Jewish life in your city

[gellert]

Inspired by the "lesbian life" thread -- how have Jewish TGCers found the Jewish community in their cities to be?  Is it significant or not?  Wide variety of synagogues?  Is there a JCC?  (I'm not even going to ask if there's a Chabad because I already know the answer, haha.)  Do people trend more Orthodox or more Reform/secular?

[intirb]

Are you from the New York Metropolitan area?

My experience everywhere outside of there has been that the Jewish community was very small.  You'll usually be able to find one or two temples (in some big cities, a handful).  In Cambridge MA, you can't even find a good bagel (but I've recently gotten a recommendation for a place in Boston).  The Boston JCC is not even in Boston, and you can't get there by subway.  There is a Chabad House though.  Most Jews I've met here were atheist, but there is a secular Jewish congregation, so that's pretty cool.

[gellert]

Nope, I'm from somewhere with a medium-sized Jewish community, but I've lived in places with such a small Jewish community that there's only one shul (and the ubiquitous Chabad) in the entire town. 

[GeoDUDE!]

I am the only jew in my southern city

[Furcifera]

As a wandering Jew, I feel I can answer this.

Mobile, AL: Almost none, but the Jews there stick together like glue, so you'll always have somewhere to eat a Shabbat meal. It's got one of the oldest reform congregations in the US; pre-Civil War style.

Pittsburgh, PA: Sizeable, for outside one of the major metropolises. You can find anything on the spectrum (including Chabad, of course, gellert), especially in the Jewish epicenter of the city, Squirrel Hill. Also has a community newspaper, The Jewish Chronicle.

Dallas, TX: Mostly reformed, though you can also find Modern Orthodox, Tradish, Conservative. Especially in North Dallas and the more affluent suburbs (ie, Plano). Generally I would say "just don't" to being Jewish in Dallas, though. Not easy.

St. Petersburg/Tampa, FL: Yes, yes, yes. Yes. Yes, yes. Yes. (Yes has now stopped seeming like a word for me, but Tampa has your full spectrum of Jews in a supportive environment.)

Boulder, CO: No. Well, yes, if your idea of a peaceful shabbat is rock climbing with thirty other spry Jews. Well, that's not entirely fair. There are Orthodox here, but the Reform & Renewal definitely are the louder participants. In Denver you've got more of a spread. The synagogues put more emphasis on charity than a religious experience (a very Boulder mindset) and is not for those who want a more traditional experience.

Syracuse, NY: Upstate is still NY; this is a Jew-friendly city. Leans more Orthodox and Conservative than Reform. Its JCC (like most) is very child/family oriented.

TL;DR-- Tampa, Pittsburgh, Syracuse=yes. Boulder, Mobile, Dallas=no.

This is just my experience; YMMV.

Edited January 19, 2014 by Furcifera

[Gwendolyn]

I'm not Jewish, but there's a sizeable Jewish community here (Columbus, OH) in the neighborhood of Bexley. My partner lives nearby and I've noted several Synagogues which (I'm assuming) suggests there's a variety of denominations? My knowledge is clearly limited.

[SaraElyse]

I was blessed (read: cursed) with a modern orthodox uprbinging in a suburb of NYC. I desperately wanted to get out, so I sought refuge in the south after high school. I went to Louisiana State University for undergrad, and found Baton Rouge to have a small Jewish community. That includes: two reform temples, no JCC, no Chabad, no kosher restaurants, and a mostly defunct Hilel. I taught Hebrew school at one of the temples as a sub occasionally since they got word that I was a fluent Hebrew speaker and graduate of yeshiva. Oy. New Orleans, just an hour down the road, has a much larger Jewish scene, including an Orthodox shul, JCC, day school, two (or more now?) kosher restaurants, conservative temples, and several reform ones, too. Still, as compared to NY, New Orleans didn't compare. But in a good way. It wasn't as suffocating. As a matter of fact, I loved it.

 

I've been living in Charleston, SC for 3ish years now. Here, there is 1 orthodox shul ( and 1 offshoot, due to disgruntled members), a Chabad, 1 conservative, 1 reform temple, a JCC, a Hillel (at CofC), a k-8 day school, and no restaurants. The community here is very, very small. Don't let any of that fool you. My mother is still adjusting to the fact that only 30 people show up to Saturday morning services. She's used to 300.

 

But after all, this is the south, not the Jew mecca.

[gellert]

I was blessed (read: cursed) with a modern orthodox uprbinging in a suburb of NYC. I desperately wanted to get out, so I sought refuge in the south after high school. I went to Louisiana State University for undergrad, and found Baton Rouge to have a small Jewish community. That includes: two reform temples, no JCC, no Chabad, no kosher restaurants, and a mostly defunct Hilel. I taught Hebrew school at one of the temples as a sub occasionally since they got word that I was a fluent Hebrew speaker and graduate of yeshiva. Oy. New Orleans, just an hour down the road, has a much larger Jewish scene, including an Orthodox shul, JCC, day school, two (or more now?) kosher restaurants, conservative temples, and several reform ones, too. Still, as compared to NY, New Orleans didn't compare. But in a good way. It wasn't as suffocating. As a matter of fact, I loved it.

