When his congregants describe Rabbi Marc E. Berkson, they almost consistently arrive at the same description: a spiritual and modest man who loves Torah and is devoted to teaching.
“He’s really been quite invigorating for our congregation,” said Sandra Kohler Stern, president of Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun, where Berkson is completing his fourth year as spiritual leader.
The congregation will gather on June 13 to honor Berkson and celebrate the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree he received on March 9 from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion for his 25 years in the rabbinate.
The Friday evening event captures the spirit of the rabbi, according to Stern. “It’s a worship setting, not a party, which is so Marc Berkson,” she said.
The service, which will be preceded by a potluck dinner, will include the music of the Kansas City-based band Yachad, the Traveling Tefillah Band. It also marks the establishment of a Torah Restoration Fund, which will be used to employ a scribe to begin the process of repairing the synagogue’s Torah scrolls.
“[The service] is a celebration of prayer and learning within a service, with this uplifting musical accompaniment of songs and instruments that add a whole new dimension. It was just the right blend of elements to create a marvelous opportunity to recognize and honor our rabbi,” Stern added.
Berkson was awarded the honorary degree with ten other alumni at HUC-JIR’s Founder’s Day Ceremony at the Union’s school in Cincinnati.
“While I surely didn’t earn [the degree] in terms of … doing the course work for a doctorate, I surely earned it in other ways,” he said. “Working for a quarter of a century with and for amcha, the Jewish people, is not always easy but is always rewarding.”
Berkson, a Chicago-native, served Temple Judea Mizpah in Skokie, Ill., for 21 years before coming to Emanu-El in September 1999. He joined the synagogue at a turbulent time in its history, while it struggled with selling its former building on Kenwood Ave. and building a new synagogue in River Hills.
“I think that Emanu-El has come a long way,” said Berkson of the challenges he’s experienced during his tenure, which include the departure of Cantor Ron Eichaker and following long-time spiritual leader Rabbi Francis Barry Silberg. “It’s been a dramatic journey. It’s been a wonderful journey.”
Reviving social action
“He has brought a lot of heart and spirit to our congregation,” said Cese Holland, a past president and chair of the worship committee who participated in “Anshei Mitzvah,” one of the programs Berkson initiated. A two-year learning course for adults, that program culminated in a group ceremony in May 2002.
Berkson was also instrumental in starting Tikkun Ha-Ir (Healing of the City), an organization that provides an opportunity for all Jews to learn together and combine Jewish study with social action. That, explained Stern, marks a return to Emanu-El’s central leadership role in social action efforts in both the Jewish and general communities.
Stern said that Berkson and Cantor David Barash, who joined the synagogue in 2001, helped to transform Emanu-El’s worship service. “He has introduced us to and brought us on a spiritual journey that includes a more participatory kind of worship experience,” Stern said.
When searching for a way to honor the rabbi, Holland said, repairing the Torahs seemed “a wonderful and appropriate way to honor him.”
“He’s a consummate teacher,” added Stern. “Torah is very dear to him.”
With that in mind, congregants now begin stage two in a process of Torah revitalization that began last year with the creation of seven new Torah mantles. In collaboration with Nancy Katz, an artist-in-residence from California, synagogue members — adults and children — helped design the velvet and silk covers.
Restoring the Torah scrolls themselves is the next step. “We started on the outside and we need to go deeper,” Stern said, explaining that generations of use have led to general disrepair, including torn parchment and worn letters.
Berkson said the process “will be a wonderful learning experience for our congregation … and I couldn’t ask for anything nicer in my honor. I’m very touched, and doing it in a way that will engage the entire congregation and allow them to learn, I just find it very moving.”
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