Montana's new rabbi says Judaism is on the rise
Montana's newest rabbi - recently arrived from New York - barely had time to hang his hat under the Big Sky before he was called back East, this time to meet and pray with the nation's political leaders.
“I got this call early on Wednesday,” said Rabbi Chaim Bruk. “They said, ‘What are you doing today and tomorrow?' ”
Turns out, of Chabad Lubavitch's 5,000 or so rabbis, two were chosen to join President Bush and others in the capital for a National Day of Prayer. Would Bruk like to be one of the two?
“It was really a tough choice,” the Orthodox rabbi said, what with the scheduled Israeli fair and the chance to meet more Montana Jews. But, he figured, that chance would return. A chance to pray with the president might not.
“I thought, ‘You'd better grab it when it's offered.' ”
A red-eye flight and 24 hours later, Bruk was in Washington, D.C.
“It was very, very nice,” Bruk said of the event, adding that Bush “spoke quite well” when addressing the clergy at last Thursday's prayer service.
Bruk said he also used his time at the capital to “let people know that Montana is a great place, and Judaism is flourishing in Montana.”
The Big Sky, historically, is not what comes first to mind when people think of a Jewish homeland. Even the New York Post, when announcing Bruk's appointment to Montana, could not resist calling him the “kosher cowboy,” even heading the story “Yippee-Ki-Oy!”
The article estimated that about 1,500 Jews are spread thinly across Montana's many miles.
But the fact is, Bruk said, Judaism is on the rise here.
“The Jewish community is really growing in Gallatin County, in Missoula, and in the Flathead Valley,” Bruk said. “It's just booming in those places.”
Part of his job, he said, is to meet the needs of that growing congregation. Another part is to make sure those needs are understood by people in power.
While in Washington, D.C., Bruk met with all of Montana's congressional delegation, talking to each about “Jewish issues and Israeli issues,” working to ensure that lawmakers “stood on the right side in support of Israel.”
Now, he said, with that personal connection established, he hopes he can return to lawmakers for continued support of Montana's Jewish community. He talked with them about racism, he said, and about specific anti-Semitic activities in particular towns.
“Generally,” Bruk said, “Montana has been very, very good to minorities. I would like people to understand that rabbis aren't just something out of the past, aren't just old guys with beards. Even in Montana, Judaism is alive and well and thriving.”
The 25-year-old describes himself as not overly political, but neither is he wary of bridging the gap between secular and spiritual power.
“There are things we can accomplish by working together,” Bruk said, including things for Montana.
“We have a lot of closet Jews in places like Montana,” he said, adding that his visible presence can perhaps coax some out into the open, out where they'll see that “Montana is very friendly, very welcoming. And I'm very glad to be here.”
Reporter Michael Jamison can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at [email protected]