``Stage One'' Suburbia

When members of ``Stage One'' congregation moved to the suburbs after World War II, they hired top architects to design impressive building that would announce the relocation of their synagogue. Not bound by the financial restraints facing start-up ``Stage Two'' congregations, they once again built huge sanctuaries, recreating the grandeur of the spaces they left behind in the center city. Their new spaces continued to reflect the worship ethos of ``Stage one,'' shielding their choirs and organs in hidden lofts and creating sanctuaries for High Holiday crowds.

The offspring of many Eastern European Jews joined the new ``Stage Two'' suburban Reform congregation in the years following World War II, and their ritual and cultural preferences deeply influenced Reform worship styles. Bar mitzvah was reinstated. Congregants read more Hebrew. More congregations engaged cantors. A second reading desk was added to the bimah to accommodate the cantor, and the organ and choir were moved down from the loft behind the ark so the accompanist and choir members could see the cantor. Low dividers or potted trees often shielded the choir members and organ from public view.

The permanent sanctuaries of ``Stage Two'' congregations were far smaller than their predecessors, but their social, educational, and administrative spaces dwarfed those of ``Stage One'' temples. Booming religious school enrollment required many large classrooms. Principals and cantors needed their own offices, as did temple administrators, educators, bookkeepers, and clerical personnel. The sisterhood and bar mitzvah families required a kitchen big enough to handle catered luncheons and dinners held in the large social hall. Suddenly the sanctuary was no longer the most visible and utilized space in the synagogue.