BENTONVILLE -- Members of Congregation Etz Chaim will dedicate the first synagogue in Benton County next week.
The Jewish congregation opens the new synagogue in Bentonville just one year after it formed, an achievement especially notable for its quickness, according to Jewish historian Stuart Rockoff.
The congregation's experience bucks the trend of declining Jewish growth outside urban areas, he said. Rockoff is director of the history department at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson, Miss.
"Bentonville is an example of a small-town Jewish community not only surviving but thriving," he said. "That they were able to get a building so quickly is quite remarkable."
In March, 35 Jewish families joined together to put a down payment on the building at the corner of Central Avenue and Moberly Lane in Bentonville. Etz Chaim invited the public and religious leaders from the county to participate in the dedication service at 6 p.m. Friday.
Rabbi Debra Kasoff, director of rabbinical services at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, will lead the service. People representing Catholics, Baptists, Muslims and Hindus of Benton County plan to attend, too, congregational officials said.
The congregation also has planned a Gallery Walk of Jewish art, ritual objects and stories. The unique museum-like display gives non-Jewish visitors an overview of the Jewish religion and culture.
Fast Track
Several of the Etz Chaim members attended Temple Shalom in Fayetteville before deciding they wanted to establish a congregation closer to home. Etz Chaim celebrated its first anniversary Aug. 4.
The congregation held services previously in space owned by the Bentonville Boys & Girls Club.
Families in the congregation expressed a strong commitment to common goals, making the acquisition of the former church building in Bentonville reality, said David Hoodis, Etz Chaim president. The building was repainted, but no structural work was needed, he said.
Congregation members' desire for a foundation in Benton County, particularly a religious school for the children, drove the success to acquire a synagogue, said Steve Berkowitz, treasurer for the congregation.
"We want a place for them to grow up and be nurtured," he said of the children. "We set our objectives early and the money came in. We said, 'Here's where we want to be a year from now,' and people literally opened their hearts and their wallets. We were quite surprised.
"It showed us building a Jewish community up here meant something," he said. "Hopefully, this is a stepping stone, the first step to a better future."
The congregation next hopes to hire full-time clergy, a rabbi or cantor, Hoodis said, but the financial support needed would require growth to about 100 families.
The congregation looks at a long-term goal of selling the building and moving into a larger place or building one, he said. Etz Chaim is unaffiliated with any of the Jewish sects or movements and may consider affiliation in the next year, he said. Reform, conservative, reconstructionist and orthodox compose the basic movements in the United States today.
Historical Perspective
About a dozen synagogues are spread across the state, Rockoff said. Etz Chaim represents an exception to the usual trend of Jewish life declining in small towns across the South, he said.
It's happening in Arkansas, too, he said, with the synagogue in Blytheville closed and others reporting declining membership. Many of the children of the last generation of Jews went to college, obtained a degree, moved to big cities and didn't come back, he said.
"A congregation forms when enough Jews in one place want to worship together," Rockoff said. "It usually takes five or 10 years or longer to obtain a building, but Bentonville is experiencing such a population boom the congregation was able to make the transition quickly."
Most congregations in the rural South are made up of elderly people, but the Benton County group is dominated by young families with children, people attracted by professional opportunities with companies such as Wal-Mart in Bentonville, he said. Jews lived in small towns in the South in the past because of economic opportunities.
"They were the merchant classes, but demographics changed and Jewish-owned stores closed," he said.
A professional class of Jews living in the large cities replaced the merchant class, he said.
The congregation's next step is to hire a rabbi, and that's probably several years away because the expense and demand, Rockoff said.
"There are more pulpits than rabbis," he said.
School Starting
Children and adults enjoyed kosher hot dogs, chips and watermelon Wednesday night at an open house to kick off the congregation's religious school, which starts classes Sunday. Twenty-six children registered for the school ranging from kindergartners through seventh-graders. At 13, Jewish children prepare for bar and bat mitzvahs, an initiation ceremony signifying the beginning of religious responsibility.
Using curriculum from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, six teachers at the school will combine learning the Hebrew language with education on Jewish culture, history and holiday celebrations, said Betsy Rosen, director of the congregation's religious school.
"We thought it would be nice to have something in Benton County," Rosen said of the congregation's establishment. "When other kids say that's where they go to church, we wanted to have our children be able to tell their friends, 'That's where I go to temple.' "