About Kehilat Hadar

Kehilat Hadar is an independent, egalitarian community committed to spirited traditional prayer, study and social action. We meet for Shabbat morning services and some Friday nights and offer holiday services and educational programs throughout the year.

Mission & Principles

Kehilat Hadar is an independent, egalitarian community committed to spirited traditional prayer, study and social action. 

Core Mission:

Kehilat Hadar is committed to prayer services with spirited davening and leyning. Kehilat Hadar services use the traditional liturgy in a halachic framework and are marked by widespread communal participation, inspiring melodies and thoughtful divrei Torah. We believe that close attention to detail and planning, coupled with flexibility and responsiveness, produces the best possible experience for all. 

Kehilat Hadar Community:

Kehilat Hadar appeals to a wide section of the general Jewish community: young and old, secular and observant, straight and gay. We are committed to furthering openness and hospitality to both newcomers and long-time members. 

Torah, Avodah and Gemilut Hasadim:

Kehilat Hadar is the primary Jewish community for hundreds of people. While Shabbat morning services remain the backbone of Kehilat Hadar, our programming also includes holiday services, regular Jewish text study and social action/advocacy. 

Prayer Education:

Kehilat Hadar is committed to education, specifically on issues related to prayer (both for participants and for leaders). We do not believe in "watering down" the traditional experience of prayer; rather we aim to inspire and educate so that people of all backgrounds can appreciate and participate in Kehilat Hadar's services and programs. 

Broad Participation:

Kehilat Hadar is marked by a spirit of volunteerism, and community members are the primary leaders of the davening, leyning and teaching. Kehilat Hadar believes that excitement, not guilt, is the most effective method of motivating a volunteer community. We have demonstrated that people who experience high-quality religious programming are excited to return and take on leadership roles.

Leadership & Structure

Kehilat Hadar is run by a small team of Gabbaim (organizers) and a larger Leadership Team.  Additionally, there is a Shamash team that helps to run Shabbat services in partnership with the Gabbaim.  One of the principles of Kehilat Hadar is a spirit of volunteerism. The community relies on the generosity of its volunteers who participate in services (arrive early to make a minyan (quorum for public prayer), lead services), plan and execute programs and generally work to enhance our community.  We encourage you to get involved!

Gabbaim

The Gabbaim are responsible for coordinating the vision, policy, and day-to-day operations of Kehilat Hadar.  We are committed to ensuring that Kehilat Hadar always provides the spirited, egalitarian davening experience that is special to our community.  We are available to respond to the needs and input of people both inside and outside our community.  In doing our job, we are always mindful of the principles of Kehilat Hadar. 

Leadership Team

The Leadership Team meets as a group four times a year for two main purposes: 1) coordinating Kehilat Hadar's ongoing program activities and 2) participating in various Kehilat Hadar policy decisions.  Individual members of the Team are responsible for working with the Gabbaim to coordinate various programs for Kehilat Hadar, including holiday services, education programs, hospitality, and social justice projects.  As a group, the Leadership Team advises the Gabbaim on various issues and helps evaluate current programs and design future initiatives.  Every spring, we invite people to join the Team, and new Gabbaim are often selected from this team.

Shamash Team

The Shamash Team works with the Gabbaim to run weekly services.  Their responsibilities include handing out aliyot and other honors, announcing the Torah and Haftarah portions, and checking the Torah reader for accuracy in language and trop (melody).

Former Gabbaim

 

Community & Finances

Does Kehilat Hadar have membership?

We believe that meaningful davening (prayer) experiences and learning opportunities should be available to all, and therefore, Kehilat Hadar does not have official membership or membership dues. However, due to our significant operating costs throughout the year, we ask members of our community to make a voluntary donation to Kehilat Hadar each year. We suggest a contribution of $280 per adult or $200 per student, but we welcome donations of any size and encourage those who can give more to do so.

How does Kehilat Hadar support itself financially?

