Romemu

A Photo-Essay on Post-Denominational Jewish Renewal

The Romemu Center is at 176 W 105th Street, across from its Sanctuary in the West End Presbyterian Church at 165 W 105th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.

Formalized as a full-time congregation in 2008, Romemu is the only declared Jewish Renewal congregation in New York City and one of three declared Jewish Renewal affiliates in New York State. Initiated in 2006 by its Senior Rabbi David A. Ingber, Romemu first held services in the YMCA-affiliated Grosvenor Community House, before congregational growth compelled moving services across the street into the larger Sanctuary of the West End Presbyterian Church. Romemu’s locational development has come full circle as Grosvenor was put up for sale in February 2018, with its purchase by Romemu finalized in October 2018 for the establishment of The Romemu Center.

Left: The facade of the West End Presbyterian Church as seen from the southwest. The Church is Romanesque Revival in style, designed by Henry S. Kilburn and dedicated in April 1892. Its Sanctuary hosts Romemu Shabbat services on Friday evenings, while services on Saturday mornings are now held at The Romemu Center. Right: The Romemu Center as seen from the Church. The Center is undergoing extensive renovations and office move-ins.

Jewish Renewal is a revivalist movement within Judaism that strives to revitalize the spiritual and ethical dimensions of Jewish life, which advocates perceive as having become stale in the modern era with the formal consolidations of rigid denominations. Jewish Renewal freely draws inspiration from the Jewish past and present, learning from Jewish social development heretofore while also not being limited by fixed conventions. Rabbi Ingber is an ordained disciple of Jewish Renewal’s Founder, the late Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (1924–2014), z”l, known affectionately as Reb Zalman.

A banner of solidarity and the dual congregational signage along the southern facade of the Church.

Like others of his generation, Reb Zalman’s formative years in the 1960s and 1970s were influenced by the counter-culture in the United States, which motivated younger Jews to form their own Chavurot (fellowships) as an alternative to the highly institutionalized denominations of American Jewry. Arising out of the Chavurot were new associations such as Reb Zalman’s B’nai Or (Sons of Light), established in 1978 as a Philadelphia congregation and a national organization, with both later renamed as the gender-neutral P’nai Or (Faces of Light). In 1993, the P’nai Or national organization merged with Arthur Waskow’s Shalom Center to form ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, which serves as an umbrella apparatus for Jewish Renewal affiliates worldwide.

A wide perspective on the Sanctuary, with Romemu’s Judaica in place in preparation for Shabbat.

The development of ALEPH facilitated the effective spread of Jewish Renewal throughout the Americas, Europe, and Israel via publications, regularly held forums, and sponsored projects. The organization further includes the ALEPH Ordination Program, which offers M.Div and D.Min Degrees in cooperation with New York Theological Seminary and features four ordination paths: Rabbinic, Rabbinic Pastor, Cantorial, and Hashpa’ah (Spiritual Director). Born of out ALEPH is OHALAH, a professional organization whose acronym dually stands for Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal and Association of Cantors for Jewish Renewal, with a distinct branch, the Rabbinic Pastors Association, also formed in parallel.

Left & Right: The northern and southern halves of the Sanctuary featuring curved Pews and Gallery, which are often found in Presbyterian churches due to the emphasis within Reformed theology on the primacy of the Word.

These organizational developments indicate that Jewish Renewal has itself undergone significant degrees of institutionalization. There has always been tension within Jewish Renewal between the reflex to organize operationally versus the caution to not transform into just another formal denomination. Notwithstanding concerns with over-institutionalization, Jewish Renewal remains an open movement that does not insist on what it does versus what it does not, as Reb Zalman emphasized that a movement must, logically, keep moving to remain as such.

The Romemu setup before the Chancel.

Jewish Renewal advocates are thus free to draw inspiration from both the Jewish past and present as well as non-Jewish sources that add to the spiritual and ethical dimensions of their lives. Reb Zalman was of Chassidic roots but engaged in various Jewish movements in his native Vienna before his family’s escape to the United States, where he obtained his doctorate from the Reform Hebrew Union College and was further influenced by Christian, Sufi, and Eastern mysticisms. Rabbi Ingber is of Modern Orthodox roots, educated at New York University and distinguished American and Israeli Yeshivot, while also being influenced by figures as varied as Chassidut Founder Rabbi Yisrael Ba’al Shem Tov and psychologist Carl Jung.

