year-old Dini felt warmth that her youth could not yet defin

A
s the flickering light of Sha.bbat
candles danced around her,
six- year-old Dini felt warmth
that her youth could not yet define. As
she took the challah cover and draped it
about her shoulders, the child recited
Birkat Hamazon, Grace After Meals,
and knew only that it felt right. Her
family knew these were not the actions
of an ordinary girl.
Dini was born in Montreal in 1968
to an observant family whose patriarch,
her grandfather, was an Orthodox
Rabbi. He is described through Dini's
now adult eyes as "courageous and
unafraid to promote ideas that may
have been different."
Dini - better known today in Bergen
County as Rabbi Adina Lewittesdrank in the example set by her grandfather, and developed a hunger "to learn
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and understand more." Soon, however,
she found herself "pushing the boundaries of the Orthodox community," and
set about finding an observant Jewish
life that "invited vigorous, open-minded
intellectualism."
She found sanctuary in the
Conservative movement, and read from
the Torah for the first time at age 19.
Supported by her immediate family,
Lewittes' more distant relatives found
her peregrination away from orthodoxy
difficult to understand.
At age 20, Lewittes enrolled at the
Jewish Theological Seminary in
Manhattan, and was ordained, in 1993
at age 25, as a Conservative cleric. She
later returned to the school to serve as
its first female Assistant Dean.
Just as the flame of the Shabbat candles of her youth had ignited something
in her, Lewittes remained aglow with
what she describes as a "need to serve
on the ground; to join the front lines of
creating a living Jewish dynamic."
She founded Kol Haneshamah in
Englewood in 1997, which, while affiliated with the Conservative movement,
was a unique model. Lewittes describes
it as akin to the offspring of a Chavurah
and an organized, institutional
synagogue.
Lewittes left that congregation in
2002 to plant the seeds, which would
grow over the ensuing decade, into
Sha'ar Communities.
Sha'ar Communities is not a brick
and mortar congregation. Rather, it is a
network of small, suburban groups,
which Lewittes calls "Gates," through
which individuals may experience
Jewish life and its connections.
Dina and son Aaron Lewittes
Tannenbaum
"We live in an age where synagogues
are losing members; where people are
opting out of traditional legacy institutions and where the vast majority of
Jews don't have a formal affiliation of
any kind,'; Lewittes said.
"In fact, the largest segment across
all religions is the 'nones'; those who
hunger for spiritual connections, but
are finding them outside the doors of
religious edifices," she added.
Lewittes believes that in today's day
and age, innovative portals into Jewish
life are not only relevant, but vital to
building lasting identity and fellowship.
As such, Sha'ar Communities presents
six Gates, each a self-standing aspect
of Jewish engagement, which include
prayer, study, discovery, youth education,
social action and wholeness and healing.
Each Gate is intended to provide its
own sufficiency and to create a framework within which individuals may
approach Judaism in a manner that
most authentically speaks to them.
The Gate of Discovery, for instance,
exposes members to Jewish leaming
through international travel.
Participants Iearn what it is like to live
as a Jew all over the world, as they
explore foreign countries and cultures.
"As we meet and learn about others,
we learn more about ourselves,"
Lewittes reflected.
The Gate of Prayer offers "warmth
and intimacy through guided learning,"
as members gather in one another's
homes, led by Lewittes.
"Our informality does not equate
to casualness," the Rabbi clarified.
And, Sha'ar Communities' youth
education program, referred to as the
Gate of Tomorrow, seeks to show
children the largeness of Judaism.
IIOur informality does not
equate to casualness."
The program includes encounters with
dynamic Jews, including, business,
entertainment, sports figures, who share
their life experiences with the students.
For those who desire "more than
facts and figures," the Gate of Study
provides a framework for analysis,
interpretation and introspection.
Lewittes acknowledges that some
may dismiss the novelty of Sha'ar
Communities' approach, but, she is
steadfast in her belief that today's world
is all about access and harnessing "the
possibilities of inter-connectedness and
shifting trends in the 21st Century."
She is also assured of the "potential of
Judaism to transform lives and heal a
world in need."
"I know we have touched and
changed people's lives." •
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