Members of Kesher Israel Congregation are lifelong learners, finding enjoyment in a pandemic-era speaker series that is now in person at the Georgetown synagogue.
Voices of Kesher allows community members who double as “world-class scholars” to speak on their expertise, according to Kesher Israel’s Facebook page. At first, Rabbi Hyim Shafner of Kesher Israel said he thought members were only showing up to lectures because their friends were speaking that day. But they kept showing up consistently, ready to learn.
“One of the central elements of Kesher Israel is this connection to thought leadership, not just within Judaism, but on a larger level,” he said.
Originally started virtually in 2020, the program allowed members to hear the “voices of Kesher” on any Jewish-related topic, as long as the subject matter connected to either Torah or Jewish knowledge — “We need to really do more on Zoom; that’s the only option we have,” Shafner thought during the pandemic.
“Being a synagogue in downtown Washington, there’s multiple people who write books every year,” Shafner said. “[Kesher Israel] is also a place where people are not just smart, but used to presenting what they think. Let’s use our local talent.”
The first few Zoom programs featured Kesher members who are professors: Jeremy Rabkin, a professor of law at George Mason University, on the law in emergencies; Charles Manekin, a professor of philosophy at the University of Maryland, on Maimonides on Moses’ role in transmitting Torah; and Rachel Manekin, a UMD professor of Jewish studies, on the start of formal Jewish education for Orthodox girls.
After the lockdown gradually subsided, the Kesher Israel community hosted a few iterations of the program, but not as many. The few speakers who visited in person were ambassadors, such as then-Ambassador of Israel to the United States Michael Herzog.
“Being a rabbi here [in Washington, D.C.], I’ve run into a lot of politicians who could speak at the synagogue, and I ran into the Turkish ambassador, the Austrian ambassador, and said, ‘Let’s make the Voices of Kesher wider,’” Shafner said.
Since then, the program has expanded to host local speakers who aren’t necessarily Jewish but who can speak on a Jewish topic. Topics have included international law in Israel, the Jews of France during the French Revolution and Biblical archeology.
The latter appears to be one of the most popular lecture topics among attendees of Kesher Israel, who have expressed interest in biblical subject matter.
“This series has [brought in] great speakers, [talking about anything] as long as it’s connected Jewishly, but it’s worldly and it’s deep,” Shafner said. “This is a series of deep meaning; really well thought out.”
David Epstein, a member of Kesher Israel for more than 50 years, will present on historic documents that have defined and affected Jews as part of the series on March 30. He will reference documents from the past 250 years “in advancing the theme that while many Jews sought to be treated as equal citizens, others sought to treat Jews as a group, negatively,” Epstein wrote in an email to Washington Jewish Week.
That struggle changed during the 20th century, when “collective treatment was both positive, a Jewish homeland, and horrific, the Holocaust,” Epstein wrote.
This presentation isn’t Epstein’s first. In August 2020, he spoke to the congregation about the history of Jewish justices on the Supreme Court.
Shafner said he enjoys getting to hear from members of the community rather than only hosting guest speakers: “It’s sort of like when you see your brother speaking or your kid speaking. [It’s] this certain sense of pride, this certain sense of connection.”
“I hope [attendees] walk away with, on a meta level, a sense of how special our community is and what an honor it is to be living where we live and to be with people that we’re with in the community,” Shafner said.
He added that Modern Orthodoxy is all about balancing Western culture and Judaism: “If you’re walled off from the outside culture, as some Jewish groups are, then you’re not going to do that.”
Yet one can’t be “totally integrated” in solely Western culture either, which might be to the detriment of their Modern Orthodox Jewish identity.
“Having our congregants speak about things from the world and bring it to bear on Judaism, I think really highlights how unique of a place Kesher Israel is and how you can really develop your sense of Modern Orthodoxy,” Shafner said. “I happen to be living in the world today; I keep Shabbat and I watch baseball. It’s much more than that. How do I take the best of Western ideas and use that to strengthen my Judaism?”
Voices of Kesher presentations are open to the community. Attend the next one, featuring longtime member David Epstein, on March 30 from 7:40 to 9 p.m. at Kesher Israel Congregation in Georgetown. Find more information at kesher.org/event/DavidEpstein.
