Growing West Marin congregation celebrates with art

The Jewish Community of the San Geronimo Valley just held its eighth year of High Holy Days services, and is celebrating its young life with a monthlong art exhibit of Judaica.

One might consider celebration an irony, since the small North Bay congregation is newly homeless.

"We've been subletting space and the person who has been subletting us the sanctuary needed it back," said founder Suzanne Sadowsky. "We're homeless and we've got to find a place. But in the meantime, we've had some beautiful art donated and lent to us. And we do have quite a lot of artists in our community. So a lot of people have the opportunity to see this very beautiful art during the High Holy Days season."

The exhibit at the San Geronimo Valley Cultural Center, where the congregation is camping out temporarily, spans a wide artistic spectrum, both in concept and execution.

There is the profound, Chagall-like "Kaddish" by colorist Elly Simmons, oil paintings by internationally known sculptor Edor Rosenberg and a collection of mezuzahs by artist Phyllis Kirson, all of West Marin. The collection also includes etchings, sculpture, prints and fabric art, and ranges from representational to ornamental to abstract.

"Suzanne told me about the show, so I created this piece," said Kirson of her assemblage of mezuzahs, based on the ancient goddess Ashara.

"I've done a lot of reading and research about the roots of our heritage and was pleased to discover the Hebrew goddess," said Kirson, who is also a member of the congregation. "I'm glad to say she is enjoying a comeback."

The lay-led congregation began with Shabbat for 25 to 30 people at Sadowsky's home and has grown to 75 active households and a mailing list of 400. More than 100 attend High Holy Day services.

"My daughter Maralisa is always begging to go, because all her buddies go," said Simmons, a Lagunitas resident and member of the congregation. "I grew up totally non-religious in a very leftist family, and now, I love going to services. It's a real community spirit and people share their real passages there."

Participants travel from Bolinas, Point Reyes, Fairfax and Mill Valley for the services, which are sometimes held in homes.

"People like the feeling of community, the smallness," Sadowsky said. "I hesitate to use the word 'counter-culture,' because in some ways we're really quite traditional. And we're not affiliated, so people don't need to say they are one kind of Jew or another. We're very inclusive."

The congregation holds Sunday school classes and has now celebrated numerous b'nai mitzvah.

Sadowsky had worshipped at other Marin congregations before founding the Jewish Community of San Geronimo Valley. Shortening the drive was only a small part of her impetus to create a new alternative for Jews in West Marin.

"I was looking for a home, for my Jewishness and my Jewish practices," she said. Other congregations "had something wonderful, but I didn't have a sense of place. Also, I didn't want to be feeling part of a large institution."

Board members are now looking at purchasing a permanent home -- something they hadn't contemplated doing at this time.

"Finding space up here is really difficult, and also, just enormously expensive," Sadowsky said. "We're not a wealthy congregation. Yet, we, too, have to pay a phone bill, buy prayerbooks and all that. There's a lot to think about."