The vast majority of our funding comes from the people who come to Kehilat Hadar (like you!). We are also a graduate (2002-2005) of JESNA/UJC's Bikkurim: An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas (www.bikkurim.org), and, in the past, we have received grants from UJA-Federation of NY and from the Bronfman Youth Fellowship in Israel for our Beit Midrah Program.  Many people find a donation to Kehilat Hadar to be a good way to mark a special occasion, such as a birthday, graduation, engagement, wedding or anniversary, or to honor or memorialize friends and loved ones.

To contribute to Kehilat Hadar, please click here

When I donate money to Kehilat Hadar, what is my donation used for?

Kehilat Hadar's current annual operating budget is approximately $165,000. Most of this money goes toward renting space for services (approximately $1200 per service) and programming. Our other costs include paying teachers and High Holiday leaders, renting chairs, and making photocopies. Every contribution helps us continue to provide enjoyable and meaningful services, as well as learning and social action programs. Contributions to Kehilat Hadar also enable us to expand our existing programming to better serve the needs of our community.

The all-volunteer leadership of Kehilat Hadar goes to great lengths to secure donations of space, prayerbooks, chumashim, etc. Be assured that your entire donation goes directly to facilitating Kehilat Hadar programming.

Can you provide more details on Kehilat Hadar's budget?

Kehilat Hadar's 2009/2010 budget was approximately $165,000. Here is a breakdown of the major income categories, followed by a breakdown of major expense categories:

 

* We have removed the income and expenses for our annual Shavuot Retreat from the above charts to provide a clearer picture of our overall finances. Income and expenses for the Shavuot Retreat are kept and nearly equal levels due to the careful planning of our Shavuot Team.

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FAQs

Is Kehilat Hadar affiliated with any Jewish denomination?

Kehilat Hadar is not affiliated with any of the movements (e.g. Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Reform), and members of our community come from a wide range of Jewish backgrounds. We are fully egalitarian. Our services follow a traditional format and all of our services and programming are planned in accordance with halakhah (Jewish law).

What does it mean to be both halakhic and egalitarian?

Traditionally, halakhah (Jewish law) has been understood to exclude women from participating in certain aspects of public prayer. However, an examination of the classic Jewish sources for prayer reveals that there is ample support for equal participation by women and men in davening and leyning (Torah reading), and for counting women equally with men in a minyan. At the first Shavuot retreat, our community studied these issues in depth, focusing on the following topics: women's obligation in prayer, women as shelichot tzibbur (prayer leaders) and as Torah readers, and women counting in a minyan (quorum for public prayer). The source sheets we used, as well as links to a variety of teshuvot (rabbinic responsa) and other resources on this issue, can be found here. 

Does Kehilat Hadar have a rabbi?

Kehilat Hadar currently has no full-time staff. Although many rabbis have taught at Hadar programs, and Rabbi Shai Held previously served as our resident scholar, there is no rabbi who leads Hadar. The gabbaim consult with Rabbi Elie Kaunfer and Rabbi Ethan Tucker, founders of both Kehilat Hadar and Mechon Hadar, when determining ritual policy.

As Kehilat Hadar becomes the primary Jewish community for an increasing number of people, we recognize the importance of being able to speak with a rabbi within the Kehilat Hadar community. Several volunteers, including rabbis and senior rabbinical students, have offered to speak with members of the community regarding religious, spiritual, pastoral, or other issues. If you are interested in speaking with someone, please contact Hadar's Lifecycle Team.

Does Kehilat Hadar have a kashrut policy?

Yes, you can find it here.

History

by Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, co-founder of Kehilat Hadar

In April of 2001, Mara Benjamin, Elie Kaunfer and Ethan Tucker met at the Abbey Pub to draw up plans for a new Shabbat morning minyan: full traditional liturgy, entirely lay-led, spirited davening and use of creative melodies, a 5-minute Dvar Torah, Popems at kiddush. Later that month, 60 people packed into a one-bedroom apartment on 110th Street for Shabbat morning minyan; thus was born Kehilat Hadar.

