Rabbi Rachel Isaacs spent the days leading up to Passover preparing ceremonial foods at Beth Israel Congregation in central Maine, where she is the synagogue’s rabbi and where membership has quadrupled over the last 15 years. On a week when many Jewish communities gather to celebrate, Isaacs is also focused on a broader goal: strengthening rural synagogues and Jewish communities around the country, she said.
Isaacs is the executive director of the Center for Small Town Jewish Life at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. She said the effort is meant for Jewish communities far from big cities, and that it has grown to support more than 60 communities in 22 states, reaching “dozens” of congregations with plans for more. She described the core idea as a service and stewardship mission, saying rural Jewish life is important for the Jewish people and for rural America, and that people in those areas “deserve to be served and shepherded.”
Isaacs’ work comes amid what she and other researchers describe as shrinking options for rural congregations. She pointed to data compiled by Alanna E. Cooper, a Jewish studies professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, that shows there are roughly 20% fewer synagogues in the United States than there were in 1990. In rural areas, Isaacs said aging populations and relocation of residents have made it harder for congregations to keep going.
The center’s outreach is also unfolding as Jewish Americans face rising antisemitism and violent attacks, including in states with large rural populations, Isaacs said. The Anti-Defamation League reported a nearly 900% increase in antisemitic incidents for the decade ending 2024, and said some of the states with a high rate of incidents include largely rural places such as Maine, New Hampshire and Wyoming. Isaacs said the center’s work can help reverse that trend by strengthening local community life.
Speaking about what the center is trying to sustain, Isaacs said rural Jewish communities can help Jews find joy, locate strength, build connections with other Jews across the country and around the world, and remain rooted during a period of rising antisemitism. She framed those connections as a practical way for small communities to stay resilient and connected even when local membership is limited.
Since the center formed, it has helped congregations beyond Maine, including in California, Montana and Texas, according to Isaacs. In Helena, Montana, Rebecca Stanfel, executive director of the Montana Jewish Project, said the center has been instrumental in bringing together a relatively small Jewish community across a vast state and in supporting events such as a seder and High Holidays. Stanfel said Helena has few options and that “if we want to have something like a seder, High Holidays, it’s got to come from the community,” adding that the model can also serve people outside rural America.
To support rural congregations, the center assists through three strategies, Isaacs said. One is Makom, a two-year mentorship program for rabbis earlier in their service to rural synagogues. A second involves training lay leaders to lead prayer and support congregations so they can thrive without a full-time rabbi. The third approach is board leadership coaching, which trains synagogue presidents and boards on how to manage small-town Jewish institutions.
Rabbi Lisa Rappaport, who leads Congregation Beth Israel in Chico, California, said she was among the first to go through the Makom program. She described the role of rural rabbis, saying they often lead the only Jewish congregation in town and calling that work “special,” “beautiful” and challenging, in her remarks about the mentorship.
At Beth Israel Congregation in Waterville, volunteers ranging from Colby students to retirees prepared for Passover by hosting about 100 people, Jeff Lovitz, a synagogue member, said. Lovitz said the congregation has been in place since the early 1970s and that his children went to Hebrew school there, and he said having a Jewish community in Waterville is important.