A project to save rural synagogues grows from Maine to Montana

WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) — Rabbi Rachel Isaacs spent the days leading up to Passover overseeing the preparation of ceremonial foods at Beth Israel Congregation, a synagogue in central Maine where membership has quadrupled over the last 15 years.

These days, growing congregations is very much on Isaacs’ mind, as she’s leading a movement to strengthen rural synagogues and Jewish communities around the country. They’ve reached dozens, and they’re hoping for many more.

“Rural Jewish life is important for the Jewish people and it’s important for rural America,” Isaacs said. “Those people deserve to be served and shepherded.”

Isaacs is executive director of the Center for Small Town Jewish Life at Colby College, a liberal arts school in Waterville, Maine. The center began a decade ago with a goal of supporting Jewish congregations that are far from big cities and it has grown to run programs for more than 60 communities in 22 states.

A little less than 2.4% of Americans are Jewish. Of those millions of people, one in eight lives outside a major urban area, and the center exists to help them thrive, Isaacs said.

The center’s work is taking place at a vital time, as there are roughly 20% fewer synagogues in America than there were in 1990, according to data compiled by Alanna E. Cooper, a Jewish studies professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. The trend is even more pronounced in rural America, where aging populations and the relocations of residents has hit congregations hard.

The outreach to rural synagogues is also happening as Jewish Americans confront a rising tide of antisemitism and violent attacks against Jewish communities. The Anti-Defamation League noted a nearly 900% increases in antisemitic incidents for the decade ending 2024. Some of the states with a high rate of incidents include largely rural states like Maine, New Hampshire and Wyoming, the ADL’s report said.

The center’s work can help reverse that trend, Isaacs said.

“You have more Jews that experience joy, who can locate strength, form connections with other Jews across the country and around the world,” Isaacs said. “In a world of rising antisemitism it’s more and more important that Jewish communities are joyful, strong and connected.”

Since forming, the center has helped congregations from Maine to California, Montana and Texas.

From Maine to Montana

Isaacs is also the rabbi at Beth Israel, a century-old synagogue down the road from Colby that is the only one within 20 miles of the college. The synagogue has grown along with the center, but the Center for Small Town Jewish Life’s work stretches far beyond Maine, she said.

And congregations that have relied on the center said its contributions are vital in a country where the Jewish population has overwhelmingly been urban since the early days of immigration. In Helena, Montana, Rebecca Stanfel, the executive director of the Montana Jewish Project, said the center was instrumental in helping bring together the relatively small Jewish community in her vast state.

Linking far-flung faith communities together is critically important in a place like Montana, Stanfel said.

“In Helena, we have no choice but to rely on volunteers. And if we want to have something like a seder, High Holidays, it’s got to come from the community,” Stanfel said. “That is also a really important model for people outside rural America.”

A plan to help

The center assists congregations through three strategies designed to boost rural synagogues. One is Makom, a two-year mentorship program for rabbis earlier in their service to rural synagogues.

Another trains lay leaders to lead prayer and support congregations, which helps them thrive without a full-time rabbi. The third is board leadership coaching, which trains synagogue presidents and boards on how to manage small town Jewish institutions.

Rabbi Lisa Rappaport, who leads Congregation Beth Israel in Chico, California, was among the first to go through the Makom program. Rural rabbis often lead the only Jewish congregation in town, and that makes the work “special and it’s beautiful and it’s challenging,” she said.

Strengthening rural communities

The Makom fellowship program lifts up rural rabbis to that challenge, Rappaport said.

“We have felt very validated as rabbis in small communities that our work is as important,” she said.

In Waterville, volunteers ranging from Colby students to retirees were getting ready to host about 100 people for Passover. It might be a small community, but it’s a strong and loving one, said Jeff Lovitz, a synagogue member, as he folded napkins.

“We’ve been here since the early ‘70s. Our kids went to Hebrew school here,” he said. “I think it’s important to have a Jewish community in Waterville.”