Kehilat Hadar outgrew 14 spaces that first year, all the while adding additional services. Some of the early highlights included: Tisha B'Av in Central Park, Friday night davening on the roof of the Key West, Simchat Torah dancing at El Taller Latino Americano cultural center, Purim at the Franciscan Community Center. By October of 2001, we chose a name for the minyan. In the first year alone, 120 people led davening or read Torah. The Gabbai leadership expanded to include Debbie Kaufman, Adam Wall, Debbi Bohnen and Josh Greenfield.

In 2002, Kehilat Hadar held its first annual Shavuot retreat; 75 were expected, 240 signed up. That fall, Kehilat Hadar held its first High Holiday services (at St. Luke's Hospital), where Rabbi Julia Andelman and Aryeh Bernstein led davening, and Rabbi Shai Held served as scholar in residence. Close to 500 people came to Yom Kippur Davening. Kehilat Hadar also launched the weekly Beit Midrash at the JCC in 2002, which has drawn over 1,000 in its first 6 years to explore Jewish texts in the original through havruta (in partners) study.  Rabbi Shai Held became Scholar in Residence at Kehilat Hadar at 2003 and continued to serve in this distinguished capacity through High Holidays of 2008.

Kehilat Hadar continued to grow, and as members of the community left New York, others moved in, and assumed leadership roles. In 2004, the community structure expanded to include a Leadership Team of 20 people who help coordinate Kehilat Hadar's ongoing program activities, participate in various Kehilat Hadar policy decisions, evaluate current programs, and design future initiatives.

In 2005, Dr. Shuly Schwartz donated a sefer Torah to Kehilat Hadar written in memory of Rabbi Gershon Schwartz; community members chose the verses to decorate the Torah cover. In 2007, Kehilat Hadar purchased a second sefer Torah from the Avenue Z Jewish Center, and celebrated its arrival with a Shabbaton in 2008.

In 2009, Kehilat Hadar began meeting weekly on Shabbat mornings and broadened its leadership structure to include a Shamash Team of individuals who help to run services in partnership with the Gabbaim.

 

 

About Our Name

Adapted from a d'var Torah written and delivered by Elie Kaunfer, Kehilat Hadar co-founder, introducing the name "Kehilat Hadar" during Sukkot 5762 (October 2001)

 

Hadar is a noun meaning splendor or glory, and it is also a verb meaning to glorify, respect or honor. It appears numerous times in tefillot: including in the Kaddish (Yithadar) and Ashrei (Hadar k'vod hodecha...Uch'vod hadar malchuto).

Hadar also expresses some of the hopes and aspirations we have for the minyan and the community we are forming. Below we analyze it in three classic relationships: Bein adam l'atzmo (internal), Bein adam l'havero (interpersonal), and Bein adam l'Makom (relationship with God).

Bein adam l'atzmo:
In the Torah, the etrog is referred to as Pri Etz Hadar (fruit of the beautiful tree, or beautiful fruit of the tree). In the Talmud, there is a discussion about what exactly this means. Rabbi Abahu offers the following comment: Don't read Hadar as splendor, rather read it as something which dwells (dar) on its tree from year to year (Sukkah 35a). Rashi explains this to mean that the etrog is the only fruit which remains on the tree from one season to the next. Therefore, an etrog tree has well-ripened fruit from years past co-existing with newly budding fruit from the current year.

We look at this as a metaphor for an ideal internal relationship: We all bring to the community our ripened fruit, the experiences and ideas we have developed in the past, our patterns and rhythms which define us. The challenge is to be open to new ideas and experiences (budding fruit) without rejecting the ripened fruit of our past. We hope to make the minyan a space where people strive for that internal coexistence.

