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Newton congregation, rabbi mark milestones
Every year on the High Holidays, when Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in West Newton draws the most non-members of the year, Rabbi Toba Spitzer asks one congregant to talk about how he or she ended up at the Reconstructionist congregation.
One year, an atheist board member spoke; another year, a member who grew up in a Conservative home. Other speakers have included a lesbian, a convert and a member whose partner wasn't Jewish and didn't want to go to shul.
"The message is: That might be you. If that is you, you should know you have a home here," Spitzer said.
The message, it seems, has gotten across. Since Spitzer was hired, membership has quadrupled in size and broadened in diversity.
On March 24, Dorshei Tzedek is hosting a Double Chai Celebration. Double chai - or 36 - comes from combining two key figures: 21, the number of years the congregation has been in existence; and 15, the number of years Spitzer has served it.
The event will be held at the First Unitarian Society of Newton, one of the two churches where the congregation rents prayer and school space. (The other is the Second Church in Newton.)
When Spitzer started, the congregation had 37...