I am grateful for this opportunity to share with you some key aspects of our intentional security procedures to provide safety while being inclusive for marginalized identities.

First, please know that, while there are high levels of concern, there are no new, specific, or credible threats directed at Rodeph Shalom, other Jewish organizations, schools, or daycare centers in the region at the time of publication.
We maintain close and active ties with law enforcement and homeland security organizations. This includes, local, state, regional, and Federal law enforcement agencies. Rodeph Shalom, as well as our security partners receive constant updates on possible risks and threats in the local and regional environment. We work closely with them based on the contents of those updates. We regularly participate in security briefings by government security agencies on how the situation in Israel may affect Jewish organizations in our region and mitigation steps to consider.

Rodeph Shalom has a close relationship with the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD). Armed police officers are at Rodeph Shalom during services and high profile events, in addition to our security team, which includes members of law enforcement. The police response time, in case of a dangerous situation here, is between one to two minutes. We maintain direct communications with PPD leadership to increase the depth and breadth of our interactions and coordination. As a result, PPD officers frequently drive by or remain near our building on a daily basis.

We receive briefings, intelligence, and security advice from the Jewish Federation, which is regularly updated by FBI, State Police, Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies. We receive regular security updates from multiple sources including the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, the regional Homeland Security fusion center. The PPD provides specific warnings if they have information that could affect us directly, including nearby police activity. These channels help us to be informed on possible threats and countermeasures in real time.

Our building has added security features which, combined with our security procedures, provide multiple layers of protection that are not made public. There are both active and passive measures for security, much of it funded by significant State and Federal security grants. On the personnel side, in addition to the guard at the front desk, a security role is performed by additional staff members. We regularly conduct security training and drills, as well as fire drills, to help staff be better prepared to handle emergencies. We are grateful to Renee Carl, Director of Operations, for her essential work and dedication to safety.

One of the most important protections is for everyone to remain vigilant, aware of their surroundings, be proactive in protecting our people and facility, and to fully cooperate with important security measures. This includes not allowing “tailgating” through external doors or holding the door for strangers to enter, never sharing access codes and shielding the keypad when entering a code, reporting suspicious or unusual conditions immediately to our security staff, and helping to keep the building secure.

A great example of the power of “See Something, Say Something,” took place in late October when an observant parent immediately reported suspicious activity outside of our building. As a result, we have been able to provide detailed information to law enforcement, Federation, and other security partners for further investigation. We have reviewed our security procedures, as we do whenever there is new information, and have increased vigilance. PPD has provided added patrols and presence on site. I ask everyone to help us all with continued awareness and reporting of unusual conditions.

I hope this provides you with additional perspective and reassurance.

Jeff Katz,
Executive Director

written by Michael Hauptman

Language and Architecture – two of humankind’s most creative expressions – when combined as an inscription on a building, provide a window into the minds and souls of the people who built it more clearly than either can do on its own.  The specific passage, the font selection, the placement of the words on the building and, most importantly, the permanence of those words convey a message over decades — and even centuries — that the architecture by itself cannot fully achieve.

Inscriptions have been carved into buildings for millennia.  The Romans memorialized events and glorified leaders who otherwise may have been forgotten by history despite the endurance of their ruins.  In the modern era, the Beaux Arts architects of the Guilded Age understood how romanticized verbal expression chiseled into their designs could elevate the monumentality of their architecture.  Who isn’t moved by the quote on New York’s imposing post office that raises the ordinary postal worker to the level of national hero? The block-long Corinthian colonnade can’t tell that story by itself.  Art Deco architecture of the Twenties and Thirties incorporated stylized words along with sculpture and painting as design elements evocative of events of their time.  Our own 1928 façade quotes Isaiah: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples“ an inscription found over the doors of many synagogues. Perhaps it was meant to send a welcoming message that our architecture did not.

Our new addition gives us an opportunity to put on a fresh face.  The design was meant to be more transparent, more vibrant and more part of our community.  The architecture will speak to who were are now as a congregation and how we have evolved over the past 85 years from an insular community to an outward-looking center for Jewish life in Philadelphia.  When a congregant recently suggested that we include an inscription on our new Broad Street façade, the idea was embraced as an opportunity not only to express our ideals beyond what our building says about us, but to engage the congregation in an exercise that teaches us something about Judaism and about ourselves.

Rabbi Maderer led an inclusive process that solicited suggestions from the congregation through articles in the Bulletin and on the RS website. The resulting list was vetted by the other members of the clergy and then was opened to lively discussions in a Torah Study format that encouraged participation by all who wanted to weigh in.  Some of the choices, as one would expect, were controversial, and after much fascinating debate and one round of going back to the drawing board, a favorite emerged which was unanimously approved by the officers.

When our new addition is completed next spring, the few simple words from Pirke Avot will grace the Broad Street façade: Ohev shalom v’rodeph shalom – Love peace and pursue it. 

Not only does it include our name (with a nod to Beth Avahah), but it provides a glimpse into our values as a community.  It will, for as long as our building stands, tell those who pass by what was meaningful to this congregation. And it will allow our grandchildren and great-grandchildren to hear the voice of the people who built their synagogue, all the way from the beginning of the 21^st century.