When I was in elementary school in the fifth grade (in the 50’s!), we began a club. A secret club, of course, exciting! We started with about 10 children, who all wanted to do something together. But what? That was never really clear, except for eating candy and drinking lemonade together. It diluted quickly, and the club fell apart without us shedding a tear. We started doing other things.
Like so often, a group of people came together enthusiastically with a shared idea. This time, a large group of members of Beit Ha’Chidush left due to dissatisfaction with the way things were going. That united us, we had to grieve together over what we had left behind. That was good; after a year, we were able to look forward, and the protective tent that we had spread over us (Sukkat Shalom) became Chavura Ruach Shalom, a freeing, optimistic stream of good goals. Inclusive, modern and traditional celebrations and a safe environment for everyone. We wanted no board, no structure, no finances, just a group of friends who wanted to celebrate Shabbat and the holidays together.
We have had beautiful gatherings, with a Sukka in the garden of Barbara and her family and a lovely Chanukah party in the Pintohuis. The erev Shabbat celebrations were also well attended, always in a cozy atmosphere with lots of delicious food and drink. Why do I write this piece, then? In recent times, that has changed. The desire has diminished, and the gatherings, even for the Pride Shabbat, were not well attended, also on Zoom. No matter how nice, an intimate Shabbat with four at Marcella’s (plus four on Zoom) is of course fine, but I found it a pity that there wasn’t a seder together for Pesach.
The High Holidays are coming; what will we do? Do we want to continue, or is the spirit of our club slowly extinguishing? Ruach Shalom is special, the only place in Jewish progressive Netherlands where everyone can really feel at home. We must not lose that!
By Renee Citroen (translated by Shulamit)