Article published Nov 1, 2005
Jewish center looks within to find rabbi
Ann White's arrival as the first permanent spiritual leader is "like an answer to a prayer."

By CHRISTOPHER O'DONNELL

VENICE -- Those who believe that God moves in mysterious ways would certainly appreciate the journey of the local Jewish Community Center to find its own spiritual leader.

After 25 years of guest rabbis and services conducted by lay leaders, members of the Jewish Community Center of Venice decided last year to find their own rabbi.

But they could hardly have expected their first rabbi would be a women raised as a "generic Protestant."

"She was like an answer to a prayer," said Bennett Gross, a spokesman for the center.

The recent appointment of Chicago-raised Ann White as rabbi is emblematic of the JCC's shift from a social center to one more focused on tending to the spiritual needs of its members.

Concerned that membership growth had stalled even while the population of Venice was growing, the congregation decided that the center needed a spiritual leader if it was to attract young people and families.

The center is also considering a new name.

"Venice is growing; there's more young professionals moving into the neighborhood searching for a spiritual home," White said. "More people are looking for a closer connection to God."

The center found the leader it wanted from within its ranks. White, who converted to Judaism at the age of 28, was a regular visitor to the center and a member of its religious committee.

Moreover, the 55-year-old had just finished studying at the Rabbinical Seminary International in New York and was ordained as a rabbi in June.

Her unusual journey from Christian-raised lawyer to rabbi began when she was 26.

The daughter of a Navy officer, White's childhood was marked by frequent relocations across America and abroad.

By the time she went to high school, the family had settled in Chicago. White went on to college and law school and later specialized in marital and family law.

Although successful, she felt that something was missing in her life and craved a spiritual connection.

"There's always been people that want to see God or be closer to God; it's as old as mankind," she said.

She started attending services of different denominations. But it wasn't until she wandered into a local synagogue that she found the connection she yearned for. The more she learned from rabbis, the more she wanted to know.

"When a Jew prays, it's directly to God, not through an intermediary," she said. "I would say you can hear God answer us back directly."

After studying Judaism for two years, White converted. She took evening classes to learn Hebrew and studied the Torah, the Talmud and theology at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in Chicago.

Rabbis typically study for four or five years. White said one of the most difficult challenges was learning Hebrew.

During services, she must read in Hebrew directly from the Torah, the first five books of the Bible written on scrolls without vowels or punctuation.

Being accepted within the Jewish community has not been a problem, White said.

But her conversion has been difficult for some of her relatives to understand, she said.

"We have an unspoken rule about not discussing religion; we discuss food," she said.

Unlike most synagogues, which are associated with either the Orthodox, Conservative or Reform branch of Judaism, the Venice center is unaffiliated.

Each branch varies in what traditions it observes and how strictly it follows those traditions. For instance, at Orthodox services, women are separated from men in order to minimize lapses in concentration.

White's familiarity with the congregation and her preference "not to be boxed in by labels" makes her a great appointment for the center, Gross said.

"Our congregation had felt uncomfortable with some of the visiting rabbis," he said. "The rabbis felt they couldn't change what they were."