Rabbi’s Update 6/12/2026

Dear Friends:

We extend our condolences to Dr. Mark Komrad, Hazzan Kim Komrad, and their entire family on the passing earlier this week of Dr. Mark Komrad’s father Dr. Eugene Komrad z’l. May his memory be a blessing and may you be comforted among those who mourn for Zion and Jerusalem.

Please note that Hazzan Komrad will not be leading services this Shabbat due to funeral and shiva services in Florida.

When I write about current issues in my Friday morning updates, I am  not merely hoping to inform you about something happening and express my perspective. I’m hoping to begin a dialogue. It doesn’t always happen but it is gratifying when it does.

My discussion last week on calls for JTS and HUC to deny admission and ordination or graduation to students who are anti-Zionists prompted a few of you to email me with your own perspectives.

As I said last week, I think it is entirely reasonable for a seminary or a clergy association to expect that clergy or those preparing to become clergy are committed to the core beliefs of that association. When I was in rabbinical school in Cincinnati, the local “Humanistic Judaism” called “Beth Adam” (House of Humankind) applied for membership in what was then called the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and is now called the Union for Reform Judaism. Its application was not accepted and Humanistic congregations are still not accepted as members of the Reform Movement. While Reform allows for a variety of God concepts (as does Conservative Judaism) a congregation which explicitly rejects the existence of God does not fit under its umbrella. 

Some years later a rabbi with whom I overlapped in rabbinical school applied for membership in the Rabbinical Assembly, as I had. (It is not uncommon for rabbis to switch affiliations and there are several Conservative congregational rabbis in Montgomery County who like me were originally ordained at HUC, the Reform seminary.) This rabbi, who sadly passed away in her early 50s, was very fond of traditional liturgy. For most of her career she worked in non-pulpit positions and joined Conservative synagogues. But her application to the Rabbinical Assembly was not accepted because her love for traditional liturgy did not make her a Conservative rabbi -- she did not observe Shabbat or keep fully kosher within Conservative norms, did not put on tefillin, etc. 

As I said last week, the major problem I have with these proposals at this point is that I have not seen anyone who is pushing these proposals define the “Zionism” to which they expect clergy and clergy candidates to be committed. I have been around long enough to see, for example, advocates of a two-state solution branded as “anti-Zionist” even though this became the official policy of the State of Israel and remained so for decades. Conversely, more progressive or left-wing Zionists have branded the Likud and parties to its right as “anti-Zionist” under the assertion that if some arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians which removes the bulk of Palestinians from Israeli control is not reached, Israel will be a de-facto binational state with as many Palestinians as Israelis living in the area under Israeli control.

To me, the word Zionism has a simple and singular meaning: The Jewish people are a nation and as such are entitled to self-determination within their historic homeland known as both Eretz Yisrael and Falastin. You can advocate a two-state solution, a one-state solution, some sort of confederation, or any other sort of arrangement which is acceptable to the majority of residents in the historic Land of Israel and still be a Zionist. I may not agree with you and your Zionism may not be to my taste, but that doesn’t make you not a Zionist.

If someone cannot assent to the statement above I do not think it's unreasonable for JTS to say that they can’t be a Conservative rabbi or a Conservative cantor. If you reject the connection of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel you are ignorant of Jewish history. If you accept that historically we have a connection to the Land of Israel but advocate a solution to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict which either demands that Jews leave Israel and “return” to countries that their parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents left decades ago after centuries of persecution, or gives them a subordinate position in the Land and strips them of sovereignty, you lack Ahavat Yisrael -- love for your fellow Jews. I am not saying you can’t be a rabbi -- although I would not want to be part of a congregation you headed -- but you can’t be a Conservative rabbi. Conservative Judaism expects its rabbis and cantors to know Jewish history and display love of their fellow Jews. The Seminary programs at JTS do not exist to train generic rabbis and cantors, but specifically rabbis and cantors who fit within the broad umbrella of Conservative Judaism. 

If you or someone you know is in need because of having been laid off, or has  lost benefits of some type and needs immediate help, please let me know. I can access limited funds through the Jewish Federation almost immediately. For longer-term help, the Hebrew Free Loan Society will loan up to $18,000 interest-free and the Jewish Federation has set up a hotline to  access assistance at 703-JCARING.

As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 at the shul. For my drop-in hours, you do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building. 

As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org rather than through the synagogue office. I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment; if you want to speak with me it’s best to make an appointment rather than assuming I will be there when you stop by. 

Additionally, if you know of a Kehilat Shalom congregant or another member of our Jewish community who could use a phone call, please let me know.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Charles L. Arian