Calling the Faithful To Become a Flock

"Jewish life in the small community is not easy," Falk said. "It's a conscious choice on the part of every individual Jew in these communities to remain Jewish."

But that's exactly how Shender prefers it.

"Being part of a huge community, you don't have to work very hard at being Jewish: It sort of just is," she said. "Those who have joined our community find that they are part of a family."

Many at a recent Sha'are Shalom service echoed Shender's sentiments. But they said they are eager to see more members in their congregation, and they hope their new building might entice others to join.

"To me, the building is more than just a building. It's a symbol that Judaism is here," said Lee Weinberger, the congregation's membership director. "It's a central place for all Jews to come together."

Still, some Jews find small-town existence too formidable, even in such diversifying areas as Southern Maryland. Christine Arnold-Lourie, a history professor at the College of Southern Maryland, lives in Silver Spring, where many of her neighbors are Jewish and she belongs to a congregation with thousands of members. She said she would never have thought to raise her children in Southern Maryland because of her concerns about a lack of tolerance for Judaism.

"Most of our students have never seen a Jew," she said. "There's a real lack of understanding and in some cases a lack of tolerance."

Klaus Zwilsky, the outgoing president of the Beit Chaverim congregation in Calvert, said practicing Judaism in a small town can be a struggle, but it is a happy struggle. He might be chief cook and bottle washer in addition to president of his congregation, but he is willing to work long hours as long as congregation members stay enthused.

"It's a struggle, but we seem to be able to make a go of it," he said.

And there are signs of progress for the small congregations. Debra Ryon, a founding member of Beit Chaverim, said she was delighted to find recently that she has another Jewish person living in her immediate neighborhood.

Randy Schoch, the rabbi of Sha'are Shalom in Waldorf, said the Jewish population obviously is growing as more people of all faiths move to Washington's outer suburbs in search of more affordable housing prices.

And even though Andy Sheldon, president of Shaare Tikvah, has seen a decrease in his congregation's membership over the past 30 years, he said he is hopeful that the new building in Upper Marlboro will attract new members.

If that fails, he could always use the phone book.