Two perspectives on the mobile Bimah, featuring an ornamental motif of grapes and pomegranates also found on the Ark and the stands for the Sifrei Torah.

Although Jewish Renewal may manifest in varied ways between congregations and individuals, advocates often emphasize ecstatic worship, radical egalitarianism, and dual respect for tradition as well as the truths that are found beyond it. Jewish Renewal therefore exhibits the social progressivism of Reform Judaism, the civilizational mindset of Reconstructionist Judaism, and the mysticism of Chassidut. This disposition has provoked critics to derisively refer to Jewish Renewal as New Age, but advocates have rightly noted that dynamic thought and ecstatic practices have long been integral elements of Jewish history.

The mobile Ark, surmounted by the portable Ner Tamid, and the stands for the Sifrei Torah. On the table at the right are two candles and a silver cup for Kiddush.

Left: The Ark and Ner Tamid in detail. Right: The stands for the Sifrei Torah in detail. The engraving on the left stand reads “I see my children going out into the world raising their wings into the air as I pray the wind to ease their landings here.” The engraving on the right stand reads “In loving memory of Laurel and Howie Borowick who will always be held in our hearts.”

Romemu has over 650 households and 1000 individuals joined in the motto of “Jewish Life, Elevated” that honors the practical yet transformative spiritual practices that define Jewish Renewal. In keeping with Jewish Renewal principles, Rabbi Ingber considers Romemu’s growth as a balance between the necessity of operational development and the freshness of an open-source ecosystem. To this end, Romemu sponsors Seekers: Holistic Hebrew School for students aged 5 to 13 and Romemu Yeshiva for adults, the latter inaugurated in Summer 2019 with a 6-week immersive course co-sponsored by Or HaLev: Center for Jewish Spirituality and Meditation.

Left: A basket holding Kippotot for congregants. Right: An informational table featuring fliers for Romemu programs and events.

Left: The mobile shelves holding Printed Torahs (Etz Hayimot Chumashim) and Romemu’s custom Prayer Books (Siddurim). Right: The mobile rack holding Tallitot at the southwestern corner of the Sanctuary.

The aforementioned emphasis on Romemu being the only declared Jewish Renewal congregation was intentional, for the influence of Jewish Renewal reaches beyond its declared affiliates. There are practices and programs normalized among many denominational congregations that are directly or indirectly drawn from Jewish Renewal, including but not limited to liturgical innovations, the multi-colored P’nai Or Tallit designed by Reb Zalman, the exploration of feminine God-language, and the adoption of Judaicized yoga. Despite Jewish Renewal’s sustained influence, many within the established denominations are either unaware of its significant contributions or disingenuously deny them.

The dedicated “Prayground” for children at the northwestern corner of the Sanctuary.

The triumphs and tragedies found in Biblical lore and the historical experience of the Jewish people compel recognizing the vulnerability of mortal life and the brokenness consequential to it. In communal traditions throughout history, religion and the spiritual dimension have been essential coping methods for the devastations of temporal existence, methods brought together in collectivity that naturally culminate in the social ossifications Jewish Renewal has challenged. Jewish Renewal demonstrates that addressing such existential vulnerability and brokenness remains most practical and fulfilling when human hearts are joined in a fully open environment, one defined by joy and contemplation while free of labels and ideology.

A reverse perspective on the Sanctuary as seen from the Bimah.

These photos were taken on a single day exclusively utilizing a wide angle lens. Acknowledgments and heartfelt gratitude go to Romemu Founder and Senior Rabbi David Ingber, Executive Assistant Sebastian Kern, and Events Coordinator Chase Dost. Sebastian promptly coordinated and confirmed this photographer’s phone conversation with Rabbi Ingber and followed up with Chase, who kindly facilitated the photography of the Sanctuary with Romemu’s Judaica in place before Shabbat. Rabbi Ingber most graciously blessed the production of this photo-essay since initial email contact through to final review.