Rabbi Eli Courante says he’s been told that he’s doing the work of a full-time rabbi, but in a part-time position.
The new spiritual leader of the Lodzer Centre Congregation – Rabbi Eli to his congregants – joined the shul in April, but his work has only recently fallen into the day-to-day rhythms of synagogue life now that the holidays are over, not to mention that he also works as co-owner of a kosher tour company and spent much of the summer out of the country.
The 44-year-old multilingual native of Odessa, who speaks five languages and gets by in eight others, grew up in a religious Refusenik family, mostly in Moscow, before making aliyah with them as a teenager.
Now a married father of two, Rabbi Courante was ordained by Machon Harry Fischel, an Orthodox seminary in Jerusalem. But his philosophy had already evolved by the time he moved to Canada in 2002 to serve Congregation B’nai Israel in St. Catharines, which, like the Lodzer, is Conservative.
Eleven years later, he came to Toronto as associate rabbi and educational director at Beth Torah Congregation until the summer of 2014. He then took a year off to focus on building his business, Gamla Tours.
Rabbi Courante describes the Lodzer as “a warm and jolly place, a fun-loving shul.” Unprompted, he points out the awkwardness of the description, since the small unaffiliated egalitarian congregation in North York, originally a mutual benefit society, was begun by Holocaust survivors and for many years was seen as “a survivors’ shul.”
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But the punster in him can’t resist a reference to his tongue-in-cheek suggestion – in response to a question from some congregants about whether the shul should be renamed – that it could be called the “Jolly Lodzer,” an appellation that has made its way into the congregation’s bulletin.
Lodzer president Jeff Shabes told The CJN there’s been “a reinvigoration” of the shul since Rabbi Courante was hired. “Services are probably better attended in the last five to six months than in quite some time.”
But like other congregations – particularly small Conservative ones, most notably Markham’s Shaar Shalom Synagogue, which closed last June – the Lodzer has faced challenges in recent years. In 2008, the congregation considered and rejected a merger with the Pride of Israel Synagogue, despite concerns at the time over the affordability of imminent repairs and paying all their clergy members.
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“We are fortunate that we’ve been able to position ourselves in a way that we can hopefully weather any storm, but it’s a challenge,” said Shabes, adding that the shul has since renovated its social hall and completed repairs. In 2013, it celebrated its 60th anniversary with a gala and other events.
However, while its finances are now “manageable,” the 35-year-old building will need ongoing maintenance, which will require fundraising in the future, Shabes added.
For the past couple of years, the Lodzer has been without a rabbi. The current cantor, Marcel Cohen, succeeded Rabbi Moshe Meirovich, who served as both rabbi and cantor from 2010 to 2014. Shabes said the shul wasn’t able to hire both a cantor and rabbi when the rabbi left, so it opted for a cantor, because it has members who can do dvar Torahs and lead services.
While the congregation is now smaller than it was eight years ago, Shabes said the demographics are skewing younger. He added that membership is holding steady, having recently increased by three to just over 200. In 2008, there were 275 members.
The shul has lost members because “the families of the founders are not attending, in many instances… And it’s attrition. Our shul was founded by Holocaust survivors… I’d say 85 or 90 per cent of the families we’ve lost, are due to the fact that they’ve [the founders] passed away” and their kids aren’t necessarily staying connected, Shabes said.
Among the shul’s new initiatives, Rabbi Courante said, is an attempt to present “a wide array of programs” including a Sunday night music series, a project of the cantor supported in part by a federal grant; a planned tour of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia with the rabbi next summer; and some innovations in the Shabbat service, making them more participatory through greater use of English and familiar tunes, including some by music icon Leonard Cohen following his recent death.
The paradox of any synagogue, Rabbi Courante said, is that, to stay relevant, things have to change, but at the same time, the core of people who are involved and enthusiastic usually like things the way they are. “It’s always a challenge to accommodate both requirements, to not destroy the great things that you already have, and to keep innovating.”
