections and relationships with Hashem and with ourselves. That spiritual goal is always at the front of our mind,” he said. “Finally, [we are] deepening our relationships and our responsibilities to our larger human family [through] all the different types of activities we can do to support those in need and more vulnerable populations locally, and of course with Israel.”
Amy Hollander is a Washington Jewish Week intern.
