After four years in the Kansas City Jewish community, Rabbi Sarah Smiley is moving on. In July, she will start her new position as the rabbi for the Jewish community in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
She will also be the first rabbi of the Unified Jewish Congregation of Baton Rouge (UJCBR).
The community’s two legacy synagogues, Beth Shalom Synagogue and Congregation B’nai Israel, have been working to merge for the past two years.
“They realized that the things that divided them before no longer divided them,” Rabbi Smiley said.
They officially became one unified congregation, UJCBR, on January 1, 2022. Both congregations have had interim rabbis for the past two years and have been working with an outside consultant to bring the congregations together. Both synagogues were Reform, with one leaning towards “conservative Reform” and one towards “classic Reform.” The goal now is to be a “mainstream Reform” congregation.
“We’ll figure out customs together, we’ll figure out the blending of traditions,” Rabbi Smiley said.
This includes having conversations about how Torah study will be conducted, which prayer book to use (the unified congregation decided to use the new Reform prayer books) and what to do for the High Holidays; one of the congregations observed one day of Rosh Hashanah while the other observed two days.
“One of the things that’s really exciting is that it’s not just going and picking up where someone else left off. It’s the opportunity to work with the community to figure out where they want to go,” Rabbi Smiley said.
Rabbi Smiley said the UJCBR lay leadership is committed to and engaged with the new congregation. New bylaws were formed, and all UJCBR committees have members from both of the previous congregations.
“They want ‘new,’ they don’t want to just say we used to do it this way,” Rabbi Smiley said. “They want guidance on how to bring everyone, from young families to the oldest generation, together.”
“It’s exciting how much intention they’ve put into it,” she said.
Rabbi Smiley said the number of members of the unified congregation is in the low 300s, but she isn't sure how many Jewish people total are in Baton Rouge. It is a much smaller Jewish community than Kansas City's: along with the two (now one) synagogues, there is a Chabad, Hillel at Louisiana State University, and a Jewish Federation with one staff member.
“(UJCBR) really will be the Jewish community of Baton Rouge," she said. “My hope is that there’s something for everyone.”
Transitioning to such a small Jewish community will be an adjustment for Rabbi Smiley, personally and professionally.
“The fact that (Kansas City has) this integrated Jewish community with multiple congregations and multiple opportunities – I won’t have that there,” Rabbi Smiley said. “It’s been a joy for my kid to be at preschool at Beth Shalom, and to go to the programs at the JCC and with Federation, and to be a parent at those things and not just a rabbi. It’s also nice to have so many colleagues nearby.”
She said there is a good Reform network in the South, but there’s no rabbinic association like there is in Kansas City. The challenge will be seeking out some of those professional opportunities herself.
Rabbi Smiley made the decision to accept the job in early March. Since then, she said, everything’s been a whirlwind. While finishing up her time at B’nai Jehudah, she’s also talking to the UJCBR president and working with the co-chairs of the ritual committee trying to figure out what the first High Holiday season will look like. They are also working on how to come back together after doing so many virtual things during COVID and navigate the challenges of bringing people back together.
“There are definitely days when I feel like I’m working with two congregations because I’m (at B’nai Jehudah) full time and my focus right now is B’nai Jehudah, but then at 5:00 or 6:00 p.m., I’ll have Zoom meetings with people in Baton Rouge,” she said.
Despite all that, Rabbi Smiley said the biggest challenge hasn’t been the new job but figuring out the logistics of relocating. Her last day at B’nai Jehudah is June 10, and her first day at the UJCBR is July 1, which is the typical start date for new rabbis in many congregations. At the time of this interview, Rabbi Smiley and her husband, Rabbi Josh Leighton, weren’t sure when they would leave Kansas City. (Rabbi Leighton is in the process of finalizing the details of his new position – he plans to serve at a small congregation nearby.)
“We’re trying to both plan and be flexible at the same time,” she said.
Trying to do both is a lot like how she’s spent her time at B’nai Jehudah. When she joined the congregation in 2018, B’nai Jehudah was still in its old location. She spent six months in that building before the staff moved into a satellite office, where they remained for a year. The dedication of the new building was during Hanukkah in 2019, and then the building closed several months later when COVID hit. And in the midst of that, Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff retired and Rabbi Stephanie Kramer joined the congregation.
Rabbi Smiley calls her years at B’nai Jehudah “snowflakes” because no two were alike.
“I’m really proud of the work I was able to do and where B'nai Jehudah is and what has happened during these transitions. We’ve really built a community here, not just at B’nai Jehudah but in the larger Kansas City community,” she said. “(Rabbi Leighton and I are) excited for our next adventure, but it’s still sad to leave a place that you put so much into.”
By Lacey Storer, Assistant Editor