 

I've been living in Charleston, SC for 3ish years now. Here, there is 1 orthodox shul ( and 1 offshoot, due to disgruntled members), a Chabad, 1 conservative, 1 reform temple, a JCC, a Hillel (at CofC), a k-8 day school, and no restaurants. The community here is very, very small. Don't let any of that fool you. My mother is still adjusting to the fact that only 30 people show up to Saturday morning services. She's used to 300.

 

But after all, this is the south, not the Jew mecca.

 

I grew up in the South myself and am pretty accustomed to small communities.  But I'm in the Midwest now and about 8 people show up to Erev Shabbat services at my small Reform/Conservative shul.  (One of the only synagogues in the country with affiliations to both movements!)  It's the only synagogue in town.  Nearest mikveh, for Orthodox folks, is 1.5 hrs away.  There are a lot of undergrads at Hillel, but I always feel a bit weird since I'm at least 3 years older than most of them.  And of course there's Chabad, but I've never gone in for that sort of thing.

 

Durham, NC (where I grew up) had several Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative shuls between it and neighboring Chapel Hill.  There was also a mixed UNC/Duke Chabad and each school had a Hillel (and even Jewish Greek life, though I didn't participate).  Raleigh (nearby-ish) has a mikveh and some Orthodox shuls as well as the more progressive movements.  

 

That's my contribution, I suppose, as the other place where I've lived has been covered already.

Edited January 19, 2014 by gellert

[MarcusPhcerius]

I'm from Toronto, Canada, and the Jewish community here is huge, especially in the suburbs and outside of the downtown core. In my neighbourhood, there are 3 synagogues I know of, one orthodox, one conservative, and the one I attend is (to the best of my knowledge) the only non-egalitarian conservative synagogue in the city. The suburb directly north of Toronto has a population that is 36.6% Jewish, and it's easy to find whatever Jewish community you prefer, from completely secular to traditional orthodox.

[starofdawn]

I'm from Los Angeles... so there's that.

 

Now I live in the SF Bay Area, which has a sizable Jewish community all over. A lot of Jews tend to lean secular, or more "spiritual" Jewish, but there's still every denomination synagogue available. There's also 5 Moishe Houses in the SF Bay Area(3 in SF, one in East Bay, one in Palo Alto). Every Trader Joe's carries challah, there's bagel shops in many areas. Not sure of any kosher restaurants. Thankfully all the schools I applied to have a Jewish community, most have a Moishe House close by. I assume they all have a Hillel, too.

 

P.S. - Almost forgot - a kosher sushi restaurant opened up in Palo Alto!! I can't wait to try it!

[starofdawn]

I've been living in Charleston, SC for 3ish years now. Here, there is 1 orthodox shul ( and 1 offshoot, due to disgruntled members), a Chabad, 1 conservative, 1 reform temple, a JCC, a Hillel (at CofC), a k-8 day school, and no restaurants. The community here is very, very small. Don't let any of that fool you. My mother is still adjusting to the fact that only 30 people show up to Saturday morning services. She's used to 300.

 

But after all, this is the south, not the Jew mecca.

 

I visited Charleston a few years ago and loved the city. My parents and I visited the reform synagogue(as good Jews normally do on vacation) and I bought a "Shalom, Y'all" bag at the gift shop

 

Avoiding pork was WAY more difficult than I thought it would be! Why do they put it in the gravy?!

[gellert]

I'm pretty sure I know where I'll be going to for grad school, and sadly the Jewish life is likely to be damn slim.  (I've only lived in one city with a Moishe House and it was so awesome.  Wish I could do it again.)  

 

Any suggestions for finding Jewish community in small towns with vastly Protestant majority?  I'm not super religious; I'm secular but the community aspect of Judaism is very important to me.  Hillel is likely to be overrun by undergrads, though it's possible there's a grad student group I suppose.

[starofdawn]

Maybe start your own Moishe house? I've never gone through the process before... but worth checking out if it's possible?

[Furcifera]

This has suddenly become a little more pressing for me. Does anyone have experience in Lawrence, KS or Tallahassee, FL?

[efs001]

How is Chapel Hill for Jewish life?

[gellert]

How is Chapel Hill for Jewish life?

 

Really good! 

 

There are shuls for Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Orthodox between Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh.  There's also a thriving Chabad for UNC/Duke combined.  

 

There's a significant Jewish population in Durham/Chapel Hill.  If you want to chat more about the area, PM me.

[C&S0518]

This has suddenly become a little more pressing for me. Does anyone have experience in Lawrence, KS or Tallahassee, FL?

I'm not Jewish but dr. Levenson of the religion department is at FSU, I've worked with him (he also does some classics stuff) an he's very involved in the Jewish community and is always sharing with the class events that are going on. Dr Levenson also teaches Hebrew and I've had many Jewish students in my class. So I don't know the experience first hand by from what I've seen there is an active Jewish community in Tallahassee