Both synagogue boards had previously approved merger discussions in June 2009 as a result of shrinking memberships and revenue. A merger exploration committee of eight members from each congregation issued its findings in May 2010, recommending that the congregations be combined into a Conservative egalitarian synagogue at Beth Abraham’s Sugar Camp facility in Oakwood.
“It took us longer because there was more to give up,” explained Pavlofsky, who believes the primary reasons members of his 100-year-old congregation voted against the merger were “the change of locations and the end of what would be considered Traditional Judaism in Dayton, Ohio.”
The biggest difference in practice, according to Beth Abraham president David Fuchsman, is that women are not allowed to read from the Torah or lead the service in a Traditional Orthodox synagogue. In Conservative Judaism, a woman can become a Rabbi.
Beth Jacob currently has 172 families; Beth Abraham has 325.
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