Bein adam l'havero:
Hadar is used in the Torah as a verb in the following verse from Leviticus 19:32: V'hadarta p'nei zaken (Pay respect to the elder). We hope to broaden that mitzvah to include all members of the community: our minyan aspires to be a place where everyone pays respect to each other, from simply introducing yourself to someone new to creating a culture of hachnasat orchim (welcoming guests into your home).

Bein adam laMakom:
There is a rich tradition in rabbinic and kabbalistic literature of God, not only people, needing salvation. This is one understanding of the somewhat cryptic phrase we say repeatedly during the hoshanot: Ani v'ho hoshia na: Save me and Him (referring to God). In this light, we analyzed one final use of the word Hadar in the liturgy:

Psalm 104:1 states: Hod v'hadar lavashta (You dressed in splendor and glory). We traditionally say this line when we put on the talit, and we can imagine God dressing in a metaphoric prayer shawl. The hope we have for this minyan is that through our prayers and actions, we will provide that comforting covering to God, doing our part in contributing to God's salvation. The challenge to strive towards that goal will remain a motivating force behind our activities as a kahal.

We are excited to embrace the name Hadar, with all of its implications and challenges.

 

In the News

Kehilat Hadar in the News

Challenging Tradition, Young Jews Worship on Their Terms
The New York Times, November 28, 2007

Attracting Young People to Jewish Life: Lessons Learned from Kehilat Hadar
Jewish Education News, Spring 2005

Beyond Dogma
Jerusalem Post Magazine, February 11, 2005

Upper West Side Minyan Visits Area
New Jersey Jewish Standard, December 17, 2004

What Martin Luther King Jr. Had in Mind
The Blueprint, March, 2004

Will Judaism flourish or decline in the next 50 years?
Moment Magazine, February/March, 2004

A Prayer Group of Their Own
Forward, November 14, 2003

Passionate Prayer
New York Observer, October 13, 2003

Hadar Gains Foothold In Morningside Heights
Columbia Spectator, March 31, 2003

Jewish Group Adds Flair To Prayer
New York Post, March 3, 2003

The New Gen-X Judaism
The Jewish Week, August 2, 2002

Kehilat Hadar Holiday Retreat Brings Community Together
The Blueprint, July, 2002

Any Old Shul Won't Do for the Young and Cool
Forward, August 10, 2001

 

Mechon Hadar & Kehilat Hadar

Kehilat Hadar was founded in 2001 out of a desire to create a vibrant, intensive, egalitarian prayer community that could draw people from across the denominational spectrum.  As Kehilat Hadar succeeded and grew over the years, the time came to take the animating vision of the minyan and begin to expand it further, both to strengthen and encourage the creation of other communities like Kehilat Hadar and to develop this model of community in the realm of Jewish learning.

Mechon HadarAs a result, two of Kehilat Hadar's original founders—Rabbi Ethan Tucker and Rabbi Elie Kaunfer—along with Kehilat Hadar's Scholar-in-Residence—Rabbi Shai Held—founded Mechon Hadar as a separate institution in June 2006.  Mechon Hadar aims to revitalize prayer, study, and community life among young Jews in America, through two main divisions:

Kehilat Hadar and Mechon Hadar are separate institutions—with separate funding and leadership structures—that nonetheless share the same guiding vision of an egalitarian community that can revitalize Jewish communal life.  Despite Mechon Hadar's broader mission, it is a natural outgrowth of Kehilat Hadar's successes and continues to have a special relationship with the minyan.  Mechon Hadar's work with other minyanim is heavily grounded in the Mechon's founders' experience with Kehilat Hadar, which functions in many ways as a flagship for the independent minyan scene.  Yeshivat Hadar students participate in Kehilat Hadar programs, the Yeshiva enables Kehilat Hadar to offer a daily minyan in the community, and there is collaboration on learning projects.  Through the shared vision and joint endeavors, the goal is to create a fuller Jewish community that can enrich all who come in contact with it.